JR East Welcome Rail Pass 2020 for Japanese residents only: Unlimited ride for 3 days in JR East area

Good news for foreign nationals residing in Japan.

The JR East Pass, which is sold only to short-stay travelers, will be sold to foreign nationals living in Japan starting next week. In fact, this pass was planned to be sold to Olympic spectators this past summer. However, the spread of Covid-19 changed everything and now it was sold to foreign nationals living in Japan.

Regardless of the circumstances, this pass is better and cheaper than the JR East Pass which is sold to short-stay travelers.

In this article, I will explain this pass.

What is JR East Welcome Rail Pass?

This pass allows unlimited rides on JR Shinkansen, limited express trains, rapid trains, and regular trains in the areas of Tokyo, Tohoku, Niigata, and Nagano for three consecutive days.

The Shinkansen trains that can be taken with this pass are the Tohoku, Akita, Yamagata, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen between Tokyo and Joetsu Myoko. You cannot take the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya, Kyoto and Shin-osaka and the Hokkaido Shinkansen.

Green Cars and Gran Class are not covered fully by this pass. Additional express fee and seat fee are required on top of the pass.

Sales and usage period

This pass will be solf from October 16, 2020 (Friday) to February 26, 2021 (Friday). You can start using this pass on October 16, 2020. The pass is sold from one month before the fisrst day of use. And you may buy it on the day of travel if you want.

When you purchase a pass, don’t forget to bring your passport. This pass is sold for foreign nationals residing in Japan only. You must present your passport when you buy it. And you can tell a staff when you want to start using a pass at the time of purchasing.

1 day means the actual date of use. It does not mean 24 hours. For example, if you start using the pass at 23:00 on November 1st, you will spend one day of the pass for just one hours and your pass will be expired at 23:59 on November 3rd. But in Tokyo and surrounding area, trains run even after midnight. You can get on a train until the last train even after midnight.

Sales location

You can buy this pass at JR East Travel Service Center in these following stations:

• Tokyo
• Ueno
• Shinjuku
• Shinagawa
• Shibuya
• Ikebukuro
• Narita Airport Terminal 1 and Terminal 2-3
• Yokohama
• Hamamatsucho
• Haneda Airport Terminal 3
• Akita
• Morioka
• Sendai
• Matsumoto
• Nagano
• Niigata

In addition, “Go to Travel Campaign” is being held in Japan. This is a government-sponsored discount on travel costs, but this pass is not eligible for this promotion.

Price

• Students, youth and senior discounts are not available.
• Children under 6 years old is free of charge unless you wish reserve seats.

The JR East Passes, which are sold for short-term travelers, divides the JR East area into two parts, the Tohoku version and the Nagano Niigata version. These passes are Flex Passes that can be used for any 5 days in 14 days period, so they are easy to use, but the price is around 20,000 yen.

On the other hand, this pass has to be used for 3 consecutive days, but the price is 12,000 yen and it can be used in all areas of JR East. Depending on how you use it, this pass is definitely better.

Coverage

As I mentioned above, this pass covers all JR East lines in JR East area. And it covers also the following lines:

• Aoimori Railway (Aomori – Metoki)
• IGR Iwate Ginga Railway (Morioka – Metoki)
• Sanriku Railway (Sakari – Kuji)
• Echigo TOKImeki Railway (Myokokogen – Naoetsu – Ichifuri)
• Shinano Railway (Karuizawa – Myokokogen)

Some other JR East deals cover Tokyo Monorail (Haneda – Hamamatsucho), Rinkai Line (Osaki – Shin Kiba), Izukyu Railway (Ito – Izukyu Shimoda) and Fujikyu Railway (Otsuki – Kawaguchiko). But this pass does not cover these railways.

And subway lines and other private railway lines are not covered by this pass either.

Reservaed seat

You can reserve seats on the Shinkansen and limited express trains as many as you want with this ticket. Many trains, such as Hayabusa on the Tohoku Shinkansen, Azusa from Shinjuku to Matsumoto, require reservations and you cannot get on trains without reservations.

You can make a reservation at a ticket vending machine and or JR ticket window, which is called “Midori no Madoguchi.”

Most ticket vending machines at major stations are multilingual.

How many rides do I have to make to get the money worth?

The three-day ticket costs 12,000 JPY. So, you can get the money by taking the train for 6,000 JPY one way. Actually it is super easy.

The table below shows the total amount of one-way base fares and Shinkansen / express fares to major cities in the coverage area departing from Tokyo.

As you saw the table above, you can get your money worth for even a day trip to Sendai or Niigata. Of course, this pass is valid for 3 days, so you can stay in these cities and explore the surrounding area, or you can visit several places.

Suggested itineraries

Here are three plans that I recommend using this pass:

Matsushima, Yamadera and Mt. Zao

You will spend one night each in Sendai and Zao Onsen to visit Matsushima, Yamadera and Mt. Zao.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Hiraizumi, Nyuto Onsen, Kakunodate and Resort Shirakami

You will spend one night each in Nyuto Onsen and Akita to visit Hiraizumi, Kakunodate and enjoy ride on Resort Shirakami.

During winter season, Resort Shirakami runs on weekend only other than holiday season. You must start this trip on Thursday or Friday.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

You can add the Stove Train on Tsugaru railway after December 1st if you like. Please see the table below:

Snow Monkey, Shin-Hotaka and Matsumoto

You will spend one night each in Nagano and Hirayu Onsen to visit Snow Monkey Park, Shin-Hodaka and Matsumoto.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Summary

This is a special discount ticket released because the demand is declining due to Covid-19. We cannot see like this deal under the normal situation.

Enjoy your trip with this, as it’s an unusual rate.