# HELP! confuse at Travel card selection



## RockStar

Hello everyone!

Me and my mum are expecting to visit Tokyo for 5 days (we both are adult) and will arrive at Narita Airport, our hotel is situated 5 mins walk from JR Shinbashi train station.
I have been told that transportation in Japan can be very expensive so its best to buy discounted tickets in advance especially for foreigners visiting Tokyo, I have also heard there are separate discounted tickets only for foreigners visiting Tokyo but after all this research on different different sites I am still confuse what to buy!!

Our 3-4 days will probably be in Tokyo city where we will visit most of the touristic places. We would prefer to walk, use trains, tubes and buses to go to different locations/attractions in Tokyo, however 1-2 days we might like to go to Fujimino-Shi, Saitama to see our cousin and maybe a day trip to Kyoto to experience bullet trains and the city.

It would be very nice if some one local or expert can help us to decide what is the economical way to cover 5 days with these planes.

Does it save us something if we keep buying one day travel card for Tokyo for the days we decide to be in Tokyo city and if we decide to go out, we buy the tickets same day at the station or its worth buying 7 days Rail card?


Any help would be appreciated.

Umair


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## BBCWatcher

It's not really that expensive, but you could consider getting a 7 day JR Rail Pass for 29,110 yen each. You can use that pass on the shinkansen to Kyoto (except for Nozomi trains), the Yamanote Line, the trip to Saitama, and the JR Narita Express train (though not the Keisei trains). That'd be a good use of the pass with some fare savings. Japan-Guide has the best English write-up on the JR Rail Passes (and other train ticket options) I've seen, so start with that.

The JR ticket office at Narita Airport is open 06:30 to 21:45 daily, so you can pick up your pass then, assuming your flight arrives at a "reasonable" hour. You can then immediately use it on the JR Narita Express (not Keisei) train to Tokyo Station, and that starts your 7 day pass validity (i.e. including the calendar day you use it for the Narita Express). Then you'd take the JR Yamanote Line from Tokyo Station to Shinbashi, two stops, also with your pass. Same thing headed back to the airport: your pass is valid for that airport route (Yamanote, JR Narita Express). And of course for Saitama and the shinkansen to Kyoto (except for Nozomi trains, but that's not a problem -- the Hikari trains are just fine).

You're on the Yamanote Line from Shinbashi, so that'd be your main pass-friendly train around Tokyo. Then you can just buy the odd Metro ticket to supplement your pass, and those tickets are not expensive.


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## larabell

Buying the JR Rail Pass only makes sense if you actually decide to go to Kyoto. If your trip is limited to just Tokyo and a side trip to Saitama, it's unlikely you'll save money over the regular fare -- especially if you're only here for 3 or 4 days. Plus, depending on exactly where you're going in Saitama, it might not even help you there. Fujimino station, for example, is not on a JR line so the JR Rail Pass can't be used to get there (at least not all the way).

There are one-day passes available if you're going to do a lot of running around on a specific day but the pass for JR can't be used on the subways and vice-versa so it would be prudent to figure out all of the places you want to go that day before deciding to buy a one-day pass. But you don't have to buy a one-day pass in advance. You can get it after you arrive once you've planned out the day's adventures.

It all kinda hinges on that Kyoto trip. The bullet train ticket alone would cover the cost of the JR Rail Pass and any other travel on JR would be covered as well. But it's really hard to justify buying one just for the Narita Express (about 6,000 yen both ways) and local travel (which is usually no more than a few hundred yen per trip).


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## BBCWatcher

I absolutely agree. If Kyoto falls off your itinerary, don't buy a JR Rail Pass. The Japan-Guide explanation I linked to makes the same point as well.


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## RockStar

Thank you so much for your wise replies. They are very informative and made me almost clear of what I was confused at. 
OK I understand from both replies that the Tokyo day pass covers only one individual line (whichever we select according to our plans for a day), not like here in London where you buy one day travel pass and you can use it everywhere (tubes, trains and buses) in the city.
If it's like that then which line is widely extended and cover most of the attractions in the city? 
We are not sure about Kyoto but if we decide we will definitely buy JR pass.

Thank you so much for the link I will have a look over it for sure!

Umair


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## BBCWatcher

You don't need to go out of your way to get day or multi-day passes for the Tokyo Metro system, especially since you're going to be at Shinbashi. Metro fares are inexpensive.

