About to go on the greatest adventure ever!

[The1andOnlyTip]

Time is slowly running out and in December I will be going to Japan for my first time. I have been planning this trip since January and as it is fast approaching I have a few questions! First should I make sure to only bring yen and if so should I have it converted here in the states by my local bank or when I land in japan? Is it reccomended to use my credit or debit card over there or are fees charged? Another question is about transportation. I will be flying into osaka then going to kyoto and then tokyo. I am staying a total of 12 days. I have been thinking about the JR rail pass because from my understanding I can ride any of the trains and subways at anytime with this pass but it is close to $400. Would anyone reccomend this over buying single tickets? Thanks for all your help! I will be posting more threads about other specific questions!

[ArmandV]

Time is slowly running out and in December I will be going to Japan for my first time. I have been planning this trip since January and as it is fast approaching I have a few questions! First should I make sure to only bring yen and if so should I have it converted here in the states by my local bank or when I land in japan? Is it reccomended to use my credit or debit card over there or are fees charged? Another question is about transportation. I will be flying into osaka then going to kyoto and then tokyo. I am staying a total of 12 days. I have been thinking about the JR rail pass because from my understanding I can ride any of the trains and subways at anytime with this pass but it is close to $400. Would anyone reccomend this over buying single tickets? Thanks for all your help! I will be posting more threads about other specific questions!

Get your yen in Japan. I usually do at the airport. You'll get better rates in Japan than at home.

If you plan on intercity travel on the JR trains, the Railpass is a good money-saver. But the pass is generally NOT good on subways.

[Glenski]

Use Hyperdia to calculate travel costs during your 12 days and compare to the fee for the JR pass.

[The1andOnlyTip]

I forgot to mention and this might help with the transportation part. I am flying into kyoto for three days, then taking a train to kyoto for three days and then to tokyo on the bullet. I did not realize the JR rail pass was not good for the subways. Would it just be easier to pay all individualy?

[ArmandV]

I forgot to mention and this might help with the transportation part. I am flying into kyoto for three days, then taking a train to kyoto for three days and then to tokyo on the bullet. I did not realize the JR rail pass was not good for the subways. Would it just be easier to pay all individualy?

The trip from Kyoto to Tokyo might be worth the cost of the Railpass (esp. if you plan on a round-trip). If you are flying into Kyoto, where are flying to Kyoto from? Kansai or Narita?

[The1andOnlyTip]

Well im flying into osaka from the US then taking a train to kyoto (which if i looked at the right thing the ticket was only around $15-20 US dollars). Then i will be taking a train to tokyo from kyoto and leaving from narita back to the US. Those are the only travels I believe I will be taking. There will be no round trips.

[ArmandV]

Well im flying into osaka from the US then taking a train to kyoto (which if i looked at the right thing the ticket was only around $15-20 US dollars). Then i will be taking a train to tokyo from kyoto and leaving from narita back to the US. Those are the only travels I believe I will be taking. There will be no round trips.

A JR Railpass may not be worth the expense. Osaka is only an hour away (at most) from Kyoto. You just need to figure how much it is to go from Kyoto to Tokyo and compare it to the price of a Railpass (roughly $230.00).

[Glenski]

You also need to figure out the cost of any day trips you might want to make. Gauge your time well. The rail pass is only for a consecutive period of 7 or 14 or 21 days. Not sure if you want a 14-day pass, but just thought you should have a heads up notice even for the 7-day one. Once it's activated, the clock starts ticking for the next 7 days. You can't choose to skip days to use it and hope to use those skipped days at another time.

[The1andOnlyTip]

おはようございます。i just found out my iphone types in ひらがな!!
anyways i was just planning on staying in the cities and only having to go from osaka to kyoto then from kyoto to tokyo and then one last train to narita。i just plan on staying in the cities and using the subway so it seems kinda ridiculous to spend almost $400 on a 14 day pass for only three train trips.

[ArmandV]

おはようございます。i just found out my iphone types in ひらがな!!
anyways i was just planning on staying in the cities and only having to go from osaka to kyoto then from kyoto to tokyo and then one last train to narita。i just plan on staying in the cities and using the subway so it seems kinda ridiculous to spend almost $400 on a 14 day pass for only three train trips.

Since you're only going on 3 train trips and staying 12-days, it probably isn't worth the cost of the 7-day Railpass (that's the $230.00 one). If the cost of the trip from Kyoto to Tokyo exceeds the cost of a 7-day Railpass, maybe you'll save some money. I must've done a grand's worth of train travel last April (11-day trip) and the Railpass saved me plenty.