Where and How to buy JR Pass: JR Pass user guide, how to use Japan Rail Pass to its maximum.

Rail pass for visitors
New look of JR Pass (Year 2018) (C) JR Rail

Japan Rail Pass (a.k.a. JR Pass) covers all JR lines throughout Japan. This is only rail pass that covers throughout Japan. If you travel even a round trip to Osaka from Tokyo, the price of 7-day pass almost equal to normal fare. I think this pass gives the greatest deal to the travellers who wants to travel in Japan.

Japan Rail Pass Official site is very informative. But some points are not clear. And it does not show you how to get the worth of this pass.

In this post, I tell you about this pass as simple as possible. I compare a regular fare and JR pass, how to choose the retailer, additional charge and many more.

How to buy JR Pass

You have four ways to buy JR Pass.

Purchasing at the authorized dealer

Only authorized dealers are allowed to sell JR Pass. You can find the agent list at this page of Japan Rail Pass official site.

These following companies are major wholeselers:

  • JTB (the biggest travel agency in Japan)
  • NTA (Nippon Travel Agency / third biggest and the oldest travel agency in Japan)
  • KNT (Kintetsu International / same group as Kintetsu Railways. Second biggest travel agency)
  • Top Tour (Same group as Tobu Railway)
  • JALPAK (Same group as Japan Airlines)

You can find many company names on the official website, but most of them are subcontractors who purchase and sell passes from the above major wholesalers.

JR Pass online purchase from wholesalers and subcontractors

In these days, many companies have a contract with these above distributors. And an online sales by wholesalers and subcontractors have been very active these days. In particular, many subcontractors specialize in JR Passes, and we actively sell them by using their websites to send JR Passes to countries around the world.

You can find as many online retailers as you want by googling with the JR Pass. To find out if these companies are official companies, you may check the agent list at the link above. If it’s a company listed there, you can buy a JR Pass from it.

ACP Rail is one of the reliable online retailer because they deal with JR group company, JR East directly. This company is the official retailer of JR East. Their online purchasing site is connected with JR East official site.

Japan Rail Pass online purchasing at ACP Rail

JR Pass online purchase from the official site

Until now, online sales have been mostly done by subcontractors, but the JR Pass official website has been renewed on June 1, 2020, and you can purchase directly from the official website.

However, the price will be higher than the agent price. As I will explain later, the JR Pass can be purchased now even after arrival in Japan, and the online sales price on the official website will be the same as the sales price in Japan.

e.g.
7-day ordinary pass
Agent price JPY 29,650
Official website online price JPY 33,610

If you buy a pass from the agent’s site, an exchange order will be sent to you by mail, so you will need to pay the shipping fee, but even if you take this into consideration, the agent price will be much cheaper.

However the online seat reservation is available on only JR Pass official site. You can book a seat online before you go with peace of mind. If you buy the JR Pass at the travel agent, you cannot book a seat online.

Please see another post below to find the detailed information on the Japan Rail Pass official online reservation:

In my opinon, if you plan to visit Japan in the busy season, such as the year-end/New Year holidays, you may buy it at the official site.

Purchaing JR pass in Japan

Currently you can purchase JR pass in Japan until the end of March, 2021. Please see the link below to find the details:

Official announcement about JR pass by JR group (PDF)

If you forget to buy it before you go, or you will find your trip plan after you arrive in Japan, you can buy the JR pass after you arrve in Japan.

Types and prices

There are two types, Green and Ordinary, and three duration, 7, 14 and 21-day. And the price varies depending on the agent price and the official website price/domastic sales price in Japan.

Click to view large

The differences between the official site/sales in Japan prices and the agent prices are shown in red. The sales price in Japan and the official site are 10 to 12% higher than the agent prices.

When you purchase it, the rates are adjusted by your country’s currency.

Tokaido Shinkansen
If you have a round trip to Kyoto from Narita airport by the Tokaido Shinkansen and Narita Express, you can get the worth of 7 days JR pass.

This pass is eligible for a train, a few JR bus and a ferry services which are provided by Japan Railways Group with a few exceptions. I will explain these exceptions later.

In my opinion, JR Pass is most unbeatable deal if you travel in some of regions of Japan. There are many kinds of the rail passes in Japan, such as JR East Pass, JR Hokkaido Pass, JR Kyushu Pass and many more. But JR Pass is only rail pass that covers throughout Japan. And of course it covers both Tokyo and Kyoto. But if you need the detail information about other passes, please access to the list of the train pass. I wrote about many other rail passes in the posts.

How to find that you can get the worth of JR pass. Tips for using JR pass efficiently.

Once you decide the first day of use, you have to complete your trip in the fixed day. If you intend to use 7-day JR pass and stay in Japan for 7 days or less, you can start using it right after you arrive in Japan. However if you stay in Japan for the longer period than Japan Rail Pass duration, you have to find which JR pass you should buy and which day you should start using it.

Airport access

You can take JR trains at Narita airport, Kansai airport and New Chitose airport. These airports are covered by JR pass. And Haneda airport is connected to downtown Tokyo by Tokyo Monorail. This is covered by JR pass too. Please see the table below how much the fare of these airport access:

AirporttrainDestinationfare
NaritaNarita
Express
Tokyo
Shinagawa, Shinjuku
Yokohama
2,820 yen
3,190 yen
4,290 yen
HanedaTokyo
Monorail
Hamamatsucho500 yen
KansaiLimited Express
Haruka
Tennoji
Shin-Osaka
Kyoto
2,230 yen
2,850 yen
3,370 yen
New
Chitose
Rapid AirportSapporo
Otaru
1,590 yen
2,300 yen

*All fare include the base fare and the reserved seat fee.

Other airports, such as Chubu (Nagoya), Fukuoka are not covered by JR pass. You cannot start using JR pass right after arrival in these airports and the additional fare is required to take the other transportation to get to the nearest JR station first.

