AboutJohn Expertise I can answer questions dealing with transportation (mainly railroads and subways) in the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Questions such as access to/from both Haneda or Narita Airport, how to purchase tickets, train costs, and general questions about how to use and ride trains in Tokyo.
Experience I have traveled and lived in Tokyo traveling around extensively by train.
Publications I have contributed to www.wikipedia.org, mainly in articles that deal with transportation in Tokyo.
Question Hey there,
I will be travelling to Japan in November with a friend and we are unsure as to whether we will require a 14-day rail pass.
We will be spending 1 week in tokyo and then 1 week in Osaka. In Osaka we are hoping to take day trips to Hiroshima and Kyoto. Should we purchase a 14- day rail pass?
Also, I know its an objective question to ask, but do you think that Hiroshima and Kyoto can be explored from a simple day trip? Or should we spend 2 or more days in each location, and then from that, stay over night at a hostel?
Cheers
Answer Sorry for the late response,
Tokyo can be explored pretty easily and cheaply without a rail pass, so if you opted to save money and get a 7 Day Pass and use it for your trip to Osaka (around Hiroshima and Kyoto and back to Tokyo) all within 7 days, then the 7 day JR pass is more worth it economically. In Tokyo you can use regular tickets or day passes.
As for Kyoto, you can spend years there and not see everything, so it would depend on you as a traveler, but 2-5 days would do it more justice then one day trip. As for Hiroshima, I haven't really spent much time there to get to know it, but again 1-2 days might do it justice, it just depends on the traveler.
