Now I have a question here.

What's the difference between JR pass, ICOCA & JR-Rail West Pass?

According to my understanding/logic.

JR Pass is to travel whole Japan, ICOCA (Specified area but starts from Kansai Airport?), JR-Rail West Pass (Cheaper than JR Pass because it travels certain region only?).

Please correct me if I were wrong.

i realized you guys only mentioned number of cities to be visited...but no mention of how many days ?

JR pass is valid for the entire country. But you may only ride JR operated lines.
ICOCA/PASMO/SUICA are prepaid cards that allow you to ride all modes of transportation excluding some taxis for particular regions. ICOCA/PiTaPa for Kansai(Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe etc). Suica/PASMO for Kanto(Tokyo/Kanagawa/Saitama etc).
JR West well... it depends which pass you take.. Kansai, Hokuriku or Sanyo.. Otherwise, same as JR pass but on a smaller scale.

Note that there are private lines meaning you cant use JR pass on these. However they allow IC cards for tickets. For example metro lines(subway) that connects major part of Tokyo is not covered by JR Pass since they are operated by private companies.
Alternatively, there are passes sold for certain duration like 72hours Metro Pass for Tokyo(1.5k yen), 1 day Kyoto City Bus etc.

My advice: Get the 72h Metro Pass + Suica/Pasmo for your Tokyo trip.
For Kansai.. somebody else might have a better suggestion since I solely used ICOCA for convenience sake.

One advice if you're using 72hr metro pass though. You'll have to plan all your routes in that 3 days to use metro only to maximize its effectiveness.

For me, i was too lazy to use it as it restricted my schedule and the places i can go consecutively. Plus, where i stayed can't be reached by metro. So anyone who decided to use it will have to do some proper planning.

Since a few years back you can use any of those prepaid cards in most of Japan. This means that if you have SUICA/PASMO you can also use it in Kyoto/Osaka.

Metro pass + Suica/Pasmo for Tokyo and Osaka, Kyoto can just get the bus day pass as Kyoto mostly use bus only. the bus day pass is around 620yen only, so take bus more than 3 times already worth it d. metro pass is optional and usually based on how the itinerary is planned, if only few places needed metro to access then not worth buying the pass d

7 days pass? Does this mean your trip is only 7 days? Then will strongly advice against making a trip to Tokyo and then back. Osaka and Kyoto itself will actually take you more than 7 days to cover. In fact, you can consider nearby side trips such as Nara, Kobe etc which is within the Kansai vicinity.

Basically if you're only thinking of spending 1-2 days in Tokyo, its not worth making the trip because there are so much more to Tokyo than just a side trip. Will suggest not to spend money and time in doing so. Just stay in Kansai area this time and buy a direct ticket to fly to Tokyo next time.

I heard PASMO can only be used within Tokyo; but SUICA can be used in both Tokyo and Osaka + Kyoto.

Meaning PASMO can also be used in Osaka? Or both Kyoto and Osaka? I actually have 2 PASMO coz I thought I lost it during one of my trip, and got another one. Was thinking of exploring Kansai someday and if PASMO is accepted then I don't have to get the SUICA card.

10 Days for me.

Pasmo can be use pretty much entire japan already, i always carry my pasmo with me only be it Kyoto, Osaka, or Tokyo. so far no trouble, din get stuck or anything.

This post has been edited by chinti: Jul 10 2017, 09:46 AM

have u been to japan before? if nope then i strongly suggest u either go tokyo 10 days or kansai area 10 days. by covering two regions u will be quite rush and might not cover everything as well.

Following is the list that I have planned so far.

Following is the list that I have planned so far.


Attached thumbnail(s)

for kyoto two days u can check the itinerary i make, its posted on the first thread 2nd post.

not planning to go disney sea? your 4th day in tokyo is too rush, all those places are pretty far. i suggest moving yokohama to 3rd day, so it will be like this tsukiji in the morning, then head to tokyo station, walk to emperor palace, then head to yokohama.

also which month r u planning to go? i can re-arrange ur itinerary a bit for u based on tht. and do u prefer sightseeing, shopping, or foods trip?

This post has been edited by chinti: Jul 10 2017, 10:00 AM

I'm visiting a friend there. .He recommends me to get the JR pass, but i feel like would be a waste thats why turn to this forums for more alternatives as my this friend always use JR only.

Btw, for the ICOCA IC need to be bought outside Japan like the JR pass or can buy over counter in Japan?

U meant Japan Disney?It isnt in my list as I thought this place is suitable more for families. Hahaha

for the location u going, JR pass is worth it i guess.
ICOCA card can be bought over counter or directly from the ticketing machine.

its fun lol. wat time will u b reaching tokyo? i will roughly draft an itinerary for u as the place u wanna go is quite rush for 4 days.

I have total 11days actually, but then im reserving 10days to travel around there.My current list takes 8days, so I have another 2-3 spare days .

FYI, I will be there during winter season.From what I can imagine in the Disney are those cartoon characters which looks childish to me. LOL

Hello. Will be travelling to Sapporo this mid october. I know hokkaido very big and can't cover all in 10 full days. Any recommendation for places must visit? We will be renting car to drive around..

Depend your landing airport (new chitose? hakodate?) most ppl visit places are (hakodate, lake toya, noboribetsu, sapporo,otaru,asahikawa, sounkyo,furano)

east hokkaido will be like akan lake, abashiri, another 5 lakes state (i cant recall the name)