Using JR pass in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Sapporo

If you start using JR pass after arrival in Narita, Haneda, Kansai or New Chitose, you will stay in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto or Sapporo. You can use JR Pass to take the JR local trains in these cities. But it is not very efficient to use JR pass for sightseeing inside these cities. Because the train fare is not big enough to help getting the worth.

Please see the one way fare for the major segments in these cities in the table below:

SegmentOne way base fare
Tokyo to Shinjuku200 yen
Tokyo to Yokohama470 yen
Osaka to JR-Namba190 yen
Osaka to Kyoto560 yen
Osaka to Nara800 yen
Osaka to Sannomiya (Kobe)410 yen
Kyoto to Saga-Arashiyama240 yen
Kyoto to Inari (Fushii Inari)140 yen
Sapporo to Otaru640 yen

As you see the table above, the train fare in these cities are inexpensive. It does not help to get the worth of JR pass. If you can get the worth by the other trip(s), you can use JR pass in these cities. But it is not recommended to use it in the cities.

If you intend to start using JR Pass right after arrival in the airport but you will stay in one of these cities, please think again when you should start using JR Pass.

I explain about how to use JR Pass in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto in these following posts:

The nearest place to get the worth of JR pass 7-day from Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka

You may have heard that you can get the worth of 7-day JR Pass by Tokyo to Osaka round trip. It is true. The round trip fare and the Shinkansen seat fee are slightly less than 7-day JR Pass price. If you use JR Pass for the airport to Tokyo (or Osaka), and/or making some local train trips in the city, you can get the worth of it.

You have to use JR pass for a long train ride as much as you can, such as Tokyo to Osaka round trip. I would like to show you not only Tokyo to Osaka round trip but also more trips to get the worth of 7-day JR Pass. You can find the nearest place to get the worth of 7-day JR Pass from Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.

7-day pass is sold at 29,110 yen. If one way base fare and the reserved seat fee are more than 14,560 yen or more, you can get the worth of 7-day pass by only one round trip.

From Tokyo

As the map above, these following round trips fares are higher than the price of 7-day JR pass.

  • The round trip to Shin-Kobe
  • The round trip to Morioka
  • The round trip to Komatsu
  • The round trip to Takayama

Shin-Kobe is one station away from Shin-Osaka on the Shinkansen. As I mentioned above, if you use JR Pass to make a few local train trips, you can get the worth by the round trip to Shin-Osaka.

Komatsu is a bit away from Kanazawa. It is same thing as the round trip to Shin-Kobe. You can get the worth of 7-day pass by the round trip to Kanazawa and some local train trips.

You also can find some more information in my Youtube movie:

From Osaka

As the map above, these following round trips are enough to get the worth of 7-day JR pass.

  • The round trip to Omiya
  • The round trip to Ueda (via Kanazawa)
  • The round trip to Hakata
  • The round trip to Tsuwano

If you go east from Osaka, Omiya is the nearest destination to get the worth of 7-day JR pass. Omiya is just outside Tokyo. But as I mentioned above from Tokyo to Shin-Kobe, you can get the worth of it by Osaka to/from Tokyo round trip and some local trips.

Ueda is one station away from Nagano by Hokuriku Shinkansen. You also can get the worth of 7-day JR pass by round trip to Nagano and some local train trip.

If you go west, the round trip to Hakata (Fukuoka) is okay to get the worth. You also can get the worth of it by the round trip to Tsuwano too.

You also can find some more information in my Youtube movie:

From Nagoya

As the map above, these following round trips are enough to get the worth of 7-day JR pass.

  • The round trip to Utsunomiya
  • The round trip to Tokuyama

If you go east from Nagoya, the round trip to Tokyo is not enough to get the worth. Utsunomiya is the nearest destination to get the worth of it. Utsunomiya is the gateway to Nikko. If you intend to visit there, you can get the worth of it easily.

If you go west, the round trip to Tokuyama is the nearest destination to get the worth of 7-day JR pass. Tokuyama is two stations away from Hiroshima on the Sanyo Shinkansen line. If you make a round trip to Miyajima from Hiroshima by the local train and take the ferry to Miyajima, the total fare is very close to JR Pass 7-day price.

Tokyo to Osaka (or versa) one way trip is not enough to get the worth of even 7-day JR Pass.

If you will have only one way trip between Tokyo and Osaka, the regular fare ticket is your choice. I wrote about using single ticket at the post, For non JR pass travellers. Guide to use JR single ticket, basic rules, validity and stopover.

You also can find some sample itineraries in the links below:

Tokyo – Osaka one way trip sample itinerary

Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo one way sample itinerary

Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka one way sample itinerary

The faretable of the major segments

I would like to show you the fares for your convenience. If you have a multi-city travel, the fare may be cheaper. But you can use this faretable to find that you can get the worth of JR Pass or not. These following fares are based on the Shinkansen and/or daytime limited express train reserved seat fee, and the base fare.

stationTokyoOsakaNagoya
Sapporo26,820 yen37,100 yen34,350 yen
Hakodate23,420 yen33,700 yen31,060 yen
Aomori17,350 yen27,370 yen25,210 yen
Akita17,800 yen27,820 yen25,440 yen
Sendai11,200 yen22,620 yen20,240 yen
Niigata10,570 yen22,310 yen19,930 yen
Nikko5,580 yen18,530 yen16,030 yen
Echigo-Yuzawa6,670 yen19,500yen17,110 yen
Nagano8,200 yen11,790 yen7,330 yen
Odawara3,470 yen12,620 yen8,940 yen
Nagoya10,880 yen6,930 yen
Takayama14,710 yen10,600 yen6,030 yen
Toyama12,730 yen9,430 yen11,350 yen
Kanazawa14,120 yen7,650 yen8,020 yen
Osaka14,140 yen6,350 yen
Kinosaki Onsen16,340 yen5,600 yen9,520 yen
Okayama16,820 yen6,600 yen10,870 yen
Hiroshima18,560 yen10,810 yen13,810 yen
Fukuoka (Hakata)22,330 yen15,580 yen18,020 yen
Kumamoto26,500 yen18,540 yen22,080 yen
Kagoshima29,860 yen21,900 yen25450 yen

Please use hyperdia to find the fare for other segments.

