Help on Rail Pass Please!

Hello! Another request for rail pass help. :)

My friends and I will be spending 5 days in Japan. We%26#39;re docking in Kobe and will leave from Yokohama.

Our plan is:

Kobe-Hiroshima

Hiroshima-Kyoto

Kyoto-Tokyo

Tokyo-Yokohama

Any advice on whether a rail pass would be worth it? If not, how much would these four tickets run us? Is there an exchange place in Kobe to actually get the rail pass?

Also, we would need to buy the pass in either Vietnam or China (where we will be before). Any ideas?

Thank you so much!

-Kaeleigh

Help on Rail Pass Please!

You can calculate individual train fares here - www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi - be sure to check the box ';Except Nozomi'; since you can%26#39;t use those train with a JR pass. Compare the total to the cost of a train pass.

JR pass purchase points - http://www.japanrailpass.net/05/en05_1.html

Help on Rail Pass Please!

With your itinerary, the JR Pass would be well worth it. Looks like the only exchange office in Kobe is at JR Sannomiya Station:

http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en009.html

Please note that stations on this list are sequenced geographically starting up north in Hokkaido (not very foreigner friendly, I know.)

Kaeleigh -

As others suggest, it will be worth your using a JR Pass for the route you are planning.

You do realise you have to purchase the JR Pass OUTSIDE of Japan. You will be sent a voucher, which you swap for the actual JR Pass in Japan (you will also need to show your Passport with a tourist visa in it, whcih you will be given on arrival in Japan). You can get your seat reservations (recommended) for the trains you wish to use when you are issued with your pass. Your JR Pass also covers the cost of the JR Ferry to Miyajima Island, which you will want to visit when in Hiroshima.

Thank you everyone! We%26#39;ve found a list of operators in Vietnam and China that sell the passes, so it looks like that%26#39;s what we%26#39;ll do! Any insider tips that makes traveling with the passes easier? I really appreciate all your help! :)