|
Buy your pass late September and you should be good. But not sure about airfare hikes - it’s coming that’s for sure
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 13:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 09:10 |
|
|
At ¥50K I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be able to justify JR Pass going forward unless I know I’m going to take successive Shinkansen trips. I’ve always been on the cusp of where the Pass is break-even, usually bordering on saving me a small amount of money if I factor in taking city trains multiple times a day, but I decided not to do it this year and I don’t think it’ll result in a meaningful increase in my trip cost. I’d have to do a LOT of day trip trains to justify almost doubling the price of the Pass.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 13:07
|
|
|
Wonton posted:Buy your pass late September and you should be good. Ah, yeah ok. I actually read the document and it's not until October, thanks!
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 13:13
|
|
|
Wow. More expensive than a Eurail pass? Nice job JR, right when tourism is supposed to be recovering too. You're right that it was already close to break-even for just Tokyo to/fro Kansai, and this massive increase is highly likely to impact itineraries for cities further afield like Sendai, Fukuoka etc.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 13:30
|
|
|
I hadn't calculated our costs yet and assumed it would be good savings for us. Nothing is set in stone for us but it would be something like: Haneda - Tokyo Tokyo - Nikko - rountrip Tokyo - Fuji - rountrip Tokyo - Kyoto Kyoto - Osaka Osaka - Kobe Kobe - Himeji Himeji - Osaka Osaka - Nara - roundtrip Osaka - Tokyo Tokyo - Haneda This is very close to not being worth a 14-day pass currently, let alone after the increase.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 13:38
|
|
|
Yeah it's basically useless even at the current price. There was one time a regional pass was usable for me, but even then it saved me literally $20. It ended up being more annoying than it was worth. There's that bus pass that lets you ride intercity buses for five nonconsecutive days, if the JR pass were like that it'd be handy. But with the timing being so restricted it's real hard to find a situation where it's worth buying.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 13:59
|
|
|
I wonder how many just assume it's worth it and don't actually calculate the alternative. I also wonder if there are any convenience/flexibility factors to consider.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 15:42
|
|
|
Kaddish posted:I wonder how many just assume it's worth it and don't actually calculate the alternative. I also wonder if there are any convenience/flexibility factors to consider. Are similar rail passes cheaper if you're not coming from Amerikka?
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 16:20
|
|
|
JR pass is definitely breaks even and you come out a little more, when you go from Tokyo to himeji and back within 7 days. If within 7 days you managed to go to Nagoya , Osaka himeji, and Kyoto then you are in the clear. The super pro move would be flying open jaw into Tokyo, hang out for a few days or a week, then make your way to Hiroshima for 2 days go to takamatsu for 2 days, then finish up in himeji/Okayama and a day trip in Nagoya and flying home in Osaka. The train pass right now is even worth it for the basic golden loop, it’s great. The real circuit breaker is going Tokyo hakone Osaka/kyoto and back or god forbid Tokyo to kawaguichiko and taking that 3 hour bus to Mishima and to kyoto and back. TLDR, take the train pass Tokyo to himeji and back. Go to kawaguchiko from shinjuku as another leg. Or just skip kawaguchiko and go to other cooler places in Japan like Takamatsu for udon, ehime for people , art islands etc.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 19:12
|
|
|
I spent way too much time poo poo posting and wasting time in this Japan travel discord and man the people can be insanely detailed planners or super turbo nerds who buy merch or love different food that’s not just loving ichiran.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 19:13
|
|
|
It just seems like a pure money grab. They're even planning on scrapping the ability to buy the passes offline. Sure you'll be able to ride Nozomi and Mizuho but even that incurs some kind of extra fee. They could at least newly allow the days to be non-consecutive or something, like Eurail.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 21:56
|
|
|
Eurail Italy pass owns, but unfortunately I have to pay for a seat booking for high speed rail and seats are limited, still quite convenient. It’s more of a peace of mind that your average ride will cost X euros. I mean I can go regular regional trains and double/triple my travel time but nope it’s nice to take a large day trip from Milan to Florence like Tokyo to sendai/Nagoya
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2023 22:09
|
|
|
The NEXCO passes, on the other hand, are a great deal.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2023 19:27
|
|
|
AHH F/UGH posted:Now I'm Paging AHH F/UGH to the home ownership thread we want to hear an update on how your remodel is going
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2023 20:35
|
|
|
Hadlock posted:Paging AHH F/UGH to the home ownership thread we want to hear an update on how your remodel is going Didn't I post it? We finished and moved in about a year ago and it went great, overall. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=1&threadid=3774735&pagenumber=547&perpage=40#post531206930
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2023 23:07
|
|
|
Oh yeah thanks for the credit card breakdown
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2023 03:24
|
|
|
I guess I’m officially off the JR-Pass train, pun somewhat intended. Booked my Shinkansen with SmartEx just to be safe and make sure I can reserve a seat by a larger baggage area. Same day would probably not have been a problem, but I absolutely want to get to Osaka just in time for my hotel check-in, AND it’s the last Sunday of golden week (?) so I figured this would be a good safety net. I’ll probably still be super jet lagged so anything I can do to reduce the margin of error is … good. I’m quite pleased with how much I can do in English in 2023 on the same apps I struggled with in 2019. Last time was basically me signing up for a Japanese Apple account just to download apps that I had to hold up to my iPad so I could Google Translate each screen.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2023 01:13