Hyperdia perfect guide

How to choose Green seat pass or Ordinary seat pass

Green seat on Super Ozora by 283 series (C) Sonic Rail Garden
Green seat on Super Ozora by 283 series in Hokkaido (C) Sonic Rail Garden

I explain about Green and Ordinary class seats in the movie below:

Green seat is like business class seat. There are some higher class than Green class, such as, Gran class, Premium Green calss. But these are not covered by JR pass at all.

If you take Gran Class by JR Pass, both Ordinary pass and Green pass cover only a basic fare only. You have to pay a limited express surcharge and Gran class seat fee. Please see the post,Japan Rail Pass can be used for Hayabusa to get details.

Advantages of Green class seat are space and atmosphere. Green class seat is much more spacious and quieter than ordinary seat. Shinkansen and most of Limited Express have this class. Even some local trains, such as Rapid trains in greater Tokyo area have Green seat too. Please read one of my post, Worthwhile buying Japan Rail Pass Green Pass?. I explained the details about Green class seat in this post. I hope it may help you to decide which pass you purchase.

If you are sensitive about your budget, the ordinary class is fine. I am sure you will be satisfied with the ordinary class seat too. It is way better than economy seat on the flight. My height is 6’1″ (184 cm). But the leg space at the ordinary class seat is totally fine for me.

How to exchange

JR Pass exchange order

You will receive “Exchange Order” at the time of purchasing of JR Pass if you buy a pass at an official vendor or their online service. It is not the actual pass but the voucher. You have to exchange for the actual pass after you arrive in Japan. The validity of exchange order is three months from the date of issue. The pass never be sold out.

If you buy the JR Pass at the official JR Pass reservation site, you will recieve a reservation number. You will not receive any papers. It is easier to handle.

Exchange place
English signage of JR exchange office at Tokyo station

You can exchange and receive an actual pass at the designated stations. Narita airport, Kansai airport, Tokyo, Shinagawa, Osaka, Kyoto and more than 40 major stations throughout Japan are on the list. Please find the list of the exchange places in the link below:

JR Pass exchange and sales office list, Japan Rail Pass official site.

If you want to buy the JR Pass after you arrive in Japan, you can buy it at the stations on this sales office list.

When you turn in, go to the exchange place and tell the staff that you will exchange JR pass. You will receive the application form and fill in. After that, you will proceed the window and show your passport and exchange order to get the actual pass.

When you turn in the pass, you can choose the first day of use within one month from this day.

e.g.
If you exchange a pass on June 1st, you can choose the starting date from June 1st to 30th.

The start and finish dates will be stamped on your pass. Once the dates are stamped, you cannot change it.

Definition of one day

It means 00:00 to 23:59.

e.g.
If you start to use 7 days pass on April 1st, your pass is expired at 23:59 on April 7th.

There are an exception. If you are on board at 23:59 on the last day, you still can continue to travel by train. Your pass cover until you get off the train. After you get off the train, as long as you don’t exit the station, your pass still cover basic fare.

e.g.
Day 7 Tokyo 22:53 (Limited Express Tokiwa) 00:24 Mito

Even though your arrival time is 00:24 on 8th day, this trip is covered until you get Mito by JR pass
If you do not exit Mito station, you still can take local train because the base fare is covered by JR pass until you exit the station

e.g.
Day 7 Tokyo 22:53 (Limited Express Tokiwa) 00:24 Mito
Day 8 Mito 00:33 (local train) 00:39 Katsuta

You can take a local train only. You cannot take any limited express trains after you get off it at Mito.

Validity

JR Pass covers most of the railway service and the ferry service by Japan railways. You can go almost anywhere throughout Japan except Okinawa. (Any JR companies do not offer a train service in Okinawa.) Please see the Japan Railway’s route map and the Shinkansen (bullet train) route map in the links below:

Nationwide JR route map, Japan Rail Pass official site
Shinkansen (bullet train) route map, Japan Rail Pass official site

But there are a few exceptions when you use JR pass. I would like to show you which services are NOT covered by Japan Rail Pass.

Nozomi and Mizuho on the Tokaido, the Sanyo and the Kyushu Shinkansen lines

The Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen runs between Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka, Hiroshima and Hakata.

I think this is the biggest thing that you have to know.

Nozomi is the fastest and most frequent train service on the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen between Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Hakata. Mizuho is the fastest train between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chuo. JR Pass is NOT valid for these trains. Even a basic fare to take Nozomi and Mizuho are not covered by JR Pass at all. If you take Nozomi or Mizuho, JR Pass does not help you at all. You have to pay a full fare beside JR pass.

JR pass covers Hikari between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka, and Sakura between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chuo which are the second fastest trains. The difference between Hikari and Nozomi are the following:

Trip time between Tokyo and Shin Osaka — 3 hours by Hikari / 2.5 hours by Nozomi
Frequency — 2 trips of Hikari per hour / 5 to 6 trips of Nozomi per hour
*There are some more trips of both Hikari and Nozomi in a peak hour.

Please refer one of my post, Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen to get the details abut the difference between Nozomi and Hikari.

Mizuho is the fastest train on the Sanyo Shinkansen and the Kyushu Shinkansen. Sakura is the second fastest but Sakura runs more than Mizuho. You cannot take Mizuho by JR Pass but this is not an issue.

All Shinkansen trains on the Tohoku, the Hokkaido, the Akita, the Yamagata, the Joetsu and the Hokuriku Shinkansen are covered by JR Pass fully.

