News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Japan to reopen to independent travelers and lift daily a... by DoingIsLearning on Friday September 23, 2022 @04:09AM (#32949224)
> Get a Japan Rail pass

I am going next month, the Japan Rail pass sounds like a big saving, can I also use Shinkansen trains with the Rail Pass? Specifically the Tokyo to Kyoto route (JR central)?

Re:Japan to reopen to independent travelers and lift daily a... by midoridensha on Friday September 23, 2022 @06:19AM (#32949996)
Look carefully at it; probably you won't be able to use the fastest trains with the JR pass.

Also, if you're just going to Kyoto from Tokyo, it really is not worth it to get the pass. Just buy regular tickets. The pass is useful if you're doing a lot of train travel in a short time.

Re:Japan to reopen to independent travelers and lift daily a... by rendaw on Friday September 23, 2022 @10:46AM (#32952638)
The not-fastest shinkansen is still pretty fast, and plenty of people enjoy the train for the experience.
Re:Japan to reopen to independent travelers and lift daily a... by midoridensha on Sunday September 25, 2022 @08:21PM (#32977940)
That's fine, but if you spend more money to go slower, that's just stupid. The point is that the pass is a really bad deal, or at best, break-even, unless you're traveling a long distance and within a short-ish timespan. Tokyo-Kyoto is not a long distance and isn't worth the pass at all.
Re:Japan to reopen to independent travelers and lift daily a... by whoosh3 on Friday September 23, 2022 @12:32PM (#32954089)
You can use the Kodama (all stops) and the Hikari (limited express) with a JR Pass. You'd have to pay extra for the Nozomi (superexpress).