A Complete Guide to the Japan Rail Pass

Posted: 1/9/23 | January ninth, 2023

Japan is one in every of my favourite nations on the earth. The serene fantastic thing about the mountains and temples, the hustle and bustle of the sprawling cities, the beautiful meals, and its lengthy historical past make for an interesting place to go to.

However, Japan has a popularity, particularly amongst finances vacationers, as being too costly. “Better skip Japan and head to Southeast Asia, where your money goes further,” they are saying.

Yet you possibly can journey Japan on a finances. Food, sights, and even lodging (it’s the land of capsule resorts!) will be discovered for a comparatively low price if you understand the place you look.

Yet one facet of touring in Japan that does dwell as much as its expensive popularity is transportation — significantly prepare journey.

Japan’s iconic bullet trains (known as shinkansen) are lovely, comfy, handy, and quick. They are world-class wonders of transportation, racing round at speeds as much as 320 kilometers (200 miles) per hour. They run on particular tracks separate from the opposite trains and are a formidable feat of engineering.

They’re tremendous costly. There’s simply no manner round that reality.

Thankfully, there’s one straightforward factor you are able to do to chop your prepare ticket costs in half (or extra): purchase a Japan Rail Pass. You actually shouldn’t be touring across the nation with out one (and I’m fairly certain they worth the go and common tickets out in a manner that basically forces you to purchase one).

In this publish, I’ll introduce the JR Pass and clarify the way it works, how a lot it prices, and reply frequent questions I get concerning the go.

What is the Japan Rail (JR) Pass?

The Japan Rail Pass (also referred to as the JR Pass) was created to assist vacationers get across the nation (just like the Eurail go in Europe). JR is the biggest prepare operator in Japan, and the go gives limitless entry to all its trains for a set worth.

The go is available in 7-, 14-, and 21-day choices. Note that these are consecutive days, not journey days. So, if you wish to journey round Japan for 2 weeks, you’ll must buy the 14-day possibility, regardless that you gained’t be taking the prepare each day.

Several JR trains are included within the go. The hottest is the shinkansen (bullet) prepare, which is the quickest prepare and goes to just about each vacation spot and area. The subsequent quickest is the tokkyu (restricted specific). The kyuko (specific) prepare comes subsequent, adopted by the kaisoku (speedy) and kakueki-teisha or futsu-densha (native trains that make each cease).

In quick, which means there are JR trains that quickly journey between areas, some that go between cities with a number of stops, and native commuter-style trains which can be sluggish (however low-cost).

Additionally, JR trains additionally serve some metropolitan areas, to allow them to be used inside cities. For instance, on my final go to, I used my JR Pass to get round Kyoto and Tokyo as a substitute of shopping for native metro tickets.

The JR Pass must be bought earlier than you arrive in Japan and it needs to be mailed to you so that you’ll need to order it nicely upfront (extra beneath).

How the JR Pass works

The JR Pass may be very straightforward to make use of — you simply want to recollect to buy it beforehand, whereas in your house nation, because the go is barely out there to guests. (While you can buy it at choose ticket workplaces in Japan till March 2023, in-person passes price considerably extra, so it’s higher simply to order it upfront).

The go has a number of choices (every legitimate for consecutive days, not simply journey days):

• 7 days: 29,650 JPY (39,600 JPY for a Green Pass)
• 14 days: 47,250 JPY (64,120 JPY for a Green Pass)
• 21 days: 60,450 JPY (83,390 JPY for a Green Pass)

The Green Pass is the first-class possibility. Since the trains in Japan are already wonderful, you probably don’t want to purchase the Green Pass except you actually need some luxurious. Additionally, touring in inexperienced automobiles will be extra of a problem when you prefer to be spontaneous, as you have to all the time reserve a seat upfront in inexperienced automobiles, requiring you to go to the ticket workplace or computerized reservation machines forward of time to take action. In unusual automobiles, you possibly can simply hop on and take any out there seat.

In addition to the usual and inexperienced JR passes, there are regional passes in case you aren’t touring throughout the complete nation. These choices can prevent much more cash since they’re cheaper than the common JR passes. Each area has a number of go choices, normally ranging between one and 7 days.

You should purchase JR passes for six areas:

• JR East (for the primary island)
• JR West (for the primary island)
• JR Central (for the primary island)
• JR Hokkaido (for the northern island)
• JR Kyushu (for the southwestern island)
• JR Shikoku (for the southeastern island)

If you’re simply going to be specializing in one area of the nation, contemplate shopping for a JR regional go. If you need entry to the complete nation, get the common JR Pass.

If you’re a first-time customer to Japan, you’ll probably need the common JR Pass, because it covers all the most important locations.

In sum, to get a go, you might want to:

1. Pick the time length on your go (7, 14, or 21 days)
2. Choose your class (Green or commonplace — once more, commonplace is greater than enough for many vacationers)
3. Decide what geographical space you need to go to (all the nation or a single area)
4. Pay the payment and order the go earlier than you allow dwelling

Getting and utilizing Your JR Pass

The best solution to get a Japan Pass is by ordering it on-line (there are a lot of official on-line suppliers however I like to recommend this one because it’s been promoting passes for the longest time).

