The Japan Rail Pass - What You Need to Know!

Useful Japan Rail Pass travel tips - the impartial advice of a serial visitor...

Read my top tips for what to consider when purchasing, exchanging and using the JR Pass to help you plan your Japan trip...

(originally published in 2017 - not updated)

When travelling in Japan we often use the excellent Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass) to move around from area to area and to get out and explore by train. Used for multiple and long distance trips, it represents really good value for money and I’d highly recommend it. But, as an impartial and cost conscious consumer, I would also add a word of caution - only buy what you actually need.

A list of some useful resources can be found here and case studies of our last 3 trips, for a useful insight and example of how we utilised passes and transportation costs, can be found here.

Considerations

Initial things to think about...

* Take a look at your plans and work out if you need a full JR pass or whether a regional one will do. In fact, do you need one at all? If you are only going to be taking a few journeys, check how much this is likely to cost against the price of the pass. You can check out operating companies and ticket prices for journeys using HyperDia.com and there is a JR Pass calculator on the Japan-guide website.

* Check the prices and delivery costs. The ticket face value is in yen, so the exchange rate is relevant. Some outlets have a more competitive rate than others (or update it more frequently). Also look at delivery costs. Some passes are now available to purchase in Japan without an exchange order (and rules are changing frequently at the moment in the run up to the Rugby World Cup & Olympics). This allows more flexibility but the price may be higher.

* Piggy backing on the last point, check the seller - shop around but always use an authorised distributor. These can be found on the official Japan Rail JR Pass website. 

* Consider whether you will have extra transport costs and what will they be? Are you likely to be using more privately run trains & public transport that is not generally covered by JR passes (although some transportation & private train companies also offer deals and special tickets). Sometimes, just buying standard tickets can be cheaper than the special tourist deals available from some places.

* Will you will be using the pass on consecutive days? check the terms of the pass - most (but not all) are valid for consecutive days only - does this allow you flexibility or restrict your movements too much?

* Look at whether you can make seat reservations and do these meet your needs? While it is not necessary to have seat reservations on most trains, it can be useful to make them where available, especially if you absolutely need to be seated due to health or mobility issues. Further, some particular trains demand seat reservations and on others they are recommended. Check whether the pass you wish to purchase offers the ability to make sufficient reservations for your needs - some of the regional variants (the North Kyushu JR Pass, for example) have limits on how many can make.
Exchanging

Getting your hands on your JR Pass...

* Exchange orders need to be validated within a certain period following purchase. Check your dates and order according to the time frame advised by the seller.

* It’s obvious, but if you need your pass as soon as you land and will be exchanging straight away, be sure to have all the paperwork handy and not locked deep in your hold luggage.

* Make sure your passport is stamped as you pass through immigration. Without this visa, you will not be eligible to take receipt of the pass.

* The exchange order desk can be very busy and there are forms to fill in, so it can take a while. Allow enough time if planning any onward travel/transfers. 

* Staff are very efficient and helpful and will want to help with any forward travel plans that they can. Have any necessary details to hand. Now is also a good time to make any seat reservations (see also 'Reserving' below) for highly subscribed journeys, so it’s useful to have a reservation form filled in and ready to hand over before you travel. Less time in ticket offices means more time exploring!

* Be prepared for lots of questions about your itinerary if you’re purchasing a more specific pass, like the Tokyo Wide Pass - they’ll want to check that its range is suitable for your needs and that you’re not likely to misunderstand or misuse it. I was a surprised at the depth of questioning we encountered when we picked up our Tokyo wide pass at Narita airport (we had time to kill before our domestic flight so picked it up and had it forward dated (see the next point) for use at the end of the trip so we could save some time). 

* You can obtain your pass and have it forward dated but it cannot be used until then. This can be really useful but you need to be sure of your dates to avoid any issues. Passes need to be validated with a stamp on the first date of use by a member of staff at the first ticket gate you pass through, so are checked thoroughly.

Reserving

Making seat reservations... 

* Seat reservation forms are not necessarily needed but make life easier for everyone; they avoid communication issues and save loads of time. They are available in some ticket offices but can be tricky to find. It’s handy to carry them with you - find a general one on this site together with a guide on how to fill it in and useful information on how to use trains in Japan. There is also a slightly different one, preferred by JR Kyushu, on their website. I tend to print some at home and carry them with me. For journeys we know we will be making, especially for well subscribed trains on popular routes, I fill them in before travelling (or during the flight) and get the reservations as soon as we arrive. 

Cancellations...

* If you book reservations and find you don't need them or your plans change, take them to a ticket office and let them know. They will take the tickets back and cancel it on their system, allowing the seats to be freed up for other customers.

Access and Use

Some practicalities...

* Storage - A plastic folder wallet, from the Daiso 100 yen shop, is the perfect size for most passes and keeps everything clean, dry, safe and secure. It could be used with a lanyard if desired and has multiple sections inside, which are great for keeping the pass and seat reservation tickets together and to hand; I keep some folded seat reservation forms ready for use in there too. The quality is fantastic - we bought ours on day 1, trip 1 and they have been utilised during every visit we've made to date (and will go again with us next time), adequately surviving some very heavy use. We found out about this on the excellent JPRail website...take a look for more details.

* Luggage - see my post, Luggage tips for travelling in Japan - packing, access, accommodation + transport practicalities. Medium sized cases will fit on some Shinkansen parcel shelves (if not too heavy) or behind the first/last seats of the carriage. Leg room can be spacious, so cases can tuck in front of your legs. However, this stops the person sitting in front being able to recline. Travel light or send cases on using a luggage forwarding service like Yamato or Sagawa - the cost easily outweighs the pain of lugging and negotiating and stairs at the other end.

* Ticket barriers - At larger stations, you’ll need to use the manned walkway to the side of the ticket barriers. The staff are quite thorough in making checks (in stations and on board trains) and may ask for the pass to be removed from any protective wallet for inspection. At small, unmanned stations on one person operated train lines, show your pass to the train driver when the train stops (these trains are like buses and the fare is paid into a machine or to the driver at the front of the train before alighting). 

* Time - Following on from the above - leave enough time to get to your train - those manned walkways can get really congested and long queues can form. I speak from bitter experience, having missed trains due to getting stuck in a bottleneck at this point (The day I visited Himeji, the station was by far the worst I'd experienced for volume of people trying to get through a single channel. It only takes one person in front of you at any station to have a complex query and you will find yourself stuck while attention to detail and customer service takes its course. Queuing is king and pushing past is frowned upon).

* Use in Tokyo - Location is everything. Before our first trip, I didn’t think we’d get much use out of the JR pass around the metropolitan area. However, we’d positioned ourselves in a hotel on the JR Sobu Line, which crosses the city horizontally and connects with the circular JR Yamanote Line in the east and west, so it saved us a fair bit of money using the JR lines to hop around; the main sights are generally situated along these lines. If you’re going to be using a JR pass, consider your hotel position carefully and save some cash - the subway can mount up quickly although there are a number of tickets available that can reduce costs...

...Get more info on location & cost saving in 'Japan - the tried & tested tips of a budget traveller'.

...Discover how we utilised passes with other transportation options during three very different journeys in Japan.

* Buses - Your JR card may be good for some buses but check the JR site to make sure. Again, this can be a great money and time saver. For example, Hiroshima has a great loop bus service that accepts the JR pass (when we visited Hiroshima in 2015 - check for up to date details).

External links are provided for your information only. They are not affiliated in any way with this site. As such, views and opinions expressed do not represent my own and I accept no responsibility for them. Information provided cannot be guaranteed to be correct or up-to-date and should be checked for validity.