Rail pass wisdom
Pam and Jacob's inquiry about the economic sense of buying a 7-day Japan Rail Pass (Lifelines; Jan. 9) when only moving around Kanto brought a flurry of useful information and advice from readers.
JS in the U.S. agrees that from a money perspective it only seems worthwhile if a round-trip from Tokyo to Kyoto or other areas are planned. But he found other advantages for the rail passes once one has been purchased.
"I'm now familiar enough with the Tokyo train system that I can get around fairly easily looking at the system fare board and using the ticket machines. However, I found trying to figure out the fare to be very difficult my first couple of times to Japan. With the rail pass to get in and out of the system, just show the pass at the fare adjustment wicket of the JR entrance gates."