JR East Kanto Area Pass. Perfect choice for tourist who want to go to Fuji, Izu, Nikko from Tokyo.

kawaguchiko fujiRail pass for visitors
Kawaguchiko (Lake Kawaguchi) can be accessed bvy this pass ©Akira Okada/©JNTO
Kawaguchiko (Lake Kawaguchi) can be accessed bvy this pass ©Akira Okada/©JNTO

Kawaguchiko (Lake Kawaguchi) can be accessed bvy this pass ©Akira Okada/©JNTO

Are you going to stay in Tokyo for several days? Do you have any plans to go outside of Tokyo, like Mt. Fuji, Izu peninsula, or Nikko when you stay in Tokyo? If so, this newest rail pass, Kanto Area Pass should be suitable for you!
This brand new pass has been started to sell from JR East in December, 2011. The price is only 8,000 yen for unlimited train trip in 3 consecutive days. I will show where you can go by this pass and compare this Kanto Area Pass, JR Pass and JR East Pass.

*As of December 1, 2015, Kanto Area Pass will be sold as Tokyo Wide Pass. Price, coverage and valid trains will be changed. Please find the detailed information of newer version, Tokyo Wide Pass at the post, Tokyo Wide Pass is newer version of Kanto Area Pass. Nikko, Fuji, Gala Yuzawa and Odaiba are covered by this pass.

Area

This pass cover all JR lines in Kanto area, such as Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Yamanashi, Gumma, Ibaragi and Tochigi. And the pass also cover some places in Shizuoka and Nagano prefectures, such as Izu peninsula and Karuizawa. Please check this map to see the details.

I compare Kanto Area Pass, JR East Pass, and Japan Rail Pass. Please see the table below.

AreaKanto Area PassJR East PassJapan Rail Pass
TokyoYYY
YokohamaYYY
NikkoYYY
KamakuraYYY
Kawaguchiko (Mt. Fuji)YNN
Atami (Izu peninsula)YYY
Shimoda (Izu peninsula)YYN
SendaiNYY
NiigataNYY
NaganoNYY
HokkaidoNNY
KyotoNNY
OsakaNNY
HiroshimaNNY
KyushuNNY

The Kanto Are Pass is only pass that cover Kawaguchiko in Mt. Fuji. This is the biggest advantage of this pass.

Prices and valid period

Kanto Area Pass is sold at 8,300 yen for adult and 4,200 yen for child (6-12yrs). The pass is valid for 3 consecutive days. So this pass is obviously for the tourist who stay for the short time or using this pass with other long term passes, such as Japan Rail Pass.

ex) Stay in Japan for 10 days:
Spend first (or last) 3 days in Tokyo. Use 7 days Japan Rail Pass for travelling in all Japan, such as Hokkaido, Kyoto, Kyushu. Use this pass to travel to Mt. Fuji, Nikko or Izu when you stay in Tokyo.

Please refer JR East Kanto Area Pass page. It says the round trip to Kawaguchiko in Mt. Fuji from Narita Airport is 14,240 yen. The round trip to Nikko from Haneda airport is 11,800 yen. So if you have multiple travel, like Nikko and Mt. Fuji from Tokyo, this pass gives you a great deal. And this page show you where you can purchase this pass.

Validity

I think this chapter is very important too. You need to know which train you can take by pass before you purchase. I compare Kanto Area Pass, Japan Rail Pass and JR East Pass again.

TrainsKanto Area PassJR East PassJapan Rail Pass
Local trainsYYY
Green classNY (Green pass)Y (Green pass)
Limited expressYYY
Tohoku ShinkansenTokyo-KuroisoYY
Tohoku Shinkansen HayabusaAdd fareAdd fareY
Tohoku Shinkansen Hayabusa Gran classAdd fareAdd fareAdd fare
Joetsu ShinkansenTokyo-Jomo KogenYY
Nagano ShinkansenTokyo-SakudairaYY
Tokaido Shinkansen (Tokyo-Kyoto/Osaka)NNY
Sanyo Shinkansen (Shin Osaka-Hakata)NNY
Kyushu Shinkansen (Shin Osaka-Hakata)NNY
Tokyo Monorail (Haneda-Hamamatsucho)YYY
Izu Kyuko line (Ito-Shimoda)YYN
Tobu line (to Nikko)NYN
Fuji Kyuko line (to Kawaguchiko)YNN
Hokuetsu Kyuko line (Echigo Yuzawa-Naoetsu)NYN

