is a 2 week pass worthwhile? travelling solo,tokyo 16-30 march any ideas ,where to go,see,etc,
grateful for any suggestions
a two week pass for what, the train? No.. it's not worth it, single tickets I found are much cheaper, and you can buy them on the spot. you should get a travel book on Tokyo or Japan and read that. And in two weeks, you can see most of all the honshu district. (Tokyo, yokohama, kamakura, nikko, Mt. fuji - fujiyoshida or kawaguchiko - you're also going during a good time to actually see mt. fuji, and you can hike it if you want, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara) That's a pretty good intro to Japan trip.
in tokyo .. i would highly highly recommend Odaibai. It is a small island off tokyo bay. tokyo tower, but at night just before 9 or 10 .. on the weekends in the summer there are fireworks over the city and its much less people. Akihabara - is the electronic district and also flooded with anime geeks and shops. Shibuya - shopping district. Roppongi - club district @ night. Harajuku has the mejii shrine, and on sundays is filled with lolitas and harajuku weirdo kiddos.
Yokohama - largest chinatown in Japan, and ramen museum. this could be a day trip from tokyo .. but i highly highly recommend the ramen museum. you eat there, it's fantastic! find a long line and get in it. that is a sure sign the food is good.
Kamakura - also a day trip or short overnight, has onsens (hot spings) and is great to see old temples. old world Japan.
Nikko is north of Tokyo - that is more rural and offers natural hot spings (although you can find onsens nearly everywhere). and ryokans - japanese style inns that offer you food, and more than likely have onsens. btw .. I highly recommend a trip to an onsen.
Mt. Fuji - the actual mountain not the city, the city is not anywhere near the mountain. and need i say more. the weather is amazing for hiking and such. there is also a large amusement park. although nearly every city has an amusement park.
Kyoto has excellent history to it as it was once the capital. The ryoan-ji temple is there and worth paying a visit to, also the gold temple. TONS of history, great place to buy anything as it is less than the larger cities. the city works on buses, not a metro so you can still see a lot without seeing it.
Osaka .. best hands down place to eat is dontombori!! Cuidore!!! bascially bankrupt yourself by eating, and take a picture with the cuidore clown. you will be a true japanese tourist!! try takoyaki and oknomoyaki!!! fried octopus balls - you can get them everywhere. AMAZING!! okonomoyaki means everything grilled. it is a japanese equivalent to a pizza. its FANTASTIC. of course there is everything from fried rice, ramen, to hamburgers.
Nara has either the oldest wooden temple or the tallest temple in Japan, I forget, but you should go for the deer. They are seen as messengers from god, and run free. You can buy deer cookies and feed them .. they are harmless, but sometimes will start at your pants or shopping bag looking for food.
also.. you can take the bullet train to get around QUICKLY .. it is pricy though, about $100-150 from osaka to tokyo.
thanks for your reply.i forgot to mention that i would like to visit Hiroshima for a day on the bullet train and would a 7 day pass be a wise option as i've read that this would be an expensive daytrip if i purchased the tickets on the day.
it's going to be expensive with or with out the pass. The price of the bullet train is based on the distance you travel in kilometers.
I am just about to go to Japan myself and found it was worth getting a 7 day rail pass in my case.
I plan to go Tokyo - Kyoto - Nagoya - Tokyo and found the individual trips added up to roughly the same price as the rail pass. Plus I may also go to Nara from Kyoto and any other little train trips on the JR network eg within Tokyo are included in the pass.
If you are doing a significant amount of travelling around Japan a JR pass is definitely worth it, and as theozed said, you can use it to get around Tokyo too (but not on the subway). I spent 2 weeks in Japan and my route was Tokyo - Kyoto - Fukuoka - Tokyo, with side trips to Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Beppu from Fukuoka. I worked out that if I hadn't had the JR pass I would have spent around double the price of the pass on train fares.
If you do get one, it must be purchased before you enter Japan and validated before your first journey; I got this done at Narita airport when I arrived.
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