Question about Japan Bullet train pass

[RanRane]

If you don't live In japan you can get a travllers Japan Bullet Rail pass for around 250 pound for 3 weeks and you can travel to anywhere (almost) in Japan. Now I was wondering, when i go, im going to be spending about half of my time in Tokyo, so would this pass be valid on trains within Tokyo, for an example trying to get from one area to another within Tokyo? Or does the JB pass only work for major areas like from Tokyo to Osaka?

[AJBryant]

A *Bullet* Rail pass, if there is such a thing, would be useless in Tokyo.

A JR Rail Pass (which is what I *think* you're talking about) is useful *everywhere*, but only on JR lines (many subway and train lines in Tokyo are private, however).


Tony

[keatonatron]

The rail pass Tony mentioned is also good on most bullet trains, which could make the deal right there: a one-way ticket to Osaka is around 13,000 yen (54 GBP). Add in a return trip, and any other cities you may want to visit, and even if you travel outside of Tokyo for only 1 week the pass can quickly pay for itself.

Here's a PDF map of all the stations in the Tokyo area that use JR (for sightseeing, I'd think JR is all you'd need):

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/info/map_a4ol.pdf

[Rounin T]

keatonatron wrote:
The rail pass Tony mentioned is also good on most bullet trains

How exactly does that work? I thought there was only one 新幹線. Does each train have its own policy for rail passes?

[chikara]

Read all about it on the Japan Rail Pass website. I have a 14 day JR Pass for my trip to Japan in March.

[Harisenbon]

Rounin T wrote:

keatonatron wrote:
The rail pass Tony mentioned is also good on most bullet trains

How exactly does that work? I thought there was only one 新幹線. Does each train have its own policy for rail passes?

There are multiple shinkansen lines, as well as multiple types of trains within each line. There are three types of trains: kodama (all stops), hikari (rapid), nozomi (super-rapid). You cannot use the JR Railpass on the Nozomi. Addditionally, you can only use the Green Cars of the shinkansen if you get a Green Rail Pass.

[hiraikotsu]

i was browsing the JR website n came across this page for tourists:

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/index.html

so if i wanna travel within tokyo, i should go for either the Tokunai pass or the Tokyo Furii Kippu right?

To travel out of tokyo, is the seishun 18 a good option? It seems alot cheaper than the JR East pass: http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/eastpass/prices.html


I'm thinking of spending abt 2 to 3 weeks in Japan sometime in august this year(other than tokyo and kyoto, i haven't really decided on which other cities to go yet...)