This is one of the deals by JR East. This pass suits a traveler who travel in Tokyo, surrounding area (Kanto region) and Tohoku region. Tohoku offers lots of hot springs, very famous summer festival and lots of nature. In this post, I would like to explain you how to use JR East Pass Tohoku.
- Prices and valid period
- Coverage Area
- Valid trains and lines
- Compare single fare and JR East Pass Tohoku
- Trip to Nikko or Kinugawa-Onsen from Shinjuku or Ikebukuro by direct limited express train, Nikko or Kinugawa
- Trip to Nikko from Tokyo by Shinkansen and local train
- Trip to Otsuki from Shinjuku by Limited Express Azusa or Kaiji
- Trip to Matsumoto from Shinjuku by Limited Epxress Azusa or Kaiji
- Trip to Gala Yuzawa from Tokyo by the Joetsu Shinkansen
- Trip to Odawara, Atami or Izukyu-Shimoda from Tokyo by the limited express Odoriko or Super View Odoriko
- Trip to Karuizawa from Tokyo by the Hokuriku Shinkansen
- Trip to Sendai from Tokyo by the Tohoku Shinkansen
- Trip to Akita from Tokyo by the Akita Shinkansen
- Trip to Aomori/Shin-Aomori from Tokyo by the Tohoku Shinkansen
- Trip between Narita Airport and Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shinjuku or Yokohama
- Trip between Haneda Airport and Hamamatsucho by Tokyo Monorail
- Fares in downtown Tokyo
- Assessment
Prices and valid period
JR East Pass Tohoku FLEX 5-day pass
Validity period | Purchase outside Japan or online | Purchase inside Japan |
---|---|---|
Adult 12 years and older | 20,000 yen | 20,000 yen |
Child 6 to 11 years old | 10,000 yen | 10,000 yen |
- Child who is 5 years old and younger is free but you have to share the seat with child. If you want to have a seat for child too, you have to purchase child pass for even younger than 5 years old.
- Green seat pass is not available.
This pass is FLEX type pass. You can pick any 5 days to use in 14 days period. When you exchange/purchase this pass, you can pick the date when you start using this pass. That is the first day of 14 days period. The first day is not the date when you exchange/purchase this pass.
One day means midnight to midnight, technically 0:00 to 23:59. Even if you start using the pass at 23:00. you will spend one full day for just one hour. So try to start in the morning. It does not make sense to start to use in the evening.
Coverage Area
This pass covers all JR trains in Kanto area, such as Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Yamanashi, Gumma, Ibaragi and Tochigi, and whole part of Tohoku region. And the pass also cover some places in Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, such as Izu peninsula.
This pass covers the following major spots in the area.
- Nikko
- Odawara (Gateway to Hakone)
- Izu peninsula (Atami, Ito, Kawazu, Shimoda)
- Katsuta (Gateway to Hitachi Seaside Park)
- Karuizawa
- Kusatsu
- Kamakura
- Kawagoe
- Echigo-Yuzawa, Gala Yuzawa
- Aomori
- Hirosaki
- Akita
- Kakunodate
- Sendai
- Matsushima
- Aizu-Wakamatsu
- Yamagata
- Hiraizumi
This deal does not cover most part of places in Niigata and Nagano prefectures, such as Nagano, Matsumoto, Hakuba, Shinano-Omachi and Niigata. Those places are covered by another pass, JR East Pass Nagano Niigata. However you can access to Gala-Yuzawa, Karuizawa and Kobuchizawa by this pass even though those places are located in Niigata and Nagano prefectures.
I will tell you the coverage railways at next chapter.
Valid trains and lines
JR deals covers basically JR trains only. Non JR railway’s train and subway are not covered. But JR East Pass Tohoku covers many “NON JR” railway trains. The following railways are NON JR companies but those are covered by this pass.