Both Kanto Area Pass and JR East Pass do not cover Tokaido Shinkansen. Even if you want to use this Shinkansen in JR East area, like to Atami, you still need to pay full fare because Tokaido Shinkansen is not operated by JR East but JR Central.
When you go to Nikko, JR East Pass cover limited express train Nikko that is operated between Shinjuku and Nikko directly. But both Japan Rail Pass and Kanto Area Pass do not cover this train. You need to take Tohoku Shinkansen to Utsunomiya and take local train to Nikko.
Refer this post: How to access to Nikko. Learn about how to get Nikko by Japan Rail Pass with no extra charge.
When you go to Kawaguchiko, Kanto Area Pass cover local train only on Fuji Kyuko line. Fuji Kyuko operate some express trains. But you need to pay additional charge to take these trains.

Refer this post: Japan Railways is the best way to access Mt. Fuji? How much can we use Japan Rail Pass to go to Mt. Fuji?

Conclusion

In my opinion, JR East pass is not useful so much. But Kanto Area Pass is very convenient because of great addition, such as Fuji Kyuko and Izu Kyuko.

Comments

  1. Melissa says:

    Hi, I was wondering if you could assist with some information. My family (2 adults and 2 kids) will land at Haneda airport in January and have a 1 night stopover in Tokyo. We will then be travelling and staying at Nozawa Onsen for 11 nights.

    I was interested in purchasing a JR Kanto Pass and then purchasing an add on to get to Nagano station but cannot find any information on any of the JR sites.

    I am not keen to purchase a JR East pass for 4 people as they are expensive and we will still need to purchase another rail pass when we get back to Tokyo anyway considering we will need to start the pass on day 1 and will get back to Tokyo on day 13! Plus all information points to my 12 year old as a child and the child ticket is half the price of the adult ticket.

    Are you able to provide any advice as to how much it would cost to add on a Shinkansen trip from Sakudaira to Nagano or even if we can?

    Thanks so much for your time.

    Kind Regards,

    Melissa

  2. Jess says:

    Hi,

    We’re thinking to visit izu during our visit in Tokyo in February as it’s our third time in japan. We visited mt Fuji, Kyoto and hakone from our previous trip.

    Please c below for our tentative itinerary

    Feb 8 and 9: Tokyo
    Feb 10: visit atami and ito
    Feb 11 and 12: kawazu ( hopefully we’ll c some cherry blossom), shimoda
    Feb 13: Tokyo

    We’ll leave Tokyo in the evening of February 14.

    What do u think my itinerary? What kind of rail pass should we buy?

    Thanks,

    Jess from canada

  3. Nikki says:

    Hi Takeshi,
    I would be spending 10 days in Tokyo and I was thinking of buying the JR Kanto 3 day pass to visit Yokohama city area (to visit ramen museum and chinatown), Yuzawa(Gala) to play snow and to view Fujisan
    My questions are:
    1. For 3 days and for 8000 yen I am able to visit 3 different places from Tokyo, must I pay any additional money to get to the above mentioned places.
    2. Please advise whether Lake Kawaguchiko is a better place to visit than Lake Ashi.
    3. What is the minimun period to reserve the train seat if I would travel on the same day or the next day.
    4. My accomodation would be at Asakusa and if I go to Ueno station, would I be able to take the JR train to all the above mentioned places.
    Since this is my first trip to Tokyo, I am trying to get it the right direstions,my apologies for posting so many questions.
    I eagerly await your kind reply and thanks.

  4. Shre says:

    Hi,
    I am planning to take a JR-Kanto pass for the next 3 days starting tomorrow, which are the best places to visit in these 3 days from tokyo?