|
|
|
Yeah the English support is a lot better everywhere now. And all the Japanese websites I had to interact with this trip just... worked properly? No weird poo poo? It was bizarre but welcome.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2023 02:04
|
|
|
...Olympics
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2023 03:10
|
|
|
Heading over to Japan later in Spring. Have booked several days in Tokyo then planning on heading out further afield, out to Hakone for a day then Kyoto for 2-3 days and then... well i'm not so sure and I could use a few suggestions for 5-6 days. I've been to Japan before and mostly spent my time in the Kansai area, and while it was a while ago, there's a lot of typical sights that I feel I've already seen and which I don't think I likely need to revisit. For example Himeji, Nara and Hiroshima. I'm interested in gardening, video games, history and modern art. A friend of mine suggested Naoshima, which she liked. It does look cool, I like contemporary art, though I wonder if there would be enough there to hold my interest. I could also stop at Okayama on the way and go to the castle and korakuen garden. Glancing at the lists of castles, gardens and art, another town with some of that would be Matsumoto, which has an original castle and a contemporary art museum. Maybe that would be a different alternative, possibly better in that it's a bit less remote than Naoshima and with less logistical effort in visiting? (would be travelling by train) I dunno! Thoughts? Other ideas? In any case it also seems like some sort of visit to Osaka and Den Den town would be a good idea considering that Akihabara is apparently a shadow of its former self. I heard there's also a Super Potato in Nagoya too though seems like it would have to be remarkably better stocked with better prices for a special stop at Nagoya to be worth it. I suppose there is a castle at Nagoya but in general the vibe I've been getting is that the town is not a real tourism draw.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2023 06:46
|
|
|
Femtosecond posted:Glancing at the lists of castles, gardens and art, another town with some of that would be Matsumoto, which has an original castle and a contemporary art museum. Maybe that would be a different alternative, possibly better in that it's a bit less remote than Naoshima and with less logistical effort in visiting? (would be travelling by train) Kanazawa is another possibility, the castle itself isn’t a huge draw but the old town (including the cool samurai district) has stayed mostly original and Kenrokuen is really awesome and recommended. And has a big art museum too. It’s also (fairly) easy to get to given bullet train access.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2023 07:28
|
|
|
harperdc posted:Kanazawa is another possibility, the castle itself isn’t a huge draw but the old town (including the cool samurai district) has stayed mostly original and Kenrokuen is really awesome and recommended. And has a big art museum too. It’s also (fairly) easy to get to given bullet train access. And 21 Century Art Museum.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2023 08:14
|
|
|
Femtosecond posted:Heading over to Japan later in Spring. Have booked several days in Tokyo then planning on heading out further afield, out to Hakone for a day then Kyoto for 2-3 days and then... well i'm not so sure and I could use a few suggestions for 5-6 days. Funny, I have the same Japan travel experience as you and more or less similar interests (though replace "gardening" with "outdoors" and "video games" with "food") and have been similarly perplexed as to what to do, with a similar amount of time. Matsumoto was also the top "other destination in the area" on my list, although we're going in July and the absolute dumpster fire weather there in July is making me/us seriously reconsider. If we were going in a month I'd be all in on Matsumoto, not just for the city but also the neat valleys in the area, especially Kiso valley and Takayama and its surrounding area. Naoshima looked cool to me but also cool for like... a day and a half.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2023 10:25
|
|
|
Waltzing Along posted:...Olympics Honestly forgot these even happened, but that’s as good a reason as any for improvement.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2023 12:08
|
|
|
Matsumoto is a lovely chill place and my favorite small/medium size town in Japan. Maybe rivaled by Onomichi. But anyway even if you have zero plans just go there and wander aimlessly, it's great.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2023 12:47
|
|
|
harperdc posted:Kanazawa is another possibility, the castle itself isn’t a huge draw but the old town (including the cool samurai district) has stayed mostly original and Kenrokuen is really awesome and recommended. And has a big art museum too. It’s also (fairly) easy to get to given bullet train access. Ah yeah! Using my method of making a grid of like Top Gardens on one side and Top Castles on the other side that town also popped up near the top. Also a good idea.. Saladman posted:Funny, I have the same Japan travel experience as you and more or less similar interests (though replace "gardening" with "outdoors" and "video games" with "food") and have been similarly perplexed as to what to do, with a similar amount of time. Matsumoto was also the top "other destination in the area" on my list, although we're going in July and the absolute dumpster fire weather there in July is making me/us seriously reconsider. If we were going in a month I'd be all in on Matsumoto, not just for the city but also the neat valleys in the area, especially Kiso valley and Takayama and its surrounding area. Yea Naoshima does seem cool for about that amount of time. I'm fine enough to do that sort of thing and wander, but downside is the fair amount of logistical effort and ferries in order to do that. Would probably feel right at home considering holidays around where I live in Vancouver often involve long ferry rides purely to like go to an island and go to a cidery and buy some goat cheese lol. Outdoors is also a big interest of mine and I feel I could definitely build an entire trip out of just going to places to do day and overnight hikes, and I'd very much like to do this at some point. It won't be this trip though, unless one of these towns has a very accessible easy mode hike near town that is doable in like new balance sneakers. (I will keep my eye out for this..)