- Tokyo Monorail (Haneda airport – Hamamatsucho)
- Izu Kyuko Line (Ito – Izukyu-Shimoda)
- Aoimori Railway (Aomori – Metoki)
- IGR Iwate Galaxy Railway (Morioka – Metoki)
- Sendai Airport Transit (Natori – Sendai airport)
- Limited Express Nikko, Spacia Nikko, Kinugawa, and Spacia Kinugawa (Shinjuku – Tobu-Nikko / Kinugawa-Onsen)
- Tobu Railway local trains and rapid trains (Shimo-imaichi – Tobu-Nikko/Kinugawa-Onsen)
Those covered trains are the benefit of this deal. JR Pass covers only Tokyo Monorail.
When you go to Nikko, JR East Pass Tohoku covers the limited express train to Nikko from Shinjuku directly but JR Pass does not. This is one of the benefits of this rail pass too. Please see the post below to find more information about the access to Nikko from Shinjuku:
JR East Pass Tohoku does not cover the Tokaido Shinkansen. Even if you want to use this Shinkansen in JR East area, like Tokyo to Atami or Tokyo to Odawara, this pass does not cover at all because the Tokaido Shinkansen is not operated by JR East but JR Central. When you want to get Odawara (Hakone) or Atami, your choice is rapid train or Limited Express Odoriko. These trains are covered by JR East Pass Tohoku.
Compare single fare and JR East Pass Tohoku
I will show you some sample rates. If total fares in your plan reach 20,000 yen, you can get the worth of this pass.
*All rates are based on base fare and reserved seat limited express supplement in regular season. The rate is varied by the season.
Trip to Nikko or Kinugawa-Onsen from Shinjuku or Ikebukuro by direct limited express train, Nikko or Kinugawa
Total fare is around 4,000 yen for one way to either Nikko or Kinugawa-Onsen.
Trip to Nikko from Tokyo by Shinkansen and local train
If you stay at east side of Tokyo, like Shinagawa, Tokyo, Ueno, this route may be faster than direct express from Shinjuku.
Total fare is around 6,000 yen for one way.
Trip to Otsuki from Shinjuku by Limited Express Azusa or Kaiji
Total fares are around 3,000 yen from Shinjuku for one way.
Trip to Matsumoto from Shinjuku by Limited Epxress Azusa or Kaiji
Total fares are around 7,000 yen from Shinjuku for one way.
Trip to Gala Yuzawa from Tokyo by the Joetsu Shinkansen
Total fare is around 7,000 yen for one way.
Trip to Odawara, Atami or Izukyu-Shimoda from Tokyo by the limited express Odoriko or Super View Odoriko
One way fare and the limited express seat fee are around 3,000 yen to Odawara ,around 4,000 yen to Atami, 6,500 yen to Izukyu-Shimoda.
Trip to Karuizawa from Tokyo by the Hokuriku Shinkansen
Total fare is around 6,000 yen for one way.
Trip to Sendai from Tokyo by the Tohoku Shinkansen
Total fare is around 11,500 yen for one way.
Trip to Akita from Tokyo by the Akita Shinkansen
Total fare is about 18,000 yen for one way.
Trip to Aomori/Shin-Aomori from Tokyo by the Tohoku Shinkansen
Total fare is around 17,500 yen for one way.
Trip between Narita Airport and Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shinjuku or Yokohama
Total fares are 3,000 to 4,500 yen to Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shinjuku and Yokohama by Narita Express.
Trip between Haneda Airport and Hamamatsucho by Tokyo Monorail
Single fare is around 500 yen for one way.
Fares in downtown Tokyo
You can take any local trains, like Yamanote line, Chuo line, Keiyo line by this pass. But the fares in downtown Tokyo is quite reasonable. If you take a local train from Tokyo to Shinjuku, the fare is 200 yen. When you calculate the fares and compare this pass and single fare, you can ignore the fares in downtown Tokyo. It does not help to get worth very much.