Gran Class of Tohoku, Hokuriku and Hokkaido Shinkansen

The seat of Gran class (C) Asacyan (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

JR Pass covers Tohoku, Hokkaido and Hokuriku Shinkansen trains fully. Gran class that is the highest class seat is available on these Shinkansen lines. This is a higher class than Green class. If you take this Gran class, both Japan Rail Pass Ordinary and even Green cover a base fare only. You need to pay all amount of surcharge beside JR Pass. This extra charge is not the difference between Green class and Gran class. You must pay Gran class full amount fee.

Delux Green on JR Kyushu trains

Some limited express trains in Kyushu have Delux Green Class. If you take this class, you have to pay both Limited Express surcharge and Delux Green surcharge. Even Green Pass does not cover both surcharge.

Green Private Compartment

Green compartment on Super View Odoriko (C) Sonic Rail Garden

These following trains have Green seat compartment.

If you use this type of seat by Japan Rail Pass, your party must be 4 persons because it is based on 4 person. If you use this by 3 persons or less, you have to pay surcharge for insufficiency.

The overnight train and sleeper car

There are only two scheduled overnight trains in Japan now. Those are Sunrise Seto and Sunrise Izumo. If you use a compartment on these trains, JR pass covers only a base fare. However this train has the ordinary class which is called, “Nobi Nobi seat”. This ordinary class seat is covered by JR pass fully. Please see the links below to find more information:
Sunrise Izumo (Tokyo – Izumoshi)
Sunrise Seto (Tokyo – Takamatsu)

Trains run through Non JR lines

Some of limited express trains go through Non JR lines. You have to pay some extra for the section where your train goes on Non JR line. Because Japan Rail Pass cover only JR lines. The following list shows you the trains which go through Non JR lines. Please refer each train’s page to get the details about the extra charge.

Bus services

There are eight bus companies in JR Bus Group. But these bus companies and JR’s railway company, which is now divided into seven, were formerly state-owned, but became a separate organization with the privatization, and it is called the JR group.

These eight bus companies operate local bus services and highway bus services. But Japan Rail Pass covers a few local bus services only.

JR’s local bus services are a sort of commute service. I pick up some lines for the tourist.

Japan Rail Pass may cover some more bus services. But even official site does not provide any detailed information. As far as I know, I can confirm that JR Pass covers only these bus services at this point.

Ferry Service

Miyajima ferry service is operated between Miyajimaguchi and Miyajima. Japan Rail Pass is valid for this route. Miyajima is UNESCO world heritage site and one of the most popular destination for foreign travellers. This ferry cruise is very short trip. It takes only 10 minutes. Please refer one of my post, How to get Miyajima to get the details about Miyajima.

JR Kyushu operates the international ferry service between Hakata and Busan (Korea) But this is NOT covered by Japan Rail Pass.

Other train services

Japan Rail Pass does not cover any NON JR train services, such as the subways (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Yokohama, Sendai, Fukuoka), other train services by private companies, city bus services, local bus services and ferry services. The following list shows you major train services that Japan Rail Pass does not cover.

  • Sapporo Subway
  • Sendai Subway
  • Tokyo Subway
  • Yokohama Subway
  • Keihin Kyuko Railway (a.k.a. Keikyu, Shinagawa-Haneda-Yokohama)
  • Keisei Railway (Narita airport-Chiba-Ueno)
  • Tobu Railway (Asakusa-Nikko/Knugawa Onsen)
  • Odakyu Railway (Shinjuku-Hakone/Enoshima)
  • Izu Kyuko Railway (Ito-Shimoda)
  • Fuji Kyuko Railway (Otsuki-Kawaguchiko)
  • Nagoya Railway (a.k.a. Meitetsu, Chubu airport-Nagoya-Gifu)
  • Nagoya Subway
  • Kyoto Subway
  • Osaka Subway
  • Nankai Railway (Namba-Kansai airport/Koyasan/Wakayama)
  • Kintetsu Railway (Namba-Nara/Kyoto/Ise/Nagoya)
  • Hankyu Railway (Kobe-Umeda-Kawaramachi,Kyoto)
  • Keihan Railway (Yodoyabashi-Sanjo,Kyoto)
  • Hanshin Railway, Sanyo Railway (Umeda/Namba-Kobe-Himeji)
  • Fukuoka Subway
  • Nishitetsu Railway (Tenjin-Dazaifu)

Tokyo Monorail between Hamamatsucho (Tokyo) and Haneda airport is not JR train but this is owned by JR East and it is covered by Japan Rail Pass.

The following trains and segments are non JR lines. But those are covered by JR Pass.

  • Local and rapid trains on Aoimori Railway between Hachinohe and Aomori. But you cannot make a stopover except Hachinohe, Noheji and Aomori
  • Local and rapid trains on Ainokaze Toyama Railway between Toyama and Takaoka. But you cannot make a stopover except Toyama and Takaoka (after March 14, 2015)
  • Any trains on IR Ishikawa Railway between Kanazawa and Tsubata. But you cannot make a stopover except Kanazawa and Tsubata. There are direct trains from Kanazawa or Osaka to Wakura Onsen. These trains are go through this segment and then go on JR Nanao line. If you take these trains, extra charge is not required on top of JR Pass.

How to use JR pass in major cities and tourist spots

You can get most places in Japan by JR pass. JR pass covers most of JR trains which include Shinkansen, limited express trains, and other rapid commute trains and local trains in the cities.

But as I explained above, JR pass does not cover Non JR trains, subways and city bus. I also would like to explain the coverage by major places and you can find the detailed coverage of JR pass.

Sapporo

Subway, tram (street car) and city bus are not covered.
Subway and tram route map

You can walk to get Odori Park or Clock tower from Sapporo station if you want. But subway is better way.

Hakodate

Tram and city bus are not covered. You need to pay extra to get some tourist spots, such as Hakodate mountain.

