Donna
Hi, I’m planning to visit Japan with my boyfriend this coming April, it’s our 1st trip to Japan and I am still trying to make a day-day plan of our itinerary. So, I am thinking to 1stly focus on getting our tour/ sight seeing around the area where we booked our hostel by Shibuya area and then go around Tokyo for the later part of the day. Another option , I think is , to visit first those free museums or parks coz they are only open for a certain days/ hours , right? So , my problem is how to get to them without being too confused about the train transportation and how to not spent too much money in getting our train rides from point A- point B. Pls. HELP, I would really appreciate your advice and tips on how to get around Japan..
Rodrigo Coelho
Japan
Hi!
Correct me if I’m wrong, but what I’m getting is that you are asking whether there is a pass to travel within the cities around Tokyo?
If so, yes, you can get a 3-day JR Tokyo wide pass to transfer between cities in the Kanto Area (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa Prefecture). It costs 10,000 yen for 3 days, which you can use for all JR East lines and many other routes. For more information on which route, what line, train, and Shinkansen you can take with the pass, click here http:
But, if you are asking whether there is a 2/3 day pass to travel between cities in all of Japan, there’s none. There are only 7-day, 14-day, and 21-day JR rail passes. If you are traveling around Japan from one prefecture to another (and cities), like from Tokyo to Osaka, or Hokkaido, etc, getting the JR Rail Pass is definitely so much cheaper and easier.
If you are going to explore the museums and parks, definitely check where they are located first. If they are located in the same area, you can visit one after the other without going back and forth taking the train. For example from Harajuku area to Shibuya area, you can opt to walk rather than taking the train. The distance is not far and you can explore the area as well. If you are not getting the pass, you can purchase a prepaid card (called Paso or Suica) to make it easier for you (and cost a few yen cheaper), so you don’t have to buy tickets every time you take the train.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have further questions.