    I was planning on Kamakura,Mt Fuji,Nikko. Please advice

    Thanks,
    Shre

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Shre,

      Those three spots are good choices. And also Kusatsu onsen, Karuizawa and Izu are also good to visit.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

  5. Miki says:

    Dear Takeshi-San

    It’s been a while. How are you doing? I am thinking to go to Japan in coming Dec, and I am looking for some answers.

    I have 4 days on my own before I have to reach Osaka on 16 Dec 2013 and join my family. In these 4 days, I want to use JR East Kanto Area Pass and (信州北回廊パス (Shinshu Kitakairo Pass – that offers 2 days of unlimited travel on JR and non-JR trains in northern Nagano Prefecture)

    This is my rough trip plan for the time being. I put two options for each of these 4 days, where Opt1 and Opt2 on each day are linked to respective Opt1 and Opt2.

    Fri, 12 Dec, arrive at Japan. My destination for this day is Niigata.
    Opt1. If I arrive at Haneda, I would take a flight to Niigata and spend a night there.
    Opt2. Otherwise, I am thinking to buy the JR East Kanto Area Pass. If I use this pass, I could go to Nikko during the day, and then then take a night bus from Omiya to Niigata or late afternoon bus from Takasaki to Niigata.

    Sat, 13Dec
    Opt1. Take Niigata Kotsu’s night bus to Nagano.
    Opt2. Spend the night at Niigata

    I have been searching but I still could not find other means of trains or bus from Niigata to enter valid area to use JR East Kanto Area Pass again. I am not familiar the area.

    Sun, 14Dec
    Opt1. To start using Shinshu Kitakairo Pass. I want to use this on Shinano Railways and stop by at Komoro and Ueda station. May be will spend the night on one of the area around Shinano Railways.
    Opt 2. Take Niigata Kotsu’s morning bus to Nagano (I will lose half day and arrive at Nagano only around 12pm). I would go straight to Nozawa Onsen and later go to Yakimochiya to stay there.

    I need to take a bus from Nagano Onsen to Yakimochiya, but I am not sure if the bus is covered under Shinshu Kitakairo Pass. Could I trouble you to see the possibility? Yakimochiya’s address is:
    〒381-3202 長野県長野市中条日下野5286
    026-267-2641

    Also, Takeshi San, do you know about Shinano Railways? I would love to try this local Nagano line. I note they only have a few rapid trains. I check out Shinano’s website but as the English page is not so complete, I could not confirm much. I saw there is one day pass only valid on Shinano Railways for Yen2,000. But I want to confirm if Shinshu Kitakairo Pass is offering better value.

    Sun, 15Dec
    Opt1&2. Explore the area around Yakimochiya. Return to Nagano station around lunch time and go to Zenkoji temple. I would take Nagano Kotsu’s night train to either Nagoya or Osaka to meet my family before we head to Ise.

    It is no hurry, but could I trouble you to glance through the itinenary? Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

    Many thanks in advance.

    Regards,

    Miki

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Miki san,

      I’m very happy to hear from you. 🙂
      I have nothing special. But I have very peaceful life with my family.

      1. Kanto Area Pass
      If you use this pass, your trip to/from Niigata is covered to Jomo-Kogen. Please see the map at the link below:
      http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/kantoareapass/index.html
      You will see Jomo-Kogen at the top of the map. That station is on Joetsu Shinkansen. So you have to pay extra for Jomo-Kogen to/from Niigata. One way fare by Shinkansen is around 6000 yen for one way. So you have to pay 12000 yen on top of Kanto Area pass 8000 yen. It’s almost same amount as JR East Pass at 22,000 yen. If you have JR East Pass, all part of your trip by JR train will be covered by JR East Pass.
      If you take a bus, that’s fine. I’m not very familiar with the bus to Niigata. But it’s more reasonable and realistic. If you really want to take a train, JR East Pass is obviously better choice.
      But Komoda is not covered by JR trains. You have to pay for Shinano Railway.

      2. Shinano Railway
      It’s a local railway company. This train company focus on local community. So as you see, most of trains are local. Please see the following timetable:
      http://www.shinanorailway.co.jp/rail-info/time-table/docs/20130316_time.pdf
      From page 1 to 5 is direction from Nagano to Ueda, Komoro and Karuizawa. Page 6 to 10 is other direction. Even Rapid train is not very fast.
      Ueda -> Nagano 40 minutes by local and 30 minutes by rapid.
      hinshu Kitakairou Pass cover this trip. But -this train is not covered by JR East Pass. You can take Shinkansen to Ueda, but you can’t feel local train atmosphere.