Nikko

You can take Tohoku Shinkansen to get Utsunomiya and take Nikko line local train to Nikko. All trips to Nikko is covered. Please see the link below to find more information:

How to access to Nikko from Tokyo. There are three ways from Tokyo, Shinjuku and Asakusa.

But JR pass does not cover any local transportation, such as a local bus in Nikko area.

Tokyo

You can take any local trains in Tokyo to access to many places. But some of places cannot be accessed by JR pass, such as Asakusa, Tsukiji market, Tokyo Skytree. Please see the post below to find the detailed information:

You also can access to/from both Narita airport and Haneda airport. JR pass covers Narita Express and Airport Rapid train to/from Narita. Tokyo Monorail is covered by JR pass to/from Haneda airport.

Lake Kawaguchi

You can use JR pass to get Otsuki but you have to pay extra for taking Fuji Kyuko railway from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko station. Please see the link below to find more information:

Japan Railways is the best way to access Mt. Fuji? How much can we use Japan Rail Pass to go to Mt. Fuji?

Hakone

You can get Odawara by Shinkansen but after arrival Odawara, JR pass does not help you. Please see the link below to find more information:

How to access Hakone from Tokyo. Compare Japan Railway and Odakyu lines

Nagoya

Subway and other Non JR trains, such as Meitetsu railway is not covered. You need to pay for access to/from Chubu airport (Centrair).

Chubu (Nagoya) airport transportation guide. Find info about airport station and access to Nagoya
Transportation Bureau, City of Nagoya

Snow Monkey Park in Nagano

You can get Nagano by JR pass but you have to pay for bus and/or train to get Snow Monkey Park. Please see the link below to find more information:

Trip to Tohoku, Chubu and Chugoku in 2016 winter – Part 9, Visit Snow Monkey Park in Nagano

Shirakawago

You can get Kanazawa, Takayama, Toyama and Takaoka by JR pass. But you have to take a bus from one of these stations and need to pay for the bus. Please see the link below to find more information:

How to access to Shirakawago from Takayama, Kanazawa, Takaoka and Toyama.

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

You can access to Nagano, Shinano-Omachi or Toyama by JR Pass. After arrival in these cities, you need to pay for local transportation. Please see the link below to find more information:

Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route, one of most spectacular sightseeing route in Northern Japan Alps

If intend to go through whole part of Alpine Route, you can use Tateyama Kurobe option ticket. Please see the following link:

Tateyama Kurobe Option Ticket (one way)

Kyoto

You can get Arashiyama, Nijo, Fushimi Inari and Uji by JR pass. But you need to take subway, city bus and/or other Non JR railways to get the various tourist places. Please see the post below to find more information:

Osaka

You can take any local trains, such as Osaka Kanjo line (Osaka loop line). You can access to Universal City (USJ) too. But JR-Namba station is not very convenient and some places in the city cannot be accessed by JR pass, such as Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium. Please see the post below to find more information:

You also can take Limited Express Haruka and Kansai Airport Rapid Train by JR pass to/from Kansai airport. Nankai railway is not covered.

Kobe

Actually many places can be accessed by JR station. You can get Kobe by JR pass easily. You may not add any additional deals. Please see the link below to find more information:

Guide to take trains in Kobe. How to choose the best route by train to get the major spots?

Nara

You can get Nara by JR trains from either Kyoto and Osaka. Most of tourist spots in Nara can be accessed by walk from JR Nara station. Please see the link below to find more information:

How to access to Nara by Japan Rail Pass. If you don’t use JR Pass, Kintetsu Railway is more convenient.

Mt. Koya (Koyasan)

You should take Nankai railway from Namba or Shin-Imamiya. Nankai railway is not JR and you need to pay extra. Please see the link below to find more information:

How to access World Heritage Mt. Koya. Japan Rail Pass can be used to get Mt. Koya?

Hiroshima

You can access to Hiroshima by Shinkansen and it’s covered by JR pass. And also JR pass covers Hiroshima sightseeing loop bus “Meipuru-pu” fully. This bus covers most of tourist spots in Hiroshima. Please see the following link to find the detailed information:

Hiroshima sightseeing loop bus Meipuru-pu official site

Miyajima

You can take JR local train to Miyajimaguchi and then take ferry to Miyajima. Both train and ferry are covered by JR pass. Please see the link below to find more information:

How to access to Miyajima from Hiroshima by local train. No extra charge for Japan Rail Pass user.

Fukuoka / Hakata

JR Pass does not cover Fukuoka city subway and Nishitetsu railway. Only subway connects Fukuoka airport and Hakata. But you cannot use JR pass to get airport because subway is not covered. Some places around Fukuoka is covered by Nishitetsu railway, such as Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine. But Nishitetsu railway is not covered by JR pass either.

Who is eligible?

If you are the foreign tourist, you have to be “Temporary Visitor”. This entry status will be stamped at immigration on your passport. Other status cannot be acceptable. You have to show your passport at the station when you pass your exchange order to get actual pass.
If you are already in Japan as other status, you have to change your status first. Otherwise you cannot buy Japan Rail Pass. Please see “How to buy and exchange”.

If you are Japanese citizen who have permanently status in foreign country, or who married to a non-Japanese, you are qualified.

How to refund

You can refund within one year from issue date before you turn in for the actual pass. Simply bring or send your exchange order to the agent where you purchased it. They will subtract a handling fee and refund to you. The handling fee is usually 10% of the amount. Contact to your agent and make sure it before you refund.
You can NEVER refund after turned in the actual pass.

Lost or Stolen

Once you lost it, it’s over. Either an exchange order or an actual pass cannot be reissued.

Comments

  1. KOW MEI TING says:

    Hi Takeshi san,

    I am going alone to Tokyo, Japan for 7 days in November. And I planned to visit to Osaka and Kyoto as well each one day in between my 7 days trip. Should I buy the Whole Japan Rail Pass (ordinary car or green car pass)? Any other recommendation for a budget transport expenses?

