Tips on cutting transportation costs in Japan
(Updated in October 2024) Since the drastic price increase from October 2023, the nationwide JR pass is no longer cost effective for many travelers to Japan. The luggage regulations introduced from May 2020 also made traveling on the Shinkansen slightly more troublesome after the pandemic. Below are some alternatives and tips on cutting transportation costs when traveling in Japan: 1. Rental car Renting a car is highly cost effective and convenient for two or more travelers when traveling outside of the cities. During my Spring 2024 trip, I rented a car for 7 days, probably my 4th road trip in Japan. From Nagoya, we drove up in a clockwise direction around central Japan (Gifu, Fukui, Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures). We rented a hybrid with Toyota, costing 67738 yen after 10% member discount. Even though it is slightly more expensive to rent a hybrid, we saved much on petrol. We only pumped petrol three times, amounting to 8634 yen in total. We also paid another 11730 yen for the ...