Train pass around Tokyo & Yokohama?

Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well. I am currently planning for our family's 3-weeks trip next year to Japan. It's 3 of us all and we plan to stay in Tokyo or nearby Tokyo for 3 days . May I know what is the most practical means of transportation if we want to travel around Tokyo and would like to visit Yokohama too?

We are planning on renting a car as well but after reading the comments and blogs, we decided not to drive around major cities. However, we are thinking of renting a car to drive from Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka. Is it cheaper since its 3 of us travelling? I'll be happy to get some insights/suggestions from you all. Thank you!

Other than wasting a day driving from Tokyo to Osaka, be aware that there will be a hefty drop-off fee. I assume you have also factored in tolls, parking and the other expenses, not just the daily rental fee.

@JapanCustomTours Good day to you! We don't plan to go straight to Osaka from Tokyo . We actually want to stop by Kyoto and some other countryside areas. Still a plan, I am still doing more research if its worth to drive around. Thinking of staying a night or two nearby Kyoto. We love the countryside and prefer to stay away from the city.

If you have about 2 weeks to drive slowly from Tokyo to Kyoto and stop in a lot if more remote places I get the idea of a car. If you just want to stay 2 days in a more rural place close to Kyoto, go by Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto and then either public transport or car to wheee you want to be rural. Let’s say you want to spend 2 days around Biwa lake, you could get off the Shinkansen in Maibara rent a car there , drive around fir 2 days then drop it off again in Maibara and take a local train to Kyoto.

Regarding your Tokyo / Yokohama question the easiest will be a IC card. You’ll “need” it anyway during the rest of your trip. There might be some pass that can pay off, but depends on your actual itinerary and frankly at most you’ll save a few 100 yen. But need to do a lot of research. There are easier ways to scrape off a few yen.

@LikeBike Thank you for your suggestions and insight. I appreciate it a lot. I will check out the places you suggested and also will probably just take the train/bus to Kyoto like you said.

As for the Tokyo and Yokohama Trip, we might take a day or 2 Tokyo Pass and then the next day, we will just take the normal fare to Yokohama.

Out of curiosity I checked the fee for a one way drop off. At Toyota Rent a Car it's 38,000 yens between Tokyo and Kyoto, and Japan Guide says the tolls are about 10,000 yens. And that's without counting the actual rental price + fuel.

There are so many train passes around Tokyo, what is the "Tokyo pass" you are taking about?

Renting a car can be really useful - but not to get from city to city, especially when the cities are directly linked by high speed trains

For getting around Tokyo and Yokohama, without knowing your full itinerary, but I can’t think of any flat-rate “pass” to save money. For convenience, you might get a prepaid card (IC card, as mentioned by another poster) (barely any discount against buying individual tickets, but you save time of having to buy a ticket each time you want to take train/subway), either PASMO or SUICA - interchangeable.

For getting from Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka, unless you decide to explore completely in-between areas such as Izu Peninsula or Shizuoka Prefecture, you wouldn’t want the hassle of renting a car, considering the “hassle” factor - finding parking spots, for example, in addition to the rather high drop-off fee, toll, and fuel cost already mentioned.
If you plan to just stay in places in and around Kyoto and then Osaka, trains would be far better.