    Thank you.

    Cheers,
    Mei Ting

  2. Jennifer Huang says:

    Hi Takeshi-san,

    I’m travelling with my daughter this coming end of October for 11 days, and was wondering if you could kindly advice if I should get a JP pass?

    Our iterinary is from Osaka to Tokyo and back

    Day 2
    Osaka Prefecture to Universal Studios to Dotonbori and back

    Day 3
    Osaka Prefecture to Osaka Castle to Osaka Nipponbashi Denden Town and back

    Day 4
    Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan to Asakusa, Tokyo

    Day 5
    Tokyo Disneyland

    Day 6
    Yayoi Kusama Museum
    Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
    Harajuku Chicago Shimokitazawa

    Day 7
    Tokyo Disney Sea

    Day 8
    Tsukiji Fish Market
    Ginza

    Day 9
    Nezu Museum
    Yoyogi Park
    Meguro River Cherry Blossoms
    Tokyo Skytree

    Day 10
    Kappabashi Street
    Ghibli Museum

    Day 11
    Travel back from Tokyo to Osaka Kansai International Airport

    Thank you so much and I hope you can enlighten me. 🙂

    Regards,
    Jennifer

  3. Lee JE says:

    Dear Takeshi-San

    Please kindly advise whether JR pass is a good option for our itinerary below:
    Day 1 – Tokyo to Kanazawa
    Day 2 – Kanazawa to Takayama
    Day 3 – Day trip from Takayama to Shirakawago
    Day 4 – Takayama to Tokyo
    Day 5 – Day trip from Tokyo to Kawazu

    Thank you very much!

    Best regards
    Lee JE

  4. Sharon says:

    Dear Takeshi San,
    My friend and I plan to visit a few cities in our Japan trip. We’ll be arriving in Nagoya and then travel down to Kansai and then head to Tokyo as our last stop from 20 Nov to 2 Dec.

    Here’s the draft:
    20 Nov – Arrive in Nagoya for 3 days
    23 Nov – Depart from Korankei. Is there a quicker way to travel to Kansai? Not sure what sequence we should go travel – Nara, Osaka or Kyoto first?
    We only intend to do half day in Nara to visit the Nara park; 2-3 days in Osaka and 4 days in Kyoto and last 2 days in Tokyo.
    from the above, does this make sense? Should we get the JR pass though we only have 1 way from Kansai to Tokyo?
    Need some advise from you on the logistics and thanks in advance!

    sharon

    • Hi Sharon san,

      You can go to either Kyoto or Osaka. When you get there from Korankei, you have to go back to Nagoya anyway. Please see the link below to find the info about moving between Nagoya and Osaka/Kyoto.
      https://jprail.com/destinations/kansai-area/how-to-transfer-between-nagoya-and-osaka-kyoto-by-train.html

      JR pass does not work. You cannot get the worth of it as you think. You may use other deals when you are in Kyoto and Osaka.
      https://jprail.com/travel-informations/other-rail-passes/rail-pass-for-residents/how-to-choose-the-best-train-pass-for-sightseeing-in-kyoto.html
      https://jprail.com/travel-informations/other-rail-passes/rail-pass-for-residents/how-to-choose-the-best-train-pass-for-sightseeing-in-osaka.html

      Regular fare ticket is okay for trip to Nara.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

      • Sharon says:

        Dear Takeshi san,

        Thank you for your reply. I took awhile to understand before I reply u here. Indeed, the train system is quite complicated. But your site is really helpful and simplify it. 🙂

        We have decided that it probably makes sense to travel from Nagoya to Osaka directly and stop by Nara park the next day as is not cheaper.

        From this link here https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3316.html, I’m trying to find the best way to get to Nagoya from Korankei at my soonest. Which do u think is the best? As there are various buses, Ohwa, Toyota Oiden and Meitetsu, do u know where I can get all these buses’ schedules? Or should we rent a car for this leg only?

        From your site, I understand it’s much cheaper to take the Kentetsu rail to Osaka but it takes us > 2 hours ride and with the route from Korankei to Nagoya is also 2 hours, it may be really too long. So prob taking Shinkansen is prob better.

        We notice that nozomi/Hikari trains are all reserved seats on the hyperdia site. Assuming these tickets do not have any special offers to buy them in advance, we will have to get them at the train station itself, are we able to buy non reserved tickets on the spot there?

        In summary, our route will like look this on 20 nov – 1 dec:

        Day 1 arrive Nagoya airport – airport limo bus to city.
        Day 2 Nagoya city tour
        Day 3 Nagoya – Korankei (day tour) then we overnight on our own
        Day 4 Korankei to Nagoya to Osaka
        Day 5 Osaka – Nara day trip – use Kintetsu Railway
        Day 6 Osaka city tour
        Day 7 Osaka to Kyoto (nozomi/Hikari trains)
        Day 8 Kyoto city tour
        Day 9 Kyoto city tour
        Day 10 Kyoto to Tokyo (nozomi/Hikari trains)
        Day 11 tokyo city tour
        Day 12 Tokyo to Haneda Airport

        Should we buy the Kintetsu Rail Pass or any other special pass based on the above?

        Thanks so much.

        Sharon

        • Hi Sharon san,

          First of all, the link below gives you the timetable to/from Korankei.
          http://asuke.info/archives/001/201804/H30%E5%B9%B4%E5%BA%A6_%E5%90%8D%E9%89%84%E3%83%BB%E3%81%8A%E3%81%84%E3%81%A7%E3%82%93%E3%83%90%E3%82%B9%E6%99%82%E5%88%BB.pdf

          Please use hyperdia for train schedule before/after taking bus to/from Korankei.