Once you buy a go, you’ll obtain an “exchange order” within the mail, stamped with a date, that you simply’ll flip in to select up your precise go in Japan. Don’t neglect your alternate order at dwelling, as you have to carry this doc to select up your go in Japan!

Once you get to Japan, you’ll alternate your alternate order (therefore the title) for a JR Pass at a JR workplace. Make certain you have got your passport on you (not a photocopy) while you go to gather it, as they may examine to just remember to have a brief customer stamp in your passport. The JR Pass is barely out there to guests and they’re fairly strict about verifying you’re a vacationer.

You have three months from the date printed on the alternate order to select up your JR Pass, however you do not want to begin utilizing the go on the identical day that you simply decide it up.

For instance, say that you simply need to decide up the go when you arrive however you need to spend a while in Tokyo earlier than heading on to see the remainder of the nation. You can choose any date inside one month of exchanging the order as your beginning date. (But as soon as the go is issued, you possibly can’t change the beginning date.)

Once you’ve obtained your go in hand, you don’t want to fret about getting tickets, as you merely use your go to go proper by the automated turnstiles.

In addition to utilizing the shinkansen and different trains, the JR go offers entry to:

• Local buses operated by JR (such because the vacationer loop bus in Hiroshima or JR buses round Sapporo)
• Ferries operated by JR (such because the one from Hiroshima to the island of Miyajima)
• JR traces working by metropolitan areas (akin to Tokyo and Osaka)
• Free seat reservations (in any other case, seat reservations price round 330-930 JPY)

The JR Pass just isn’t legitimate for:

• The Nozomi and the Mizuho shinkansen traces
• Japanese residents or residents, akin to foreigners working in Japan (solely these with a vacationer visa can use the go)

Is the Japan Rail Pass value it?

Absolutely! Even although you may get sticker shock initially when buying a go, you’ll save tons of of {dollars} throughout your journey with one — even when you simply go to 2-3 cities. For instance, and not using a rail go, a ticket from Tokyo to Osaka prices round 27,000 JPY (round-trip), but you may get a seven-day rail go that features limitless journey on JR trains for simply 29,650 JPY. So for the worth of 1 round-trip ticket, you get limitless journey. It’s a no brainer!

Here are some extra examples of one-way prepare tickets on the shinkansen trains with non-reserved seats within the “ordinary” (non-green automobile) class:

• Tokyo-Hiroshima: 18,380 JPY
• Tokyo-Kyoto: 13,320 JPY
• Tokyo Fukuoka: 23,390 JPY
• Kyoto-Hiroshima: 10,570 JPY
• Kyoto-Osaka: 4,230 JPY
• Hiroshima-Fukuoka: 9,000 JPY
• Nagano-Kanazawa: 8,440 JPY
• Tokyo-Yokohama: 3,210 JPY
• Hakodate-Tokyo: 23,500 JPY

As you possibly can see, it solely takes one longer-distance journey from Tokyo (akin to to Hiroshima or Fukuoka) to justify the price of the go. And you’ll probably use it rather more than that!

And even when you aren’t taking the bullet trains, the go nonetheless is smart. For instance, a visit on an area prepare from Kyoto to Tokyo prices round 8,360 JPY — as a substitute of 13,320 JPY for the bullet prepare. However, the native prepare journey takes 9 hours and requires a number of transfers, as a substitute of a direct three hours, making it a lower than superb alternative for many vacationers (particularly when you’re tight on time). It’s usually merely not value the price financial savings.

You’re higher off utilizing the bullet trains and reveling within the high-speed expertise because it whisks you from one unimaginable vacation spot to a different!

Japan Rail Pass Frequently Asked Questions

Is JR Pass just for vacationers?
Yes. Only individuals visiting on a vacationer visa can use the JR Pass.

Can Japan Rail Pass be used on the Tokyo subway?
Yep, a few of the subway traces (although not all) in Tokyo are run by JR, which implies you possibly can entry them totally free along with your JR Pass. This is true for the complete nation. Metro traces and native subway traces are excluded from the go.

Can I alter the times on which I want to use the Japan Rail Pass?
No. Once the go has been activated, the dates are set in stone.

How do I activate the Japan Rail Pass?
To activate the JR Pass, carry your alternate order and your passport to a JR workplace in Japan. Once they confirm your identification and visa standing, they may activate your go.

Can I exploit JR Pass from Tokyo to Kyoto?
Yep! The distance is 445 kilometers (283 miles), and the journey takes beneath three hours on the bullet prepare.

Are buses included in JR Pass?
Yes, JR does run some bus traces, that are included within the JR Pass. Some locations the place JR has buses embrace Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

Can I cancel my Japan Rail Pass?
You can cancel your go so long as it has not been activated, however as soon as it’s activated, you possibly can’t.

Train journey is one of the best ways to see Japan. The trains are clear, quick, and the surroundings attractive. I really like touring the nation by prepare. While shopping for a rail go may seem to be a expensive alternative, it’s going to prevent a ton of cash — and it’s a uniquely Japanese expertise that you simply gained’t neglect!