      3. Yakimochiya
      This place is not covered by the pass. You have to pay the fare on the spot.

      So itinerary is okay. But it’s very hard to choose the pass. I think Kanto Area pass does not give you a big benefit as long as you go to Niigata. Bus trip and Kitakairou Pass are better combination.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

      • miki says:

        Hi Takeshi-San

        Thank you very much for your speedy response. I am happy to hear that you and your family are doing great.

        Wow, you are very really good in judging the worth of the option of buying passes, and in such a short time. I would take another look at the destinations, to see if I could make a better use of the JR Kanto Area Pass. It is such a good deal.

        Thank you for the Shinano Railway’s time table link. I will buy the Shinshu Kitakairou Pass so I could try the Shinano Railways. Btw, I saw in Shinano Railway’s website – the Shinano Railways covers from Komoro to Nagano. But if I use Shinshu Kitakairou Pass, I could only use partial of the Shinano Railway: from Ueda to Nagano. Is this correct? Also, I could not find the information about this pass in Shinano Railway’s website. Do I have to buy this pass at JR office?

        Please let me consult you again for trains matter after I consolidate the items.

        Have a great day!

        Regards,

        Miki

        • JPRail says:

          Hi Miki san,

          Shinshu Kitakairo Pass can be purchased at any JR Midori-no-Madoguchi in Nagano.
          http://www.jreast.co.jp/nagano/kairou/main.html

          As you mention, this pass does not cover for Ueda-Komoro. You have to pay extra on top of this pass.

          I don’t know why you want to go to Niigata. But if you can change the place to stay, Kanto Area Pass will be super good deal.

          I have been Ueda in this past March. I stayed in Bessho Onsen, but I did not have enough time to explore in Ueda. I wrote about the trip at the following link:
          https://jprail.com/travel-informations/passengers-review/2013-winter-tohoku-nagano-trip/trip-to-tohoku-and-nagano-in-2013-winter-part-7-from-tokyo-to-bessho-onsen-by-ueda-railway.html

          Cheers,

          Takeshi / JP Rail

          • miki says:

            Hello Takeshi-San

            Thank you for your reply.

            I have no specific reason, but I have been wanting to go to Niigata. It is known for its rice and sake production and of plenty of famous hot springs.

            I would take your suggestion to re-route the trip on the first and second day, so I could well utilize the JR Kanto Area Pass. Hope you don’t mind if I come back again to consult you next week.

            Yes, I saw your note on Bessho Onsen. You wrote your trip very well and make us envy with the super tight schedule trip but yet you managed to go to many many places that you wanted to.

            I am not familiar with Nagano at all, but I want to go to hot spring, one or two that are famous and worth the visit (since I have only 2 days at Nagano). There are not much option in Komoro, so I would plan to stay one night each at Ueda and Nagano.

            Have a great evening!

            Regards,
            Miki

            • JPRail says:

              Hi Miki san,

              If you are okay to skip Niigata, you can go to Kusatsu by JR Kanto Area Pass. Kusatsu is a big name and very popular spot. I think Kawarayu Onsen is more suitable for your taste. It’s on the way to Kusatsu. You can access there by JR Agatsuma line from Takasaki.

              And Minakai is just step away from the border of coverage area of JR Kanto Area Pass. This place is located at the foot of Mt.Tanigawadake and very popular place too. Those places have only Japanese link. But I think you can understand what kind of place these spots are.
              http://www.kawarayu.jp/
              http://www.minakami-onsen.com/

              And I would like to mention one more thing. If you want to go to Komoro, it’s within the coverage area of Kanto Area Pass. You can access to Komoro from Kobuchizawa by Koumi line. This line goes through the highest point in all JR stations. It’s very scenic route.
              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koumi_Line

              If you get this route, you can pay for Shinano raliway, Komoro-Ueda section only. Once you get Ueda, you can purchase Shinano Kitakairou Pass. But it’s very hard to do both Koumi line and Minakami or Kawarayu onsen. In this case, Isawa Onsen in Yamanashi may be considerable. It’s located between Kobuchizawa and Tokyo.
              http://www.isawa-kankou.org/

              I hope it will help you to build your plan.