          Shinkansen (Nozomi and Hikari) has non reserved seat too. When you check hyperdia, it looks reserved seat only. But you can click dropdown menu and find non reserved seat fee. You can take non reserved seat ticket and you have a flexibility. But your seat is not secured. In the worst case, you have to stand up. I don’t think it happens but if you travel with someone, you may not be able to get seats side by side. Please see the link below to find the info about non reserved seat.
          https://jprail.com/travel-informations/travel-tips/reserved-seat-vs-non-reserved-seat-how-to-get-a-seat-on-non-reserved-car.html

          As long as you take Shinkansen between Nagoya and Osaka, Kintetsu rail pass is not your choice.

          But if you really want to take Shinkansen for Osaka to Kyoto (it’s just 10 minutes ride), you can use JR pass 7 days for day 3 to 10. Total fares will be almost same as 7 days JR pass price. I think this is the easiest choice. If you take an ordinary train from Osaka to Kyoto, and purchase regular Shinkansen ticket for Nagoya-Osaka, Kyoto to Tokyo one by one, total fare is slightly cheaper than JR pass. But you have to manage many tickets at each cities. Even if you have JR pass, you still need to add some fares because JR pass does not cover subway and city bus. But it’s still much easier to handle. JR pass covers reserved seat fee. You can reserve your seat anytime, even 10 minutes before boarding a train as long as seat is available.

          Cheers,

          Takeshi / JPRail.com

  5. Noah says:

    Dear Takeshi San,

    How do I use JR Pass after exchange in each gate station? for example, if I want go to Wakayama, how do I present the JR pass in gate station, do I need go to ticketing office to present the JR pass?

    Thanks

  6. Cliff says:

    Hi Takeshi San,

    I am planning to do the Kumano Kodo late October and after Kumano Kodo I will be visiting Nara, Arashiyama and Osaka before flying back from Osaka Kansai Airport.
    Is getting the 5 days consecutive JR Kansai Wide Area Pass the right choice?

    Below is my itinerates/schedule

    Day 1 to Day 8 will spent time at Kumano Kodo

    Day 8 – Afternoon train from Kii-Katsuura to Nara and stay a night at Nara near Nara station

    Day 9 – After visiting Nara Park
    Next train to Inari Station – visit Fushimi Inari Shrine
    Next train to Arashiyama – visiting Bamboo Grove and surrounding
    Stay a night in Arashiyama

    Day 10 – Afternoon train to Osaka Namba – Planning to stay near Dotonbori for 2 nights

    Day 11 – Visiting Osaka place of attraction

    Day 12 – Could be 4:30am or 5am train from Dotonbori area to Osaka Kansai Airport

    Day 1 – I will have to buy individual train tickets from Osaka Kansai Airport to Kii-Tanabe.

    I am more than happy to walk a couple of minutes to the train station and my other destination/place to attraction.

    Will the 5 days consecutive JR Kansai Wide Area Pass works with this schedule?

    Thank you for your time and looking forward to hear from you.

    Kind Regards,
    Cliff

  7. Hafiz says:

    Hi Takeshi-san,

    Thank you for your post. Just a few questions i would like to ask. I will be going to Japan from 11 Oct 2018 – 23 Oct 2018. I will be visiting 2 cities; Tokyo and Osaka. I will be spending 8 days in Tokyo and 6 days in Osaka. Will the JR Rail Pass be helpful if I want to visit the attraction in Tokyo and Osaka? Which mode of transportation will be better to use for both cities; bus or rail?

    Kindly assist.

    Thank you.

  8. jihan says:

    hello takeshi san!

    What pass should i buy if I intend to stay in hiroshima for 4 nights then another 3 nights in fukuoka? I will arrive and depart at fukuoka airport.

    Also, Ive tried Osaka amazing pass before and it was truly amazing. Do Hiroshima and Fukuoka have the same pass?

    Thank you.

  9. Carmen says:

    Dear Takeshi-san,

    Could you help me to plan my route for end May to early June next year? We arrive Tokyo end of May and we would like to cover Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route and Shirakawago and Lake Kawaguchiko and then back to Tokyo for some sightseeing. If we are not going to Kyoto and Osaka, is it still best to purchase the 7 day JR rail pass? If so, is it more worthwhile to still head to Kyoto before going back to Tokyo? Day 1 we arrive Tokyo 7am. Day 10 we leave Tokyo in the morning. We have previously visited Osaka, and also around Tokyo, Yokohama and Hakone. Thank you.

    • Hi Carmen san,

      I recommend you to use JR East Pass Nagano Niigata for your trip if you don’t visit Kyoto.
      https://jprail.com/travel-informations/other-rail-passes/rail-pass-for-visitors/jr-east-pass-niigata-and-nagano-flex-5-days-pass-in-14-days-period-to-cover-kanto-region-nagano-and-niigata.html

      You have to go to Toyama to start (or finish Alpine route). Toyama is outside of the coverage area of this pass. You have to add the fare and Shinkansen seat fee ticket for Joetsu-Myoko to Toyama which is around 5,000 yen on top of the pass. But this combination is most affordable choice. You also have to add the bus fare to Shirakawago from Toyama and Tateyama Kurobe option ticket. But these are not covered by JR pass and other rail passes anyway:
      https://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/highwaybus/shirakawago.pdf
      http://www.jrtateyama.com/e/

      If you want to visit Kyoto, you nee JR pass instead of JR East Pass. Kyoto is not covered by JR East Pass. You have lots of time and you can include Kyoto in your trip easiy.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

      • Carmen says:

        Thank you so much Takeshi san. Can I ask a few qs … this is if we get the 7 Day JR pass …
        Day 1 Narita to Tokyo to Takaoka, Gokayama, overnight Takaoka
        Day 2 Shirakawago, overnight Takayama
        Day 3 To Kyoto
        Day 4, 5, 6 Kyoto, Osaka etc, back to Tokyo on Day 6
        Day 7 Day trip to Tateyama

        Is it better to overnight at Takaoka on the first night vs overnight at Kanazawa? Becoz I would like to do Gokayama on the first day? And if have time to go to Kanazawa.
        Is it possible to do a day trip from Tokyo on Day 7 to Tateyama, I thought better to arrange separately on the last day where we can leave Tokyo early vs Day 1 may be already quite late in the morning after getting our passes, sending luggages etc at Narita. Thank you!