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2023 17:34
|
|
|
New Balance are the best and a very good choice.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2023 23:50
|
|
|
Watched a YouTube where someone suggested the new JR pass will discourage tourists from doing side trips and concentrate tourists into places like Kyoto and Tokyo even more, exacerbating the already overcrowding issue. (mainly a problem in Kyoto I gather) This absolutely tracks with our planning with the JR Pass in mind.
|
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2023 14:31
|
|
|
Kaddish posted:Watched a YouTube where someone suggested the new JR pass will discourage tourists from doing side trips and concentrate tourists into places like Kyoto and Tokyo even more, exacerbating the already overcrowding issue. (mainly a problem in Kyoto I gather) Being only available in increments of 7 days was the only real factor for our travel planning, basically forcing us back onto a shinkansen to Tokyo. Its not really a big splurge to us to go out of pocket on buses and rails not covered by the pass while in Osaka and Kyoto and our sidetrips from those cities. A majority of the sights we are going to be seeing are based in Kyoto and it would have cheaper to stay there and save 20-some odd minutes there and then back after each day, but we opted to stay in Osaka since theres more things to do at night. However if it does do that perhaps that would make some of the locals happier if it stops overcrowding in those sidetrip areas?
|
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2023 15:05
|
|
|
Blackchamber posted:However if it does do that perhaps that would make some of the locals happier if it stops overcrowding in those sidetrip areas? Is there any part of Japan where overcrowding from foreign tourists is an actual honest to god issue, besides Tsukiji market where they used to get in the way? I've been all over Tokyo and the Kyoto area, admittedly only over 2 trips totaling 3 weeks total, but in the hugely touristy spots like Kinkakuji, Japanese tourists were 90% of the people there. I just looked at my photos of Nara and Kyoto and visibilty-not-Japanese tourists are a small minority of people in frame.
|
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2023 15:18
|
|
|
Going to any of the tourist sites in Kyoto is a nightmare because of the crowds. I've never seen half of them and probably never will since I'm not going to wait in line for three hours for anything.
|
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2023 15:37
|
|
|
Tokyo types coming down to Kyoto or whatever are still out of towners in the locals minds I imagine. In every city I ever lived locals complained about tourists and most were from that country.
|
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2023 15:40
|
|
|
Pictures aren't going to tell you anything either since the vast majority of foreign tourists in Japan are Korean, Chinese, or Taiwanese.
|
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2023 15:40
|
|
|
But I can tell where they're from just by looking at them 
|
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2023 15:54
|
|
|
GF are you still on vacation two months later
|
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2023 17:35
|
|
|
Toxic Mental posted:GF are you still on vacation two months later Indeed I am. Though I'm getting on the plane home in a few hours. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2023 02:51
|
|
|
Kyoto buses have a huge overcrowding problem because tourists use them to get around. Makes it harder for the locals. I know for me it was a hassle commuting because a popular tourism spot was on my route when I was living in Kyoto.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2023 06:43
|
|
|
I have been that Kyoto tourist and it was a mess 15-20 years ago. Surely it is even worse now (pre-covid). Golden week flights to/from Shikoku are actually "waiting list" completely full this year. It's going to be chaos.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2023 07:50
|
|
|
Last time I was in Kyoto and Nara was 17 years ago, and it did seem busy but not like crazy. Kiyomizu-dera I think I recall being the most busy. I remember there being what seemed to me to be lots of obvious school groups. Groups of school girls with deer antlers on taking photos of themselves with deer in Nara. I was planning on staying two nights in Kyoto. I'm no great big fan of crowds, and so I was sort of hoping I could enjoy myself by focusing on some of the gardens and temples that aren't on the top, top of the typical tourist lists but rather a bit lower of a priority. Maybe that'll help. Maybe it won't. I guess I'll see.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2023 08:15
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 09:10 |
|
|
The solution they've come up with is to get rid of the one day pass.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2023 08:54
|
|
