WHY YOU DO NOT NEED A JR PASS FOR YOUR VACATION TO JAPAN

[@Suedeash]

Hope you're doing good, your videos were really valuable in helping me decide if I want to move over to Japan when I first started watching. I am definitely going ahead with my plan and am taking JLPT N2 this December, hopefully I'd like to get N1 over there someday.

[@cabb1413]

Where have you been? I looked on Instagram and you are private now. I hope you are having the most amazing life. I loved your content and hope you come back soon.

[@ArcadiasPlanet]

How come she’s not uploading?

[@random-jl9co]

Hey rin are u doing okay?

[@munaosman7563]

Hey you haven't uploaded in a while, i hope you're enjoying motherhood 💕

[@user-Korpan]

when i went to japan, i went to hachinohe first via shinkansen, but after took the night bus to tokyo and osaka. It was an 8 hour buss right from 10pm to 6am which is definitely worth it because of the cost and the fact that i didnt need a hotel for the night.

[@CoMic95]

It’s a great idea for people who want to save money without spending more time. I have a video about this that hasn’t been posted yet. Overnight buses are available to many places one of the most popular is a bus from Tokyo to Osaka. It’s a fraction of the cost for a hotel plus bullet train ticket. For anyone else reading this besides the OP, of course this is tricky for people traveling in groups with cranky adults, those with disabilities, or with kids who may find it difficult to sleep on a bus but if you have an easy group or if you’re traveling solo I’d take the bus at least once. I personal enjoy the scenic route and I find the sounds of cars speeding down the expressway to be very relaxing 😴 Plus I enjoy driving on Japanese expressways as weird as that may sound 😆 Many people like the idea of taking the bullet train and while it is faster than a local train most of the time it costs you precious vacation time but overnight buses allow you to save on a hotel, save on transportation, and to still have a full day ahead of you. Thank you for sharing your experience!💝

[@jeizschey]

I'm debating on getting the jr pass. I'm planning to start from Osaka, Kyoto, Mt. Fuji and Tokyo. At least 3 days each but for sightseeing mt fuji from lake kawaguchi I'm only planning to stay overnight before heading to tokyo as the last prefecture to visit. I'll have to do the math again and create much more detailed itinerary. Thank you for sharing! Really helpful. ❤❤❤

[@CoMic95]

Thank you for watching! 💝If you find that you’ll break even and you’re planning to go to different cities across Japan over the course of 10+ days it is worth it to get the JR Pass especially if you’re making a round trip . Also as it seems you already have planned definitely stay for at least one full day near Mount Fuji because even if the weather is nice your view could be blocked but it can clear up and become visible at some point later on. I hope you enjoy your vacation in Japan!

[@jeizschey]

@@CoMic95 Yes! Full day near Mt. Fuji I'll take that note. I usually go back to a place or spot when I didn't get the right lighting for my photos. So I go early morning and sunset lol. Thanks again! ❤️

[@dabidmaurice6578]

I pass Mt Fuji. Kyoto and Miyajima is much better and add Nara… Nara…

[@jeizschey]

@@dabidmaurice6578 what do you recommend to see specifically in Miyajima?

[@minsugamaxsalt]

Your hairstyle is so adorable! 😊😊

[@CoMic95]

Thank you very much!💝☺

[@CoMic95]

