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Should I buy the 14 day rail pass or consider something else?

MCMotto
MCMotto
8 months ago
1 answer

My wife, my 21 month old toddler, and I are travelling to Japan from May 13 - May 31. Our itinerary is as follows:

May 13: Arrival at NRT
May 13-20: Tokyo (+side trips)
May 20-24: Sapporo (+side trips)
May 24-30: Kyoto (+side trips)
May 30-31: Tokyo, Departure at HND

Is the 14 day JR Rail Pass my best option?

While using the fare calculator, it showed Tokyo to Sapporo takes 8h of travel time, I thought the shinkansen was faster than that? Am I mistaken?

Should I buy the 14 day rail pass or consider something else?

avatar
Daniel-san
18919 posts
8 months ago
Expert

Hi there,

The train to Sapporo does take around 7 hours. First, it's the Shinkansen from Tokyo - Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto station, taking around 4 hours. Then the Ltd. Express to Sapporo station, around 3 hours. Add transfer time, and travel to/from the station, and 8 hours is realistic.

A 7-day JR Pass might be a more cost-efficient option if you do Tokyo - Hokkaido (return) + one way to Kyoto using the pass.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

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