That said, there are a couple options that are good values:

1. If you're taking either the "Limousine Bus" or the Keisei Skyliner train from Narita Airport, when you buy either type of ticket you can ask for a Tokyo Metro pass (usually choice of one or two day passes -- take the two day if available) for very little extra money -- roughly 100 to 250 yen per day. That is a very good value and definitely worth grabbing. (Don't use that Metro pass on the first day if you're arriving late and only going to your hotel the first day. Save it for the higher travel days within Tokyo.) But if you're going to Kyoto and thus have a JR Rail Pass, I'd use your Rail Pass starting with the JR Narita Express train instead -- with no add-on Metro passes.

2. Although you can buy single ride Metro tickets, on occasion they can get a little confusing if you're switching lines. (Not impossible, but if you don't know what you're doing, a little confusing. There are two Metro companies, plus the other operating companies for the non-Metro trains.) You can buy what's called a "Suica" card ("Passmo" is another brand, and it works the same way), and that card works everywhere in greater Tokyo. There's a 500 yen deposit on the card, and it comes with another 500 yen of fare value, so the total cost is 1000 yen. You can buy them at Narita Airport when you arrive. The 500 yen I'd say is worth the convenience factor, even if you don't remember to get a full or partial refund back at Narita Airport when you leave. Also remember to "spend down" your fare balance as best you can because it's hard to get a full fare refund when you leave. If your card doesn't let you exit because you don't have enough fare loaded, no problem -- you can "top up" for the exact fare shortage at your destination. (There are cash top-up machines available near the exit gates, and they even take coins for the exact top-up amount. They're also English-friendly.) So don't worry about recharging your card too much. Just charge it up enough such that you'll spend it down for most of your trips, especially your last one.

But really this is all "small potatoes." The big savings will come if you go to Kyoto, and then that JR Rail Pass is a very good deal. Saving 1000 yen or so otherwise isn't a big deal, so don't worry about it too much. The Tokyo Metro is really not that expensive -- as little as 160 yen per ride, with longer distance rides slowly increasing the fare. Not a big deal, really.


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## RockStar

Thank you so much. Your reply is very informative and very clear about the right way to buy passes while in Japan. If I need any more help about passes I will let you know. 

Another question. I heard Internet on mobile phones are very expensive. We have free internet and wifi provided in the hotel but when I'm out I think I might need constant connection just to check certain things. I have checked with my carrier here in UK, the roaming cost to use Internet is terribly expensive. Do you have any idea what is the best way to have Internet on phone while in Japan.
I checked online there are some options to get pocket wifi and the cheapest connection price is 46000. Is it the most cheapest or I have not explored much? 


I'm very great full of your kind help.


Umair


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## larabell

That can't be the monthly connection charge, unless it includes actually purchasing the device. There are companies that rent cell phones in Japan for short trips. There's also at least one offering a WiFi mobile device for $3600/month -- search for "rental wifi japan" in your favorite search engine.

If you have a spare phone sitting around, or if you don't mind swapping your SIM chip when you need to connect to the network, you can get fairly inexpensive data-only SIM chips here. I would expect a data-only SIM to run you around 3000 per month (obviously you'd want one with no contract since the plan would be to just cancel after you leave Japan). I have yet to see a SIM-only deal that includes voice but if you need to make voice calls without paying roaming charges, the rental cell phone would be the way to go, IMHO.

Another option would be to sign up for a WiFi service here. Softbank seems to have a lot of access points all over Tokyo (and probably elsewhere... although I'm not elsewhere often enough to have noticed). I don't see any price on their website so maybe it's a service that they only offer to their subscribers but I know there's at least one hotspot visible almost anywhere I've tried and when I access it, I'm shunted to a page where I can pay a fee for access. I never do so I can't vouch for the quality. Also if it's a one-shot (or even one-day) fee, it might be cheaper to rent a device here.

You might be able to get by just using free access. I believe most Starbucks offer free WiFi. And NTT has a free service for tourists for up to 14 days (search for "japan free wifi tourist"). I've used Starbucks WiFi before and it worked OK. I've never tried the NTT service, as it's only for tourists and apparently you have to show your passport to activate the service.

I'm sure there are many more choices that you should be able to find with a web search or two.


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## RockStar

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. If there are free hot spots available to use then I don't think I need any data sim or wifi device. As long as the hotpots work and I can check my emails time to time I am alright. Thanks for the advice


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## Raffish_Chapish

If you're coming for 5 days the mobile wifi rental is a very good option - you can collect it at the airport when you arrive and connect multiple devices.
It's relatively cheap and having access to Google maps anywhere can be a lifesaver


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## RockStar

Thank you.


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