Bullet Train - Japan
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The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.
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Well plan your journey through this site: Enter the station name
and it shows the cost of the ticket. Add up said costs and see if they are less or more than the cost of the JR Pass. When using the above site make sure you un-check the Nozomi option.
and it shows the cost of the ticket. Add up said costs and see if they are less or more than the cost of the JR Pass. When using the above site make sure you un-check the Nozomi option.
I doubt that you will get enough benefit out of the rail pass in that time, you'd have to be doing a LOT of travel within the cities on JR trains to make up for it. Also it is a bit inconvenient. Also on the Rail Pass you can not take the Nozomi.
Get a SUICA card from Narita, you can get an included N'Ex (train into Tokyo) with it as well. This card is a swipe system, very fast and you can use it at FamilyMart and SevenEleven and some vending machines to pay for things. Japan is a heavy cash society and not a lot of places really use credit card, so cash and coins you will collect fast. I use my SUICA for everythign that I can. Also SUICA is accepted on all Japan Railways, pretty much. You'll be fine in Tokyo, Nagoya and Kyoto on the Metro trains.
If you are looking to save some money, get a non Nozomi Shinkansen. They go a little slower (hardly noticeable) and leave usaully only 15 minutes after the Nozomi. Nozomi is great if you are headed further west, out past Hiroshima.
I love Tokyo a bit too much..
Get a SUICA card from Narita, you can get an included N'Ex (train into Tokyo) with it as well. This card is a swipe system, very fast and you can use it at FamilyMart and SevenEleven and some vending machines to pay for things. Japan is a heavy cash society and not a lot of places really use credit card, so cash and coins you will collect fast. I use my SUICA for everythign that I can. Also SUICA is accepted on all Japan Railways, pretty much. You'll be fine in Tokyo, Nagoya and Kyoto on the Metro trains.
If you are looking to save some money, get a non Nozomi Shinkansen. They go a little slower (hardly noticeable) and leave usaully only 15 minutes after the Nozomi. Nozomi is great if you are headed further west, out past Hiroshima.
I love Tokyo a bit too much..
Hi G*,
As others have said, you can get SUICA or a JR pass, or use cash. Which is best for you will depend on what you plan to do. A JR pass allows you to use all JR trains including the Narita Express and I think the Nagoya equivalent, but I haven't flown through Nagoya so can't guarantee that! This includes the Hikari and Kodama bullet trains but as stated above it excludes the Nozomi, which is the fastest bullet train.
If you want to use a JR pass, it MUST be purchased outside Japan - About JAPAN RAIL PASS is the official website.
JRpass.com seems to be linked to a UK company but they claim to deliver to Australia as well. I have never used this company before - indeed I hadn't seen the website before but it looks to have some useful info on it.
I have used Welcome to Rail Plus - Rail Plus Australia and JTB Australia - Travelling to Japan for bookings in the past without problems. Prices are in Japanese yen so sometimes you will get a better exchange rate at one place than another.
If you decide to use a SUICA, these can be purchased in Japan.
If you don't use any passes, you can buy tickets at any station. For subways and local trains you need to buy a ticket before you can access the platform - there are automated ticket gates to get into the station. The price depends on the destination. If you don't know where you are going or can't work out the price, buy the cheapest ticket and then when you arrive at your destination take your ticket to the office at the exit to the station and pay the difference. Sometimes there are machines to do this but from memory they are mostly Japanese-only without English options.
To book reserved seats using your JR pass and to purchase single-journey tickets eg Tokyo-Kyoto or Kyoto-Nagoya, go to the "Midori-no-mado-guchi" ("green window") at most large JR stations. This is the ticket counter and they can help you out. Sometimes this may involve charades or broken English but you should be fine in the larger areas such as Tokyo/Kyoto/Nagoya.
If you really only plan to go Tokyo-Kyoto-Nagoya I think price-wise separate tickets instead of a pass will be the cheaper option. A JR pass is not the most useful or cost-effective way of getting around Kyoto and Tokyo cities, although if you buy one you certainly can find ways to use it for sightseeing.
Have a great time and let us know if there are any more questions.
PS why are you flying out through Nagoya? KIX (Kansai Intl) is the more convenient airport for Kyoto and Osaka...