              Cheers,

              Takeshi / JP Rail

          • miki says:

            Dear Takeshi-San

            Hope you had a good weekend with your family.

            Thank you very much for your kind reply. I did not have much access to internet for past few days as I was away from Singapore. My apologies for the late acknowledgement.

            I took a brief look at those links you mentioned in your reply, and they all look fantastic. I found Kawarayu is very interesting for the historical-traditional looking bath house, while Minakami is a very very tempting options for having Takaragawa and Hoshi Onsen. I have been wanting to go to Takaragawa for very long.

            I wonder if I could fit them all in. I would try to re-build the schedule this week. I would have to find a Japan Eastern map to check out the places so I could determine which route I should plan.

            Thank you, Takeshi-San! You really rock!!

            Regards,

            Miki

          • miki says:

            Dear Takeshi

            Hope you had a great time with your family last weekend. I am sorry that it took me a while to come back to you.

            I have checked out the references you gave and they all are such great places that I would love to go.

            I had used JR Pass a few times and it was truly very convenient. However, in this coming trip, I would like to try using low cost JR Pass and to ride non-JR local trains. During the last trip to Kamakura, you had introduced me to the Enoden train, and that ride on non-JR local community train is a kind of experience. JR is a national company; it’s massive, and I love its extended service and great convenience offered. However, those existing non-JR local community train companies would need support too, in my opinion.

            I tried to re-route the trip and here is what I am contemplating to accomplish in 5D/4N, using JR Kanto Area Pass and Shinshu Kitakairo Pass.

            Day1 – Fri, 12 Dec (JR Kanto Area Pass)

            I wanted to go straight to Kawarayu Onsen once arrive at Japan, but that could only be done if I can arrive at Haneda Airport (flight from SIN to Haneda would arrive at 6AM, compared to flight from SIN to Narita would arrive at 8AM). As Kawarayu Onsen would close earlier in winter, I think it is not wise to plan so until I could confirm my arrival at Haneda. So I would choose to go to Nikko today.
            1. Narita /Haneda Airport to Nikko
            2. Nikko – Takasaki – to explore the area with Joshin Dentetsu Line.
            I saw in the official website that JR Kanto Area Pass covers this line too, where Takasaki is one of the end/start point. The line could be covered in one houre (one way). Not sure which points I would drop off along the line – would check it out later.

            Day2 – Sat, 13 Dec (JR Kanto Area Pass)

            1. Takasaki – Kawarayu Onsen
            2. Kawarayu Onsen – Kobuchizawa

            Day3 – Sun, 14 Dec (JR Kanto Area Pass and Shinshu Kitakairo Pass)

            1. Kobuchizawa – Nobeyama – Saku Daira – Komoro (to try the Koumi Line)
            I could not find much reference about Koumi Line, but some travelers mentioned about this beautiful route. I would stop at Nobeyama as it is said to the be highest station in Japan.

            2. Komoro – Nagano
            To visit Zenkoji Temple

            Day 4 – Mon,15 Dec (Shinshu Kitakairo Pass)

            1. Nagano – Ueda
            To go to Nozawa onsen today.

            PS. Looking at the train route, you would probably ask why I stay at Nagano on the day before and not today, but it is because of the available room at Yakimochiya @ Nagano.

            Day 5 – Tue, 16Dec
            Leaving Nagano to Osaka…
            I am still finding a fast way to reach Osaka, beside using shinkansen. I want to check out Seishun Kippu later and consult you again when it is convenience.

            Takeshi-San, when you have time, could you lend me a hand to check out the revised schedule if they make any sense? I used hyperdia to find out the train schedule and try to estimate the time needed at each check-out points, but I realised that I really have to plant time generously when I use local trains. Thus, although I loved very much to go to Hoshi Onsen, I have to skip Minakami for this time…

            Bye for now.