        • Hi Carmen san,

          What time is your arrival at Narira on the first day? Visiting Gokayama on first day seems to be tight.
          You also mentioned “sending luggage at Narita”. Are you going to send your luggage somewhere from Narita?
          I want to make sure these things before we talk about your trip plan.

          Cheers,

          Takeshi / JPRail.com

        • Carmen says:

          Hi Takeshi san thank you for your reply. We arrive Day 1 Narita 7.05am. Could you advise on Day 1 and 2 with regards to visiting Gokayama and Shirakawago most importantly, and if time permits a bit of sightseeing at Kanazawa and Takayama too. And where best to overnight, would Takaoka be good? Sorry I mean I didnt want to send my luggage from Narita to hotel on Day 1 therefore I arrange Tateyama on Day 7 of the JR pass, or should we do it after Shirakawago, eg on Day 3? Thank you.

          • Hi Carmen san,

            You can keep your itinerary. But day 1 schedule is tight. You will arrive in Narita. After arrival, you will spend about 2 hours for immigration, custom, baggage pick up, exchange JR pass, book a seat. And then you will take Narita Express to Tokyo and change to Hokuriku Shinkansen to Shin-Takaoka.

            In current timetable, your first day train connection is the following:
            Narita 09:15 (Narita Express) 10:17 Tokyo 10:32 (Hokuriku Shinkansen) 13:25 Shin-Takaoka

            And then you have to take a bus at Shin-Takaoka. The bus departs at 13:35. It may be hard to see but you can find the timetable of the bus in the link below:
            http://trans.j-server.com/TRNk4886/ns/tl.cgi/http://www.kaetsunou.co.jp/ol/regular/timetable3.pdf?SLANG=ja&TLANG=en&XMODE=0&XCHARSET=UTF-8&XJSID=0

            So you don’t have a time to drop off your baggage at Takaoka. You have to move to Gokayama right after. Because if you miss this bus, next bus is the last bus to Gokayama. You cannot go back to Takaoka.

            In my opinion, I do not recommend you to do this itinerary. Because you cannot drop off your baggage at Takaoka. And if your flight is late, you cannot get Gokayama on the first day.

            I recommend the following schedule:
            Day 1 Narita to Takayama (overnight Takayama)
            Day 2 Takayama – Shirakawago/Gokayama – Kanazawa, overnight Kanazawa (overnight Kanazawa)
            *There is a luggage storage at Shirakawago information center. If you don’t want to move with luggage, you can store your luggage there and make round trip to Gokayama from Shirakawago.
            Day 3 Kanazawa – Toyama – Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route – Nagano – Kanazawa (overnight Kanazawa)
            *Kanazawa is closer to Alpine Route than Tokyo. It is easier and you can make luggage free Alpine route trip.
            Day 4 Kanazawa sightseeing and go to Kyoto
            Day 5, 6 Kyoto, Osaka etc
            Day 7 Back to Tokyo

            Cheers,

            Takeshi / JPRail.com

            • Carmen says:

              Hi Takeshi san, thank you so much for your prompt reply. Your suggestion is definitely good Looking forward to our trip next year.

              • No worries, Carmen san.

                Cheers,

                Takeshi / JPRail.com

                • Carmen says:

                  Hi Takeshi san,
                  We are following the above itenarary you have suggested and have reserved the accommodation except that we would like to overnight at Takaoka instead of Kanazawa for 2 nights. I think it is OK coz Day 3 we can go Takaoka / Shin-Takaoka to Toyama to start the Tateyama Alpine Route, right? May I know what is the difference whether we take the train from Takaoka or Shin-Takaoka?

                  Can I also check with you, Takayama to Shirakawago, better to book the bus tickets online, right? We leave our bags at the locker at Shirakawago and then sightsee at Shirakawago. How many hours on average would be spent at Shirakawago? Do you have any suggestion on how should we arrange if after Shirakawago, we would like to also go to villages at Suganuma and Ainokura, via the Kaetsuno bus, before we check-in to our hotel at Takaoka for 2 nights? Is it possible and how do you suggest we do it?

                  Thank you!

                  • Hi Carmen san,

                    You can stay in Takaoka. You can take Ainokaze Toyama railway local train to get Toyama. This is non JR railway but JR pass covers this segment. If you stay in Shin-Takaoka, you can take Shinkansen.

                    Online advanced reservation is highly recommended for Nohi bus from Takayama to Shirakawago. The bus is always busy in these days.

                    You can drop by Suganuma ana Ainokura if you want. But as far as I know, there are a few lockers at Suganuma and Ainokura at bus stop and information center. You may have to visit these places with luggage. Shirakawago has lots of luggage storage but Suganuma and Ainokura do not in my experience. But I visited there a few years ago. It may have more. But please keep it in your mind.

                    Cheers,

                    Takeshi / JPRail.com

  10. Herry says:

    Dear Takeshi-San,

    We are family of 3, and will be going on holiday around osaka – Tokyo for 10 days on early Jan 2019.

    Would you please kindly advise the best route to use either Jr Pass or any pass to be the most cost efficient and also time effective?

    This is our itinerary.
    Day 1 – arrive osaka (night)
    Day 2 – 5 – explore osaka.
    Day 6 – go to kyoto
    Day 7 – kyoto
    Day 8 – travel to Tokyo using shinkansen
    Day 9 – gala yuzawa
    Day 10 – 11 – Tokyo and around.
    Day 12 – back from Narita Airport.

    Can you kindly advise the best time to activate Jr pass or we just buy other pass???

    Thx a lot.
    Best Regards,
    Herry.

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