As others have said, you can get SUICA or a JR pass, or use cash. Which is best for you will depend on what you plan to do. A JR pass allows you to use all JR trains including the Narita Express and I think the Nagoya equivalent, but I haven't flown through Nagoya so can't guarantee that! This includes the Hikari and Kodama bullet trains but as stated above it excludes the Nozomi, which is the fastest bullet train.
If you want to use a JR pass, it MUST be purchased outside Japan - About JAPAN RAIL PASS is the official website.
JRpass.com seems to be linked to a UK company but they claim to deliver to Australia as well. I have never used this company before - indeed I hadn't seen the website before but it looks to have some useful info on it.
I have used Welcome to Rail Plus - Rail Plus Australia and JTB Australia - Travelling to Japan for bookings in the past without problems. Prices are in Japanese yen so sometimes you will get a better exchange rate at one place than another.
If you decide to use a SUICA, these can be purchased in Japan.
If you don't use any passes, you can buy tickets at any station. For subways and local trains you need to buy a ticket before you can access the platform - there are automated ticket gates to get into the station. The price depends on the destination. If you don't know where you are going or can't work out the price, buy the cheapest ticket and then when you arrive at your destination take your ticket to the office at the exit to the station and pay the difference. Sometimes there are machines to do this but from memory they are mostly Japanese-only without English options.
To book reserved seats using your JR pass and to purchase single-journey tickets eg Tokyo-Kyoto or Kyoto-Nagoya, go to the "Midori-no-mado-guchi" ("green window") at most large JR stations. This is the ticket counter and they can help you out. Sometimes this may involve charades or broken English but you should be fine in the larger areas such as Tokyo/Kyoto/Nagoya.
If you really only plan to go Tokyo-Kyoto-Nagoya I think price-wise separate tickets instead of a pass will be the cheaper option. A JR pass is not the most useful or cost-effective way of getting around Kyoto and Tokyo cities, although if you buy one you certainly can find ways to use it for sightseeing.
Have a great time and let us know if there are any more questions.
PS why are you flying out through Nagoya? KIX (Kansai Intl) is the more convenient airport for Kyoto and Osaka...
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Oh, I forgot to mention that if you want to search for costs, routes, etc, googlemaps now provides that when you search in Japan.
Not sure if its all in English though... I speak Japanese so don't necessarily notice. You can certainly search in english for locations and at least see the price and train times, if not the details of the route.
Not sure if its all in English though... I speak Japanese so don't necessarily notice. You can certainly search in english for locations and at least see the price and train times, if not the details of the route.
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It's not clear - are you flying into NRT and out NGO or just NGO; if the latter the N'EX is no good to you.
There's some great information on the Japan FT Forum: Japan - FlyerTalk Forums
We just returned from Japan Monday and had a great time travelling on Shinkansen but did not use a JR Pass, but we did use the Suica N'EXr/t option. (Borderline Cost: JR East Pass or buy as we go? - FlyerTalk Forums)
The JR rail pass is useful if your minimum travel is something like N'EX to Tokyo then to Osaka/Kyoto and back to NRT.
There are two types of N'EX/Suica combos; a one-way N'EX or a return N'EX - both come with ¥1500 Suica credit.
Note the "JR East" pass can be purchased on arrival; the "JR Pass" needs to be pre-purchased before arrival into Japan.
More here:
About JAPAN RAIL PASS
Fares & Passes | JR-EAST
There's some great information on the Japan FT Forum: Japan - FlyerTalk Forums
We just returned from Japan Monday and had a great time travelling on Shinkansen but did not use a JR Pass, but we did use the Suica N'EXr/t option. (Borderline Cost: JR East Pass or buy as we go? - FlyerTalk Forums)
The JR rail pass is useful if your minimum travel is something like N'EX to Tokyo then to Osaka/Kyoto and back to NRT.
There are two types of N'EX/Suica combos; a one-way N'EX or a return N'EX - both come with ¥1500 Suica credit.
Note the "JR East" pass can be purchased on arrival; the "JR Pass" needs to be pre-purchased before arrival into Japan.
More here:
About JAPAN RAIL PASS
Fares & Passes | JR-EAST
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