Please watch the entire video before giving your anecdotal stories about how wonderful the JR Pass was for your trip. We get it Captain Obvious. Of course if you are determined to make roundtrips and/or to go across Japan then it would be foolish to not get the JR Pass. HOWEVER This video is talking about how most people do not benefit from it because most foreigners only plan to stay in 1-3 neighboring cities which is the SMART way to travel. ALSO MOST foreigners end up spending their entire trip trying to break even or rip the JR system off by purposefully booking trips to places that they have little time and no plans for. Many people just want to go to a different prefecture because they can or they essentially already paid for it but you are so busy trying to get your money back that you aren’t even enjoying your trip and this is especially true for people with difficult partners and “bad” kids.God forbid you lose your JR Pass (they will NOT replace it even if it is stolen) or someone in your group does and now your dream vacation turns into a big scam because it is not refundable or replaceable. The price is also set to increase soon thus making it even less of a value for MOST people however the price increase will include some new routes and of course it covers both the local trains (not all but the most popular) as well as a good amount of bullet train routes. Be careful about using 3rd party companies such as Klook because if something goes wrong you are unlikely to get the help that you need. I would STRONGLY suggest that you ALWAYS buy all of your tickets for any event directly from the source to avoid issues. MOST influencers in Japan won't tell you this because they want the commissions that they make from their sponsors for pushing these 3rd party sites down your throat BUT I will be honest and tell you that there are horror stories of people having flights, private transportation cancelled suddenly with no warning and tickets that don't work or have typos AND you cannot make seat reservations online when you used a 3rd party company to buy your JR Pass. It is NOT worth it to save a few dollars when your problem costs you hundreds or stresses you out and you end up wasting both time and money dealing with the seemingly non-existent customer service. Do what you want to do but buyer beware. I have lived in Japan for several years and I am married to a Japanese man that has a good job but money can’t get you everything. I recently went to Kyoto and Osaka and despite having 3 days to split between 2 neighboring cities I didn’t have enough time to even do a quarter of my list that I made and I didn’t have time to take a daytrip to Nagoya or Kobe despite all of these places being nearby. Some places required advanced reservations and you couldn’t wait on standby or bribe them with money to get in. I also previously lived in Kyoto and Osaka for about 3 years.I have lived in Tokyo for most of the time I have been in Japan and I still have yet to see or do everything. Japan is a fun place full of interesting things to see and foods to try. If you are only staying in each place for 1-3 days you aren’t even seeing half of what it has to offer. If you are a tourist it is extremely easy for you to make mistakes, get lost, suffer from jetlag, change your mind, or stumble across a new restaurant, event or shop that you didn’t factor into your trip. It is wise to not overpack you itinerary with too much stuff to do ESPECIALLY if you have kids and you KNOW that they don’t have the best behavior, aren’t the easiest to get out of bed, or they are picky eaters as you will waste more time finding food for them and motivating them to wake up early get dressed etc. You cannot have a day trip to Kyoto from Tokyo or vice versa. Kyoto has too much to see and do in a day and the commute alone eats up roughly 6 hours of your day just making a roundtrip. As a first timer to Tokyo I would strongly suggest that you stay in Tokyo and plan a day trip to Yokohama and to not go any further than Shizuoka. I would ONLY plan a day tripto Yokohama or Shizuoka if I had AT LEAST one week in Tokyo or whatever other city I was residing in. If you wish to go beyond Shizuoka this should no longer be a daytrip and instead it should be a full move to a new hotel/base in that city or nearby. ALSO constantly switching hotels for most people is a headache and not fun. You usually get cheaper rates, become more familiar with the city that you are in, and enjoy your trip more when you stay at the same hotel instead of staying at a new place each night or every 2-3 days. Constantly packing and unpacking is not fun and you risk leaving or losing stuff. Most adults are acting like high schoolers and trying to compete and compare and pretend to have money and time that they do not. You cannot eat everything, try everything or go everywhere that you saw on social media. MOST of the people that I see and even follow on Instagram and TikTok are LYING about how good the food is or how fun the place is because they want views and they are blinded by their undying love for Japan. It is not advisable to go somewhere and waste your precious vacation time and money for an overrated photo that likely won’t turn out how you planned anyway. There is a ton of stuff to do and things to eat in Tokyo and you cannot do it all in a week. Don’t compare your 2-14 day vacation to someone that has 21-30; days in Japan. Some of these people are rich, have no kids or older kids, saved for years, or they live in Japan thus they can do this with ease. If you are like MOST you don’t have the time or money to stay for that long. Why stay in Japan for a month when half of your meals are convenience store garbage and fastfood? That is NOT experiencing Japan just as going to Walmart and Sam’s club food court and eating at Mc Donald’s is NOT experiencing America. Japanese people will lie to you on TikTok for views but they don’t eat convenience store food unless they have no money, can’t cook and have no spouse, or they are in a rush. It is like recommending TV diners or bakery and deli good from your local grocery store in the U.S sure you will find some great food there but as an American I would NEVER suggest that a foreign tourist go to Target, Walmart, or Costco to get their food when there are much better places to eat fresher and better tasting food. It is better to stay in the same place for longer and save your money. Instead of using your money on the JR Pass put it towards your next vacation. Put that money towards buying souvenirs, seeing a musical, eating a meal at a high end restaurant, or getting special treatment at a spa to end your trip. Taking the local train may be a longer commute but it is MUCH more scenic than the shinkansen (bullet train) ride or a domestic flight. Many people come to Japan and take pictures but don’t actually enjoy anything. They didn’t have enough time to eat and explore. They spent all their money on commuting and didn’t have enough money to buy the souvenirs that they wanted. or to eat the better tasting food that they wanted. They didn’t have enough time to make reservations because they only had one day in Kyoto and they couldn’t see Mount Fuji because the 1 day they had there the weather was bad and the clouds hid its top from them. Even if you are rich and have time, consider doing half of whatever you have written down on your list. You will have a lot more fun and you can spend more time exploring and getting much needed rest in order to have the energy needed to go out the next day. My Advice Either stay in Kanto or stay in Kansai if your trip is 3 days or less. Take a nearby day trip if you will stay for 7-10 days Switch your base to a new city/hotel if your trip exceeds 10 days If you have the time and money by all means go ahead and buy that pass but if you want a slower paced trip and you want to really ENJOY Japan then consider doing more locally rather than trying to go everywhere just to say that you went there. Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are HUGE cities. Do not be fooled by looking at a map. There is enough stuff to do in each district in these cities that you can easily spend 3 days to a week just in one district. The more you switch cities the less money you have for food and souvenirs and the more likely you are to deal with traveling companions that forget something or end up in a bad mood, AND of course the more likely you are to lose or misplace something of importance. Your vacation should be for you and your friends or family NOT for strangers on social media. It is not a travel contest.Some of the people that travel Japan the most are also the most miserable, broke, stressed and bored because they don’t have money to eat decent meals, stay at a nice hotel, or actually explore. They are constantly going from place to place to take pictures and videos and as a KZbinr myself I KNOW how NOT fun that is which is why my channel mostly talks about Japan rather than shows you Japan because making content like that is expensive, time consuming, stressful and honestly aggravates most Japanese that live her too because there are soooo many written and unwritten rules about taking pictures and videos of these places. Even some restaurants don’t allow photos of the food and some places allow pictures but no videos. Most of you wouldn’t want to go to these places if you weren't allowed to take pictures and videos of it for social media so ask yourself would you still go here if you could NOT take pictures and videos? If the answer is no cancel that day trip or stay in a different city.

