I'm going to Japan for 2 weeks - is the Japan Rail Pass worth it?

Question:

Hi there,

I'm going to Japan for 2 weeks and am staying in a hotel in Asakusa. I've been looking up rail fares and find the Japan Rail Pass to be extremely expensive for 14 days, and am not sure if it's worth it. I mostly plan to do exploring within Tokyo (Shibuya, Akihabara, Shinjuku, etc.) and I plan to make a one-off trip to Nagano for a tour. Factoring in the trips from Narita Airport to Tokyo and back again, is the pass worth it, or should I look into this Suica card I've heard of instead?

This is a bit overwhelming, so any help would be appreciated.

Answer:

Hello Joey, if you are just going to Nagano then the JR Pass is probably not worth it for you. The JR Pass is good if you plan to do a lot of travelling on the shinkansen. To figure out if a JR Pass would be worth it or not for you, use Hyperdia’s website http://www.hyperdia.com/ to figure out how much your planned trips might cost, and compare it to the cost of a JR Pass.

For exploring in Tokyo, have a look at the one-day JR train pass for 730 yen (about $9). It allows you to visit most of the hotspots in Tokyo which are accessible via the Japan Rail (JR) Yamanote Line.