Japan Rail Pass

Traveling in Japan is quite costly. So having a Japan Rail (JR) Pass is an excellent way for the foreigners to see Japan. However, you want to evaluate your situation before purchasing the JR pass as if you do not use it, there will be about 20% service fee for unused ticket refund or not getting full value for the money. Confusing? It could be... but it is fairly simple.

JR pass: (quick overview)
1* pre-purchased Exchange ...
...must complete "Application form for Japan Rail Pass Exchange" per person. If you do not speak or understand Japanese, you might want to consider printing and filling the form before arrival. I hate to say it, but customer Service towards non-speakers of Japanese is not always positive. Also, not all speak English well. To be on a good side, be prepared! Do check out the website and find out how it works.
Remember, you will need "passport" ... more

Traveling in Japan is quite costly. So having a Japan Rail (JR) Pass is an excellent way for the foreigners to see Japan. However, you want to evaluate your situation before purchasing the JR pass as if you do not use it, there will be about 20% service fee for unused ticket refund or not getting full value for the money. Confusing? It could be... but it is fairly simple.

JR pass: (quick overview)
1* pre-purchased Exchange Order (voucher) outside Japan for the foreign travelers on temporary visitor status (include nationals living in foreign country)
2* JR Pass allows you to travel free on any "Japan Railways" trains (but NOT private rail lines) including well famous Bullet Train (Shinkansen - Hikari and Kodama, NOT Nozomi). Also some JR bus systems.
3* 2 types of pass: GREEN and ORDINARY. Green is more costly than Ordinary. Difference? Green pass allows you to get on a green compartment which offers a little more luxurious seating. It only applies on the Bullet train and some special trains. Personally, Ordinary pass provides everything you need. (More later)
4* 3 time periods: 7, 14 and 21 days. -This valid period is for consecutive days and it cannot be used as a few days here and there. So good planning becomes crucial!

Need to know more details? Then read on.
1. JR pass voucher cannot be purchased anywhere in Japan. So before your actual travel date, you need to order through travel agencies. (search engine will help you on this - be sure to shop around for a good deal!) Pass voucher is only valid for 3 month from the date of purchase. So if you are planning a trip in June, don't get a voucher before March.
They are quite picky on the name nowadays. Make sure you get your name spelled correctly as it is on the passport - or just use first name initial on the passport. Do check the name on the voucher once you receive to be sure you avoid problems in Japan.
This voucher can only be exchanged in the selected locations now. So be aware. Check out
http://www.japanrailpass.net/

If you already know when you will use the JR pass, then you can exchange it at the airport. When exchanging the voucher, you must complete "Application form for Japan Rail Pass Exchange" per person. If you do not speak or understand Japanese, you might want to consider printing and filling the form before arrival. I hate to say it, but customer Service towards non-speakers of Japanese is not always positive. Also, not all speak English well. To be on a good side, be prepared! Do check out the website and find out how it works.
Remember, you will need "passport" for each voucher to be exchanged. You do not necessary need to have everyone there at the same time.

2. JR Pass as mentioned earlier can be used to travel free on all JR lines.
How do you use it?
Once you have a pass and ready to use (it can only be used for the "valid use date"), it is simple as going through the "customer service gate" which is either at the right or left of the station gate entrance. There is no need to purchase tickets by the gate. There is staff there where you need to show your pass. Most of the staff will not look at the pass closely, but there are some that do check the date carefully. If you have your pass open to show the valid date, you should not need to hand in the pass. Now, remember... this only works for JR lines.

If you want to ride on the specialty train like a bullet train (Shinkansen), then you will need to go to "Midori no madoguchi" - reservation office (signs often in Green with white writing). This is where you can reserve seats on the specialty trains. You are suggested to fill in the form with what date, time and which trains you want to make reservations for before going to the window. But if you are not too sure on how to look up the train schedule, you could go up to the window for assistance: providing the date and approximate time of departure and where you want to go, they should be able to assist you. I would recommend getting a reserved seat on the bullet train as soon as you know when you are traveling (especially if you are traveling in a group). There are pretty good travel deals for seniors and occasionally some seats are booked in advance. So if you are not flexible, chances of you sitting together could be slim. If your schedule allows flexibility, a reservation assistant could often help you get seats on another train when possible.

You could still ride on Bullet Train without going to Midori no Madoguchi if you are riding Hikari/Kodama and know the specific time and number and take a chance in free seats (Jiyuuseki), then you will only need JR pass. Just go to the platform and wait for that train. But I would suggest being there in line a train or two ahead of time, to be in the front of the line. I do not recommend this option for the foreigner not familiar with the system during the major Japanese holidays as there will be more nationals traveling and the chances of getting a seat will be less. Beside, you can get a reserved seat for free… so why bother? Advantage of this (when not on holiday season) is that you could get an extra seat next to you for your young child (less than 6y) for free as long as someone else in need of a seat does not come along.

Just to know… Bullet Train has 3 types, Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama. Nozomi often has the least amount of stops and therefore is the quickest. Hikari has limited stops while Kodama tends to stop at each station. With JR pass you could only use Hikari and Kodama. Nowadays, there is only 1 to 3 Hikari/Kodama in each hour available many times. You need to check the train timetable to see what works best. The rests are all Nozomi which are not covered by JR pass. So if you miss one, then you might have to wait until the next hour of the Shinkansen.

3. GREEN and ORDINARY Pass:
This choice certainly is up to you. You should know (once again) the Green pass allows you so called the best accommodation but this situation only applies to specialty trains. None of the local trains have Green compartment… so unless you have a whole a lot of Green card use… I think it is simply the waste of money.

4. 7/14/21 days: JR pass is particularly useful if you are traveling a great distance, like Tokyo-Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe, to the island of Kyushu (southern island) to Hokkaido (northern island). Round trip of Tokyo/ Kobe will cost more than the 7day ordinary pass. Riding only locally (ie. Tokyo) alone typically would not pay for itself. So if that is your case, don't bother with JR pass. What I typically do is to plan my trips around Japan and decide which duration will best cover my trips and purchase a voucher based on that. I want to make sure I can get back from wherever I am traveling to long distant before the valid date expires. The rest of the time, all traveling needs to be budgeted extra on the side. 

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