Japan Rail Pass - do I really need it?

I am thinking of buying a JR Pass, but assumed that it covered the subway, but now I%26#39;m not sure it does. If I am not traveling out of Tokyo, do I need a rail pass? Can I just take the subway around Tokyo and, if so, is there a similar pass for the subway? If I purchase JR Pass and it does not include subway, would the trains covered by the pass be sufficient to get me around Tokyo? Sorry for all of the questions, but I was just getting ready to fax order for JR Pass, but now I%26#39;m not sure that I need it! Thanks so much for any information you may have.

Japan Rail Pass - do I really need it?

You really don%26#39;t need a JR pass if you are not travelling out of Tokyo. It would be an enormous waste of money and does not, in any case, cover the subway. You can either buy individual tickets or get a Suica card, which you can buy when you arrive.

Japan Rail Pass - do I really need it?

You%26#39;ll lose a lot of money buying a JR Pass. Just get a prepaid card, such as Suica or Pasmo:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_002.html

Suica and Pasmo cover all transportations (except water bus) in the greater Tokyo area. It%26#39;s very convenient to have one.

If we travel to Hiroshima and back, would you recommend getting the JR Pass to get there and back, then using JR Pass around Tokyo upon our return? Our other option would be to buy round trip Nozomi for about the same money as the rail pass, then travel the subway around Tokyo.

Maybe the question I should have asked at the beginning is: Is the Japan Rail system sufficient to travel around Tokyo or is the subway the best way to go? Thank you!!!

If you%26#39;re going to make a round trip to Hiroshima from Tokyo, the JR Pass is well worth it (37,100 yen Nozomi reserved seat vs. 28,300 yen JR Pass.) Please note that you cannot ride Nozomi trains with a pass and have to make a transfer most likely at Shin-osaka when you go to Hiroshima.

Tokyo is vast. Some areas, such as Asakusa and Roppongi don%26#39;t have JR access. The JR Lines in Tokyo take you to most places but taking subways is sometimes unavoidable. The good new is subway fare is cheap--starts at 190 yen and goes higher depending on how far you go.

Shibuyakko is correct, as usual, that the JR Pass is a money saver if you do a roundtrip Tokyo/Hiroshima. The only thing I want to add is you need to finish this roundtrip in 7 days if you are using a 7-day pass (28,300 Yen). If you are buying a 14-day pass, you need to plan a few more rides to get the return.

JR Pass is not valid on any subways in any city. It is also not valid on trains run by other companies (Odakyu for Hakone, Tobu for Nikko, Nankai around Kansai, etc).

For train fares calculation, go to http://www.hyperdia.com. Add up the single tickets value and compare to the cost of the pass. Again, plan your itinerary properly to ensure the long trips are done within the validity period of the pass.

Do you know if train stations are generally near subway stations? I%26#39;m thinking we may go ahead and buy JR Pass and use subways as needed, but I hate to think that we will use lots of valuable time walking from train stations to subway stations on a regular basis. We only have a few days so I want to see as much as we can! Any suggestions on sights that we must see in our short time there? What would I do without Trip Advisor? I am learning so much and really appreciate you all taking the time to help me out.

The distances between train stations and subway stations cannot be generalized. Some stations are right next to each other and you don%26#39;t even have to walk outside; others might be connected via walkways that take you 5 minutes to get to; still others, you have to walk out into the street for a connection.

The general rule is to avoid a train to subway transfer if possible. The tickets will cost more and it might take more time to get to your destination. For example, if you go to Ginza, there are different lines of subway that go there. However, both JR Shimbashi and JR Yurakucho stations are within waling distance of Ginza as well. Therefore, depending on your starting point, you don%26#39;t necessarily need to take the subway to Ginza station itself since going to Shimbashi or Yurakucho will put you at different areas of Ginza anyway.