            Regards,

            Miki

            • JPRail says:

              Hi Miki san,

              I enjoyed long weekend. I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.
              Your itinerary is good. But I have one more fabulous idea. On day 1, I recommend you take Nikko -(bus)- Matou -(Watarase Keikoku Railway)- Kiryu -(JR Ryoumou line)- Takasaki.
              These following links are in Japanese. But I think you will understand and this route is very scenic.

              Nikko-Matou bus timetable
              http://www.city.nikko.lg.jp/seikatsuanzen/guide/seikatsu/bus/documents/9ashiozensen.pdf
              See the table at the bottom on right side. No 50 is JR Nikko station and No 28 is Matou.

              Matou-Kiryu by Watarase Keikoku Railway
              Official site http://www.watetsu.com/
              Timetable http://www.watetsu.com/jikoku_torokko/13031612.pdf (See the bottom table.)
              Brochure http://www.watetsu.com/ensen/image/b.pdf
              I would love to, but I have never taken this railway. I think this railway is way better than Joshin Dentetsu. If you want to take Joshin Dentetsu, you can walk from JR/Watarase’s Kiryu station to Joshin’s Nishi-Kiryu station in 5 minutes.

              You can do…
              13:00 Nikko (bus) 13:44 Matou 13:59 (Watarase) 15:27 Kiryu
              Once you get Kiryu, you can take JR or Joshin whichever you like.

              PS I’m wondering you will go to Nozawa onsen from Ueda on day 5. Is it Bessho onsen? Nozawa onsen is different direction.

              Cheers,

              Takeshi / JP Rail

        • miki says:

          Hello Takeshi-San

          It‘s great to hear that you had a good long weekend.

          Wow, your Nikko-Matou-Kiryu idea is really nice. ^^. Your ideas are always like Christmas presents! Thank you very much Takeshi-San. You are always very nice to me, and supporting us travelers in the way that no one else could do.

          I re-checking the train schedule from airport to Nikko and this is a bit unsettling me. I am contemplating to skip the temple and shrine visit at Nikko if there is not enough time, so I could catch this Watarase train.

          My apologies for the not-so-completed day details at Nagano and Ueda. I am still doing some research but basically in my two days at Nagano and Udea, I want to visit Zenkoji Temple, Bessho Onsen and Nozawa Onsen .

          For Bessho Onsen, it would be nearer to Ueda, so I would visit it when I am at Ueda. I am not sure how long it would take me for a short visit, and I am still checking out which hot spring I should go. Takeshi-San, do you think two hours would be sufficient? I would have to reach Ueda station back before 5pm for hotel pick up.

          For Nozawa onsen, this is more complicated – I checked and found out that I need to take bus from Togarinozawa Onsen train station to reach Nozawa Onsen, so I estimate this would take at least half a day forth and back to Nagano station.

          I would like to consult with you again when everything is settled. Hope you would not mind I take some of your time again.

          Grateful, as always.

          Miki

          • JPRail says:

            Hi Miki san,

            It takes 30 minutes to get Bessho onsen from Ueda. There are three public bath in Bessho. It takes another 10-15 minutes to get public bath from Bessho Onsen station.
            2 hours will be okay but you got to be hurry.

            Trains do not run very frequently to Togarinozawa onsen station from Nagano. When you make an itinerary, check the timetable for this segment first. I think this line (Iiyama line) is the hardest part to squeeze into your itinerary.

            Cheers,

            Takeshi / JP Rail

          • miki says:

            Hello Takeshi-San

            Thank you for your advice on Bessho Onsen and Nozawa Onsen. Yes, the Togarinozawa part is a bit catchy – I would check on the transportation option thoroughly including the possibility of using bus.

            Due to unexpected circumstances, I would have shorter time before going to Nagano, and I am re-scheduling the usage of JR East Kanto Area Pass.

            I am ready to drop temple and shrine visitation @ Nikko, but I wish to get Kawarayu Onsen and try the Watarase Keikoku Railway’s train on the same day. I think the re-scheduling would still have the pass value advantage but not so easy on the time factor. I run through the trains and buses schedule, and it looks not so great; rather on the extreme tight side. I am mulling over these following options, and here I picked up two that I could come up best. I am sorry for the trouble, but if I could borrow your expertise in evaluating them….

