PlanJapan

On both routes on this site, the fares the pass would cover come to less than the pass costs, so it does not pay. It rises again on 1 October 2026 – the 7-day ordinary pass from ¥50,000 to ¥53,000 – which widens the gap. The pass starts winning on an itinerary with a second long return leg. The sums for each route are on the JR Pass page.

The last week of November, and in some years the first days of December – roughly three weeks later than the dates most people book. Early November in Kyoto is green. The 2026 forecast dates and the temples worth the crowd are in the Kyoto autumn guide.

Ten days covers Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka at a pace that leaves the days whole. Two weeks adds Takayama and Kanazawa across the Alps. Both are costed leg by leg in the routes section.

Tokyo to Kyoto by Nozomi is the expensive leg and most of the others are far cheaper than first-trip budgets assume. JR East raised its fares by 7.8% on 14 March 2026, its first rise since 1987, so figures published before then are low. Every leg on this site shows its fare, its source and the date we checked it.

Kyoto for temples and the autumn, Tokyo for the rail network and the museums, Osaka for eating and as a cheaper base within half an hour of Kyoto. Each has its own guide with what it costs, when things open and what is worth the ticket – start at the Kyoto guide.

Yes, unless your home plan roams well in Japan. What matters is which Japanese network the provider actually rides on, because that decides your coverage outside cities, and almost no comparison says. Ours does: eSIMs for Japan.