We get many questions on whether or not the JR Pass is a better option for your travel, so we
have decided to break it down for you.
Assuming you are using the 7 Day Ordinary Pass, this will cost 50,000 JPY. If you follow Japan’s
Golden Route then the pass may be worth your money.
Starting in Tokyo, to transfer from the Narita International Airport to Tokyo Station it is 3,070 JPY. You can use the pass to get around each city and see the sights as long as you are using a train run by the JR Company, you can view the full scope of validity here. You can spend a day in the city seeing all the sites including the Tokyo Tower, Imperial Palace, Meiji Shrine and more!
Then traveling down to Kyoto as your main base for visits to Osaka, Nara, and Hiroshima. The initial trip from Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station its 13,320 JPY. Traveling from Kyoto Station to Osaka Station is 580 JPY and to Nara Station from Kyoto Station it is 720 JPY.
At this point we aren’t even half way to breaking even, but if you head down to Hiroshima that is 11,100 JPY and the pass is valid on the Miyajima Ferry that visits Itsukushima Shrine! At this point it is 41,520 JPY just to travel to each city.
As the trip comes to an end many people will fly out of an airport in Tokyo. To travel from Kyoto Station to Narita Airport it will be a 16,480 JPY train ticket, now putting you at 58,000 JPY making the JR Pass well worth your money and this doesn’t even include the cost to travel to sights within each city.
Narita Airport to Tokyo Station: 3,070 JPY
Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station: 13,320 JPY
Kyoto Station to Osaka Station and back: 580 JPY x 2 = 1,160 JPY
Kyoto Station to Nara Station and back: 720 JPY x 2 = 1,440 JPY
Kyoto Station to Hiroshima Station and back: 11,100 JPY x 2 = 22,200 JPY
Kyoto Station to Narita Airport: 16,480 JPY
Total: 58,000 JPY