            Say I could reach Haneda airport by 6am, clear immigration and collect luggage by 8am.

            Option 1
            1A. Haneda to Kawarayu Onsen- dep 8:23 or 8:34 arv 12:24 (via Shinagawa – Tokyo – Takasaki)
            I take note that JR East TSC @ Haneda Int’l Airport opens 11:00 onward, so I taking Keikyu Airport Exp. from Haneda to Shinagawa to purchase pass there after 9am.

            1B. Kawarayu Onsen to Kiryu – dep14:17 arv 16:32

            1C. Kiryu to Mato – dep16:50 arv 18:19

            If I take this option1, I would stay overnight at Takasaki even only be able to reach there at 21:01) as I could continue easily to Kobuchizawa on the next day.

            Question:
            If I do this option1, I would be taking Watarase but at the opposite direction from your suggestion. Does Watarase run at different side of the valley for Mato – Kiryu and Kiryu – Mato? Also, would that be rather dark when I took the route Kiryu to Mato dep 16:50? There is an earlier train from Kiryu to Mato dep 15:00 but I could not make it in time due to the train schedule from Kawarayu Onsen to Kiryu.

            Option 2
            1A. Haneda to Kiryu – dep between 08:00 – 08:55 arv either 11:44 or 11:55
            Would purchase pass @ Shinagawa or Tokyo. Takeshi-San, do you think Shinagawa Eki is a better place to buy pass? I have never step into Shinagawa and I wonder if it is less complicated than Tokyo Eki. If there is no long queue, I suppose to be able to get the pass and tickets in 10 -15 minutes.

            1B. Kiryu to Mato – dep 12:00 arv 13:35

            1C. Mato to Kawarayu Onsen – dep 13:59 arv 17:33

            Question:
            Would you think this Option2 is not worth to try? Kawarayu Onsen’s website indicate closing at 18:00 hours, so I may have no time to try the bath….If I could carry this option, I would also head back to Takasaki for overnight stay.

            Note. I checked it is not good at all to head from Haneda straight to Mato. I need to use mostly private lines and it does not much time saving too.

            PS. Should I consult you over the Nagano part at Forum or other Pass section? I f yes, I would do so after I complete the schedule build-up for Nagano 2-Day.

            Have a great Friday!

            Regards,

            miki

            • JPRail says:

              Hi Miki san

              I checked timetable again. But I think you can’t be satisfied if you do both in same day.
              As you thought, if you take Option A, it will be dark when you take Watarase train. If you take Option B, it will not be in time to get Kawarayu.

              If you want to do local train and onsen in one day, Kawarayu Onsen is not a good choice unfortunately. If you can accept other onsen, it may be work.
              I know you fall in love with Kawarayu. 🙂 Kawarayu is better than the following onsen. But this is only choice that I can give you.
              http://www.spa-sachinoyu.jp/

              This onsen is located in front of Onokami-Onsen station. It’s on Agatsuma line and on the way to Kawarayu. But it’s closer to Takasaki and open until 21:00.

              So if you arrive early and go through custom and immigration quickly, you may be able to get earlier train of Watarase. In case of this, you may be able to get Kawarayu. Tokyo station is open at 7:30 and can purchase the pass there. Shinagawa is smaller than Tokyo and easy to find direction. Prepare two itinerary, original one and earlier one. I don’t think it will take two hours to get off Haneda.

              Let’s see your itinerary of Nagano portion next!

              Cheers,

              Takeshi / JP Rail

          • miki says:

            Dear Takeshi-San

            I am terribly sorry for replying late to you. I didn’t know I would need much more time to plan the 2-Day Nagano part, as some transportation details are only available in Japanese (I don’t read well and I read ve…ry slow).

            I will do as you suggest: to prepare two itineraries for Day One using the JR East Kanto Area Pass. Thank you, Takeshi-San, for checking the schedule again for me.

