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Originally Posted by driveway
Just spent last week in Tokyo. Oh my god it was amazing.
Some things to know, if you're buying a Japan Rail pass - very useful for high-speed rail travel and somewhat useful for travel inside Tokyo- you DO NOT need to buy it from Canada. You absolutely CAN buy it within Japan at major stations. I bought a JR East (Nagano/Niigata) pass at the Ueno train station.
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Curious to know, was the option to buy a national pass available? Because you bought a regional pass. Those I was aware you could buy in Japan. It's the National one that seems to have questionable availability within Japan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LGA
Thanks for the advice so far everyone! Tons of great information, and it's definitely helping us plan. Our plan so far is to stay in Tokyo for about a week, then travel to Kyoto for a day or two, and end in Osaka. Part of our plan hinges on us being able to travel by rail to those cities, is this viable?
My wife also loves the idea of staying at a Ryokan now that it's been brought up.
Thanks again CP!
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Yes, very viable.
Use a national JR pass in between the cities. A 7 day pass goes for about 330. 14 day is 520 I believe. Based the days you've planned for Kyoto (I'm guessing your middle city), it at first glance looks like you should be able to get away with a 7 day JR Pass for Tokyo/Kyoto, Kyoto/Nara, Kyoto/Osaka and Suica/Pasmo the other days no problem.
My friend went for 2 and half weeks recently and he said his biggest regret was allocating too much time to Osaka and not enough to Kyoto. He said by the time he hit Osaka, a bit of the stuff was the same, so he and his wife hopped back on the train with their JR pass and went from Osaka back to do a few things in Kyoto.
The thing with "Kyoto" is that there are a few other destinations somewhat connected to that location. Nara and Hiroshima were the two that ate up two days of "Kyoto" for my friend. My wife took those two locations into account to ensure we have around 3 days in Kyoto.
My wife and I decided to pass on Mount Fuji. By most accounts, it's a full day trip. It's a location we felt was worth visiting next time we visit Japan, but not if we do a 10 day trip for Tokyo/Kyoto. Doing so we could add a day to Kyoto.
RE the sale of electronics. I asked around and my buddy told me that there's no restrictions on buy electronics, so that was my mistake. HOWEVER, due to the difference in voltage, the newest electronics are labeled as domestic and some shop owners are hesitant to sell domestic tech to a foreigner as they fear the voltage difference will fry the electronics. Export electronics with no voltage issues are available and recommended often by shop owners instead of the domestic electronics. However, they can be as much as 10 generations behind the domestic electronics.