japan for 2 weeks, does JR east pass special still available on october?

Hi Eka!

Unfortunately the special JR East Pass has indeed ended for this year but there are other option available.

The most economic would be to take a [night bus] to Aomori fares start at about 5,300 Yen /one way (but expect to pay around 7,000) and you also save on accommodation costs, the downside is that you may lose the next day due to fatigue if you can't sleep in the bus. This of course depends on the person.

The other option would be to look into getting a JR Pass, this will costs a little but the experience is just amazing. Not only will you save a lot of money over normal JR Tickets but you can also take any train at any time, which is great for day trips and long distance travel to Aomori and Kyoto for instance. A return Tokyo - Aomori by Shinkansen is ¥33,140 which already passes for more than a 7 week JR Pass (28,300Yen). I would recommand going for a 14-day JR Pass if you have the money to cover both your return to Aomori and your visit to Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, Nara). It may be big investment but it really pays of and will help you make most of your trip.

On 18/10 I would recommend a stop over in perhaps Sendai or Nikko as going all the way down to Matsumoto in one day can be a rather long ride.

I hope this helps!
Daniel

Thanks Daniel!
Maybe I'll get myself a JR pass then, but maybe the 7 days pass. Will be using busses and ordinary trains mostly around Kansai.
Do you think its still okay?

Eka

Hi Eka!

Yes that would work too! Try to fit your return to Aomori and at least one way to Kyoto into the JR Pass validity period, this will help you to maximize savings and you can enjoy the Shinkansen too!

Have a save journey!
Daniel