[@bliss2141]

Miss you Rin. Hope you and your family are doing well

[@Justcetriyaart]

So for me, I don't want the same photos as everyone so no to fuji or golden temple. What I want is a craft and tea tour. I like to hear about your poetry class and 'life where I'm from' made a cool video about screen print towels. So would love to hear about textile creation, interior design;small wood work like those boxes or hair combs, or tea and sake tasting. I'm trying to dismiss my research but all I get is gamer tech, anime, 7 11 and old samurai and geisha. It's not bad but I work as a pattern designer and love drinking tea so would really love more on that. I plan to be there for 2 weeks, so just a few days in Tokyo and might be in a suburb or south of kyoto for the teas. If not, would love to see tottering instead.

[@CoMic95]

2 weeks is PERFECT for a vacation in Japan. Some touristy places are wonderful so don’t write them off entirely but definitely prioritize what you’re most interested in! You may find that you enjoy the touristy places and photo ops just as much as the lesser known places. Remember you can go somewhere just to see if you like it and always do something else if you don’t. For example if you’re in Shinjuku might as well take a peak Godzilla Street but you don’t have to necessarily go to Hotel Gracery for the photo op. Just be sure to go for more than just the pictures but to enjoy the food and ambience too. Kyoto is great for old fashioned items and traditional ways of creating Japanese crafts, furniture, and knives but IMO Shizuoka has the best tea in Japan. I would look into doing a tour or taking a class there instead if you have the time and money to do so. Northern Kyoto might interest you. Many people bash the touristy places in Kyoto but honestly even after having lived in Kyoto and having traveled there several times since I moved, it’s still a lot of fun as the food is great😆 it looks and feels like what I envisioned Japan would be like before I actually came here. At first I didn’t care for Tokyo because it was too much like a typical U.S city but now I’ve learned to appreciate both “traditional” and modern Japan. Each have their own charm and not so good points respectively and I ultimately decided that I prefer Tokyo. My best advice is to give yourself at least a spare day in between cities so you can go places you didn’t know you wanted to visit nearby and to read as many reviews for any class or tour that you plan to sign up for because a lot of things that sound or look great have been exaggerated online for views and sponsorships. For example I’ve seen sword making classes that were praised in video be more like a watching class than making. Whatever you may decide to do or not, I hope that you enjoy your vacation in Japan!💝

[@dabidmaurice6578]

Spend 4-5 days in Kyoto and Nara. I personnal y enjoyed Hiroshima and Kyushu, by train nd by car

[@CoMic95]

That’s great!💝 I’m surprised at how many people I’ve seen ask about or share their plans to do a day trip to Kyoto from Tokyo or the reverse. Sure if you just want to say you went then go for it but having at least 3 days per a city (like you did) is ideal. It gives you time to see just about everything that you wanted to and to actual enjoy what you’re doing and/or to find places that you didn’t know of. Some people plan to go to Disney or USJ and only have 2 days in Tokyo/Osaka which leaves just a day to explore that city. Local trains and even driving are/is sometimes slower but the route is often very scenic especially when you go to Kansai. The Shinkansen is great and can offer some nice views but much of the ride pales in comparison to the views from buses, cars and local trains. Renting a car is one of the best ways to see Japan. One of my best vacations was a trip into northern Kyoto into the mountains. It’s great being able to see what you want when you want to and without having to worry about trains and buses which usually run less frequently outside of Tokyo and Osaka.

[@teoleno4019]

Hope you're okey.

[@corazondonquixote]

❤❤❤

[@gigiadam2813]

Hey we miss you 😢

[@random-jl9co]

Girl where are u?