Japan Rail Pass Now

Definitely value for money if taking a number of bullet trains and travelling long distances. Disappointing that it did not cover all lines

relaxation all the way. very easy to exchange at any JR station – Well worth the dollar spent when using it more than twice.

We loved our trip but did have some issues with the rail pass – The rail pass worked well once we learned how the stations and bookings and platforms worked but there were some issues, local trains weren't included except for tokyo, neither were buses and this cost adds up on top of the rail pass which is already a very high cost. Also I do wish there was a more comprehensive booking and planning app… Read more

integrated. It was also quite stressful not being able to preplan any train travel before our arrival, I wish there was some way to begin the process earlier for busy periods like golden week to take the stress away. But overall a wonderful way to see Japan with comfortable trains, English announcements and signage and stunning scenery I'll never forget.

Best way to see Japan – We purchased the 14 day JR green car pass and really made the most of it. We travelled from Tokyo, to Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and smaller cities up north. We also used it on local lines like Yamanote, Chuo, and others around Tokyo and Osaka. We Based ourselves in Osaka for a week then used the Shinkansen to commute daily to Kyoto, Kobe,… Read more

Himeji. Kobe is only 15 minutes, as is Kyoto. Himeji castle is 30 minutes away. Definitely saved us a fortune in travel I highly recommend watching YouTube videos on how to exchange your voucher and book seats. Once you've done it a couple of times it's pretty easy.

A must for your Japan holiday! – We booked our rail pass knowing that it would be a good option for seeing different parts of Japan. We were excited about using the Shinkansen and took several trips on this fabulous train, zooming along. The pass allowed us to use the local JR lines and we also discovered the pass covered the Hiroshima sight seeing bus, Meipuru-pu. Fantastic value!

Pass was excellent! We ordered by mail. It arrived a few days before our flight. The instructions were clear. We save a lot of money by using the JR Pass whilst travelling through Japan. Note that you have to calculate how much your commute will cost before purchashing the JR Pass to see if it is worth it - there are several websites that can help you with this via a quick Google search. The JR Pass was completely worth it for our two-week trip.

Great service at the JR offices, easy to book tickets, great trains, fast and very very reliable

Pass was posted the day I purchased, with clear instructions and maps on where to redeem once I had arrived in Japan. Also had instructions on how to book Shinkansen services on the automated terminals at the train stations. I'm going back to Japan and will use these guys again for my rail pass.

Easy to use and accurate, no issues at all. We enjoyed using it.

Terrible Value for Money Pass – Frankly, i cannot relate to those who give 5 stars. Well, YMMV (your miles may vary), and for Japan beginner tourists, having the Pass, can make you feel “empowered” to explore a new territory, city or province, and not worrying about which tickets to use, what cost, the duration, multiple station changes and what not, etc. But for the regulars,… Read more

the JR Tourist Pass is the JR “counter way” (READ: revenge) the yesteryear frequent Japan travellers benefits and incentives, to be closer in line with its profits JR reaps from the domestic users. On paper, their calculation still shout as cheaper, compared to if you buy tickets individually.

Yet, therein lies the catches. Lets dissect the catches further.

1. Catch One, JR Pass will only be issued in QR Code Paper. In an era where all goes digital, not only to save wastage but also to protect customers, JR shamelessly insist to issue the temporary ID in the most fragile way, printed paper. Once ACTIVATED, that paper is like cash. You lose it? Too bad. Maybe lets say 90% people of the planet earth NEVER EVER lost tickets in their life YET and the other 10% lost one ticket. Or what about those 90% who never lost ticket suddenly lost a ticket?

2. Catch Two, the strict consecutive day usage. Again, once ACTIVATED, the time bomb is ticking. No pause in between, and no excuse is good enough to postpone it. Better not get sick or have other emergencies, because their answer is only one: TOO BAD.

3. Catch Three, the JR Pass value is super dependent on your trip journey plan. If your itinerary consists of only “short” shinkansen trips and less than 5 local trips per day during your pass period, it is definitely not worth it. For trips of a 7 day Pass, to break even, you need to make at least 4 long distance shinkansen. Long means, Osaka to Tokyo trip long, not Kobe to Osaka long. This means short stay in between cities, and the inconvenience of packing and unpacking, carrying all your luggages. Bear in mind, the space for luggages are limited, and for Green car, you must reserve it or pay extra to use others space.