            And there is something I want to tell you: your write-up about Haneda Airport is really, really good. I had only use Haneda Airport, once, for domestic flight transfer, so I do not know about reaching Tokyo from Haneda. When I was looking for Haneda to Tokyo’s transportation information, I chanced upon your write-up and it is very helpful. Your write-up has the very details information and of course very good pictures, which enables me to visualize the transfer to Keikyu or Monorail. I believe many of the travelers are too, greatly impressed by your work. Now, the only part I am not so sure if about how much time would be needed to get the pass at Tokyo, as it is mentioned that we could only purchase it at JR East Travel Service Centre @ Marunouchi North Entrance @ Tokyo Station. I would check it out later.

            About the Kawarayu Onsen, I did not know about this place until you told me about it. Even I have not been there, I fall for it the moment I open the website and saw the pictures. I like it very much ^^. You are right. I love it. I feel very excited to plan for going to Kawarayu, especially after I read some travellers’ stories saying that the place would be gone in some years to come. Takeshi-San, you really hit the bull’s eye . And for Sachinoyu, I would keep it for a handy option. It is very nice of you, Takeshi-San, for recommending me great places that I would love to be at.

            I would put the Nagano plan for your advice under the separate column.

            Regards,

            miki

  6. Michael Foo says:

    Hi,

    I will arrive Osaka by flight 730AM and wish to take a train to Tokyo. I will be staying 4 nights in Tokyo, to cover 2days at Mt Fuji and 2 days at Tokyo sightseeing which is also using train to travel. After Tokyo, i will take a flight to Hokkaido and spend 5 nights there by driving. After Hokkaido 5nights, I will fly back to Osaka for 2 nights and enjoy sightseeing at Koyasan & Kyoto to visit Fushimi Inari Shrine by using train as well.

    Can you suggest me a best train pass for this itinerary ?

  7. Han Han says:

    Hi,

    Thanks for your reply in another subject in your site..
    Can you help me bout Kanto Japan East Pass if I want to take Shirakawa go village ?, Can you tell me the nearest city to Takayama or Kanazawa or Johana ? [because in your other threads in https://jprail.com/travel-informations/tips-for-japan-rail-pass/how-to-get-shirakawa-go-%E7%99%BD%E5%B7%9D%E9%83%B7.html%5D

    I’d like to exploit my JP East Kanto Area to go to the nearest city to Shirakawa go

    Thanks

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Han Han,

      The nearest station is Atami.

      But I don’t think it’s a good idea to use Kanto Area Pass for the trip to Takayama from Tokyo. When you get Takayama from Tokyo, you will take Shinaknsen from Tokyo to Nagoya and transfer to the train to Takayama. Kanto Area Pass does not cover Shinkansen that depart from Tokyo to Nagoya. Atami is on the way to Nagoya and it’s one of Shinkansen’s station. So if you use Kanto Area Pass to get Takayama, you have to take limited express odoriko or local train to get Atami, and then you will take Shinkansen to get Nagoya. However most of Shinkansen trains skip Atami station. There are a few Shinkansen trains that make a stop at Atami. Please see the timetable of Shinkansen below.
      http://english.jr-central.co.jp/info/timetable/_pdf/westbound.pdf

      If you use single ticket, you can get direct access to Nagoya by Shinkansen from Tokyo. But if you use Kanto Area Pass, you will waste your time to get slower train to Atami and transfer there.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

  8. May says:

    Hello

    Dose the foreigner who have student visa (long stay visa) can buy JR east kanto area pass?

    Regards

    • JPRail says:

      Hi May,

      Yes. There are no restriction about status. As long as you have foreign passport, you can purchase it.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

  9. carol says:

    hello, i plan to go to izu shimoda to mt fuji but im not sure how does the jr kanto area pass work. if it’s a 3 day pass, i want o spend 1 day in shimoda and 2 days in mt fuji but i do not know how to get there. is the pss ok for me to get there or will theire be additional charges?

  10. Dotte says:

    Hi,

    We plan to go Japan end July and would spend most of our time in Tokyo. We would like to visit Mt. Fuji and will make an overnight trip to Kyoto as well. Is JR pass a good idea?

    With JR pass how can we make our way to lake Shoji (Mt. Fuji/Hakone area)

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