Heading to Japan late September for my honeymoon (10 days) and looking for any and all recommendations! Is the train pass worth it? Best areas/hotels to stay in Tokyo? Best day trips between Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto?

The train pass is an excellent idea and it will help to maximize your time visiting each city. I would suggest three cities for your first trip to Japan, including Tokyo and Kyoto. I loved the traditional guest houses in Japan for an authentic experience. In Kyoto I rented a bike near my air bnb, and it included a portable wifi device that allowed me to film my bike trip as I explored the great bike paths there. So much to see! Enjoy your trip!

Andrea can you tell me more about the cycling. We are planning to go in the spring and would like to cycle some.

Barbara Places like Kyoto are excellent for cycling because they are flat and picturesque. I found a bike rental place near my accommodations and rented a bike for the day. I think it was around $2o? In Hiroshima, I stayed at a place that lent out bikes. When I parked it amongst the masses at the train station to buy a train ticket, I returned to find that my bike was gone and had been seized by the city because the sign (in Japanese) said that there was no parking. It became another adventure to track down the bicycle. Being Japan, there was a police station steps away from where the bike went missing and the officer helped me by using Google Translate on the cellphone. He then led me up the escalator to the tourist centre in the train station to find an english speaking employee who helped me to call the place that had my bike. I then had to take two city buses to the suburbs to a big field that had all the day's seized bikes organized by time. Even the bike impounding is super organized in Japan!

Andrea thanks for your insight! It would have been painful at the time but is now one of your great travel stories. Thanks for sharing.

Andrea - it’s good to double check if it’s still worth it using a calculator https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/. Using a regional pass might be a better price if visiting a smaller area. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html
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Catherine Hébert That is a helpful tool. It is helpful to remember that a train ticket also needs to be purchased to enter Tokyo from the airport. The first thing that I do once I arrive in the airport is to validate my train pass. Including the ride into the city and a return trip to the airport, plus a return ticket to somewhere outside of Tokyo usually makes the price worth it.

Do some math first to see if the JR pass will save you money depending on your itinerary. Some day trip ideas:
-Hakone
-Fujikawaguchiko
-Nikko
-Yokohama
-Kobe
-Nara
-Hiroshima
-Miyajima island

Totally worth the train pass in my opinion

Yes

Nara is worth the visit.

Came here to recommend Nara. The deer are hilarious and even more hilarious is watching the deer mugging other tourists!
I am not sure if the season will still be on (I think it should be) but when my hubby and I were in Japan a few years ago we went to a baseball game and it was a definite highlight. All of those places have teams so you can just pick wherever works best with your schedule.

Train pass didn‘t save us very much money over the 3 weeks we visited but it sure was convenient. We really enjoyed Kanazawa almost moe than Kyoto because it didn‘t have the crowds. I agree Nara is awesome!

JR pass has a tool that helps you determine if the pass will save you money

Nikko is another great day trip from Tokyo. You can check our travel reports at www.free2explore.ca
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I highly recommend to go to Kamakura area! You’ll see big statue of Buddha and beautiful temples.

In Tokyo, get a hotel near a metro station, you will be using the metro a lot. In April I stayed at the Cerulean Tower, 5 minute walk to Shibuya Station. Hotel was excellent, and lots to do in Shibuya

Dont miss Kamakura as an awesome day trip from Tokyo!!!

Once you have a rough itinerary, the www.reddit.com/r/japantravel subreddit is very helpful as they can help you iron out the best way to organize everything and what transit options are best/cost effective to use. Lots of general info too
We went for a month and my favourite spot was Kinosaki Onsen, which is doable as an overnight from Kyoto. My favourite restaurant was a little hole in the wall place called Karako in northern kyoto. Huge bowl of ramen and karaage for like $8.
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If you get a rail pass, which I recommend, you can do lots of day trips from bases in Tokyo and Osaka. From a hotel or airbnb in Osaka, you can do day trips to Nara, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Miyajima, Himeji Castle, etc. it will save you lots of time from checking out and checking in to hotels.

Train pass is worth it. If your using roundtrip. But if your flying out of another city then no. Flypeach.com budget airline in Japan is another option
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FYI the train pass price has increased dramatically recently. It might not be worth it anymore, unless you're doing a lot of multi city by shinkansen

Shane It increases Oct. 1st, and even if the trip is after Oct 1st, you can buy a JR Pass exchange voucher in Canada before then, that is good for 90 days and locks in the price.

Matt oh, awesome!

A 1 week JR Rail Pass is worth it if you plan on taking the bullet train more than twice, in Japan, and on top of that it grants you access to all local JR trains as well. It also really expands your options for travel around all the major spots you'd want to see.
Other than all the great suggestions here, I'd recommend a stay at a Ryokan in any of the famous onsen spots (Hakone, Lake Kawaguchiko, etc), and book a room that has your own private in-room onsen bath.

Day trip to Hakone is the must! Book onsen (traditional hot spring bath) in advance.

Keio Plaza in Shinjuku Tokyo ... there're a few exits and one walk leads directly to malls/train station (we didn't know this, on Day 1, and went on a roundabout around office areas, but found a very cool cosy Sushi place! The Lawson aka 711s are very good, with very interesting Matcha desserts. The same walk back at night - has street vendors. We also enjoy Roponggi and definitely Kyoto.

We stayed at Shibuya Stream Excel hotel. It literally 2 min walk to Shibuya crossing and Shibuya train station. It has great restaurants inside the building as well. Rooms are a bit small but good for 2.

The JR pass IS worth it if you take advantage of it. Generally it takes two or three long distance trips before it pays for its self. For 10 Days if you're going from tokyo to osaka, hiroshima, kyoto and back to tokyo then you may be cutting it close even if you take advantage of using your JR pass for intercity rail and buses. On thing that is good about the JR pass is peace of mind even if you don't get full value from it. I've done 4 trips to japan and each time I've gotten a JR pass and only once it didn't pay for its self, and even that it was good to have for that just in case scenario.

Arima Onsen
Excellent hot spring town with direct bus service from Kobe n Osaka (not sure about Tokyo). I enjoyed the village old town as well as the excellent food n hot spring offered by many of the hotels there.

Absolutely get the train pass at home and buy it before you land. It’s extremely expensive is you buy the pass in Japan. Visit Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto. Lots to do in Osaka.

Following

The JR passes have increased considerably, so not a great bargain unless you plan on stopping in multiple regions.
There are (many) rail passes:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html
It may be easier/cheaper to get the Greater Tokyo Pass and a Kansai area pass, and pay for a train or flight between the two.
You could also get the 7day JR Hokuriku Arch, which includes trains in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and the northern Shinkansen line between them.
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