4. Catch Four, Your JR Pass CAN ONLY be used on JR networks. the name JR, surely get the newbies mistakenly as the one and only “National” Japan Railway. Truth is, that is not close to it. JR is not a state/government owned company, so bear in mind, PROFIT has taken priority above else. Lots of profits in this case. It is not wrong to make enough profits, but a lot of it? Very good for the shareholders, but NOT so good for us. In Japan, there are a few players in the railway business, and one of them is JR. And not all railways are owned by JR. Different Prefectures/Provinces/States have different railway paths. some have more JR, some have less. The other big player is the Metro (local subways).They do not share with Metro, or Odakyu Lines. To use Metro lines, you must pay separately, and not included in the JR Pass. And that is not worse part. in some cases, (especially in Non Tokyo area) to get to your destination, if you insist to use JR, but it takes you longer or much longer to reach your destination and will cost you twice as much should you choose to use Metro. Oh boy! imagine that many walking steps and stairs, curves, rains, winds, heat or cold and extra waiting time for trains! all of those plus you are transferring with your luggages on? My my my…

5. Catch Five, seats availability are non guaranteed. You still need to reserve seats. and during super peak periods like the cherry blossom/sakura or Obon, there are NO GUARANTEE for your travel. if you are lucky, you can get a seat at the Ordinary car, even then on popular days, there will be none.

So you think all those 5 catches are not an issue? Then please keep reading for the physical experience.

Ahhh, you think you just spent ¥70,000 and JR will treat you like a Business Class Airlines passenger with all the privileges? NO!!!

Let’s face it, you are not travelling any faster than the Ordinary car, and surely you can board on and board off quicker than the ordinary car passengers, but let’s not forget what you originally paid for, the enviable luxury and exclusive treatment you deserve, which somewhat is not what you get.

What does the buyers actually losing?

1. Losing the luxury seat. Surely you sit on a wider chair, wider armrest, footrest, and well i dont really like the colour, but that is subjective. Bottom line, the material is FABRIC. Same as in the Ordinary car, just different colour. Does JR cannot afford to buy genuine leather after charging each customer a ¥15,000 one way ride? Too expensive? Hello, China is still open, Vietnam is still open, or even India is still open for business, and will gladly take your order. No excuse. Apart from the material, on some shinkansen green car seats, the lumbar supports are already worn out and worse, in some cars, the seats are smelly. YES, smelly, the ingrained sweaty kind of odour. And we think japanese is a very consistent country? Absolute petty, stingy and cheap.

2. Losing the necessary silence. I found it annoying that i cannot sleep well. The train staff and the opening door noise keep waking me up. Man, the staff, do they have to walk every 10 minutes? Just check our tickets at the beginning and check our belongings at the end and thats it. I found that the reason is more on making sure Ordinary car passengers and not switching to Green car, than them keeping us secure. They had installed the CCTV, that ought to deter some thieves. Plus they already alert us that lost properties are NOT their responsibilities, So again, why the wandering? Totally no excuse. Not to mention the very bright light at night.

3. Losing the well deserved Food & Beverage. No food no drink no nothing. Not even plain water are being served. What JR said about upgrading service quality is by letting the Green car passengers to order Online (which has very limited items to choose from) by themselves and you must pay. Totally despicable. How expensive is plain water and maybe some mini snacks? This JR is a multi million dollars industry, they could have ask for a super cheap rate for water and snacks, or if they are clever enough, to find sponsorship who may need to break the entry market, and get them to supply Green car passengers for free.

4. Losing certainty. Remember Catch five? The seats are NOT guaranteed. If you forgot to reserve and it happened there are no seats left? TOO BAD. Bye bye seats…

5. Losing quality amenities. Wi-Fi is pathetic, which keeps disconnecting everytime your phone screen is off. It is also slow and unreliable. No good magazines to read, only promotional one. The blanket is not of high quality material and not soft and warm enough. The business room is only available on limited Green cars. What they give you is only a wrapped wet towel.

And finally, to add insult to your many injuries, suddenly JR gets creative about being digital. Ahhh, JR will give you “souvenir” if you fill out the questionaire. What is the souvenir? Maybe a mini postcard? Bag tag or fridge magnet? A cheap pen? NO!!! A DIGITAL picture of JR Train! Remember Catch One? They refused to digitalise the QR Code, but have the resources to give a digital souvenir. Hmmmmm…….

My closing lines, overall, it would be very hard to qualify the JR Pass to the level of “value for money” class, because of all those catches and losses, all things must align correctly and tick all the boxes. My advice if you are really curious about JR Pass is to think of just breaking even with what you paid. Please consider all your itinerary trips, from start to finish, where you actually go, what you do and how long. Also think twice about spending the Green car upgrade. I found Ordinary seat is not that bad anyway.

But for me, this JR Pass is NOT RECOMMENDED.