I'm trying to determine if it makes sense to purchase a 7 day pass or a 14 day pass. We will be in Japan for 10 days. Our itinerary is as follows
day 1 Narita - Kyoto
day 2 around kyoto
day 3 kyoto - Nara, Osaka
day 4 Kyoto - hiroshima
day 5 around kyoto - undecided
day 6 Kyoto to Tsukuba ( we have friends in Tsukuba )
day 7 Tokyo
day 8 Tokya/ Tsukuba
day 9 Tokyo / Tsukuba
day 10 tsukuba to Narita
Will the rail pass cover our travels from Kyoto to Tsukuba and from Tsukuba to Tokyo ?
Hi Carol,
The Tsukuba > Tokyo journey is not covered by JR and so if you are staying in Tsukuba you will have to use the Tsukuba Express to get into Tokyo which is operated by the Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company and runs between Akihabara in Tokyo and Tsukuba city for ¥2,300 return.
As you will be unable to use the JR pass for the Tsukuba legs of your journey, I recommend you purchase a 7 day Japan Rail Pass for use between days 1-7 and from there buy tickets as needed. Using a 7 day rail pass will certainly give you good savings on the first half of your trip based on your itinerary.
For the Kyoto to Tsukuba leg on day 6, you can use JR trains to get to Akihabara, and then change trains there for the Tsukuba Express.
Hope this helps!
Thank you so much
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