Asia Travel Forum

My wife, 14 year old daughter, and I are traveling to Japan in mid-June. From Chicago we are flying to Narita and then making our way directly to Kyoto. We are returning to Tokyo three days later. While in Tokyo we are planning on taking a couple of guided day tours. What I would like to know is:
1: Is it more economical to purchase a Japan Rail Pass just for the round trip to Kyoto or just buy tickets for the round trip?
2: Is the Japan Rail Pass accepted for the Narita Express to Tokyo Central Station?
3: Can Shinkansen and Narita Express tickets be purchased in the U.S. prior to departure?
4: If I make reservations for a particular Shinkansen but we are delayed and miss that train, would the tickets be honored for a later train?

I know that the answers are on the Web, but I am having difficulty ferreting out the answers. Maybe the overabundance of information is overwhelming me. So any help I can get would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

I had similar questions about taking the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto, and ended up waiting and buying the tickets in Tokyo at a station. The price was about $130 USD one way, and buying the ticket was very easy; we just went to the counter a few days before our planned train trip and the young ticket agent showed us the timetable and fares and I put it on my credit card. We asked for reserved seats, which were super easy to find when we got to the station on the day of travel because it is marked where each car stops. I don't know, however, what the deal would be if you missed your train.

If economy is a concern, you may consider booking a Tokyo Free Guide, which we did and were very happy with. Contact info is in a tip on my Tokyo page.

only japan rail pass can be purchased outside Japan (its not technically a pass, its just a coupon, you have to exchangethe real pass once you arrive there).

yes, its valid on narita express.

compare the tickets price against rail pass.

If its possible, you should have just book an open jaw trip, like chicago-osaka (for kyoto)-tokyo-chicago. usually, theres no fare difference.In this way, you can save time and money for returning back to tokyo.

I dont know about the round trip tickets,for kyoto, but we used rail pass, and actually, if u missed the train, just queu at the non reserved section and sure u will get a seat for the next train.

with the japan pass,if you miss your train and have seat reservations (which are free with the pass) you just need to go to the office at the train station and get new reservations..no big deal.
here you can find the official timetable for JR trains
http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi
(and prices)
and here info on kyoto (this is an excellent website,helped us a lot) and also ticket prices
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2363.html

I have taken the train from Tokyo to Kyoto by JR pass and also by overnight bus. So the overnight bus is an option as a time and money saver.

Note that the trains in Japan are very punctual and leave within the minute of published time. I have missed a train just because I went to wrong the platform and there was no time left.

Also there are English signs in the station but everything else is basically in Japanese example announcements. Also communication is always a problem and things are more bureacratic in Japan than say in USA when it comes to refund or making changes and willing to pay penalties.