I have a question about the JR Pass. Forgive me if it’s been asked before. I plan on traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto and back on the Hikari Shinkansen. Will I need a separate ticket for that trip if I buy the JR Pass? I’m a bit confused by some of the things I’ve read. Thanks in advance.
Hi Rebecca,
You do not need a separate ticket. However, if you want reserved seats, you will need to take your JR Pass to a ticket office and ask for seat reservations - they will give you little blue ticket cards with your seat numbers. There is no extra charge for this. If you do not reserve seats, you will have to risk unreserved seating, which can fill up.
Hope that helps. Have a great trip!
A JR pass for the Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo is not worthwhile.Purchase Shinkansen ticket in advance instead after you reach Tokyo. JR Tokai has good package for foreigners.
Best.
Dhiraj
A JR pass is worthwhile even for one cross-country trip, because you not only can use it to travel to Kyoto, you can use it to travel JR inside Kyoto as well as Tokyo. Of course, if you take a subway or other train line, you have to pay; but JR can take you to most of the main areas. Also, there are day passes for the subways - you can buy a day trip ticket more cheaply than individual tickets. Check the websites, e.g., Tokyo Metro, Toei, Keikyu etc. to find info on those. 