Assessment
If you are sure that you will travel in Tokyo, surrounding Tokyo and Tohoku region only, you may pick up this deal. This pass does not cover western part of JR East area, such as Niigata and Nagano. And of course Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Kobe, Nara, Takayama, Kanzawa, Hiroshima, Kyushu and Hokkaido either. JR Pass covers all part of Japan. JR East-South Hokkaido Rail Pass covers same area as this pass plus southern Hokkaido, such as Hakodate, Otaru, Sapporo. Please make sure where you will visit before you decide to buy the pass. You can find the link below to find the information of JR East-South Hokkaido Rail Pass and JR Pass:
Please try to find the best deal for your trip and save your cost.
Comments
Hi Takeshi-san,
I understand this pass covers super view odoriko and resort 21. It’s odoriko for reservation only and the other isn’t?
How about izu craile, is it covered as well with or without the meal package ?
Cheers
Hi Joe san,
You can take Odoriko without reservation. Super View Odoriko requires seat reservation. Resort 21 is mostly used for a local train between Ito and Izukyu-Shimoda.
Izu Craile does not have any ordinary seat. All seats are green class seat. You have to add green seat fee on top of the pass. Meal package is sold as the package tour. You cannot use any rail pass or any regular ticket. You have to buy it at the travel agency in Japan.
https://jprail.com/trains/sort-by-type/rapid-service/cruising-train-izu-creile-offers-you-very-comfortable-train-experience-to-izu-peninsula-from-odawara.html
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hi,Takeshi
Can I use this pass to cover between Ueno – Saku-Daira and paying full reserved seat fare between Saku-Daira and Nagano to ride Kagayaki Shinkansen to Nagano from Ueno ,or I can only use train that stops at Saku-Daira.I can’t use JR pass or JR east Nagano Niigata,because JR pass is too expensive and JR east Nagano Niigata don’t cover most of my destination in Tohoku.
Regards,
Mint
Hi Mint,
You can take Kagayaki by JR East Pass Tohoku and full fare for Saku-daira to Nagano. You don’t need to get off and exit at Saku-daira. But when you book a seat, you have to show your pass and tall the staff at the window that you can pay a full fare for Saku-daira to Nagano. You will be able to stay at same seat from Ueno to Nagano.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hello! Can I go to ashikaga flower park using the jr east tohoku pass?
Hi Yina,
Yes, you can.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hello Takeshi,
Is it will be a problem if for some reasons I need to change my passport after purchase a JR Deals (such as JR East Pass Tohoku Area)? Only the passport number will be different, All other informations (name, gender, date of birth, etc) in the changed passport will remain the same.
Thanks in advance 🙂
Regards,
Tera Prameswara
Hi Tera,
I don’t think it will be a problem. We don’t usually give a passport number when we purchase a pass.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hi, l understand that JR East Tohoku pass does not cover the shinkansen from Shinyokohama to Tokyo station, so if l decide to take the shinkansen between these two stations, l need to pay the full fare, am l right? However, l can use this pass to travel between these two points by the local lines like Shonan Shinjuku Line and Tokaido Line?
Thank you.
Hi Annie,
You have understood the condition correctly.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Thanks for confirming.
No worries, Annie.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hi Takeshi,
Can l use the JR East Tohoku Pass on NEX from Yokohama Station to Tokyo Station?
Thanks
Hi Annie,
Yes, you can.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hi Takeshi,
Do you have a 10 days sample itinerary whereby I could use the JR East Pass Tohoku region from Haneda Airport. I have explored all the touristy places before (Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Tokyo, Sapporo), but I would like to explore places like Nagano, Nikko, the snow monkey, Tohoku region, such as Aomori and things like that. I will be going there in February 2019. Is this the right pass for me? Thank you
Hi Andrew,
I don’t have 10 days itinerary but I have 7 days one.
https://jprail.com/destinations/tohoku-area/tohoku-7-days-by-japan-rail-pass-7-days.html
Nagano is not covered by JR East Pass Tohoku. If you want to visit both Nagano and Tohoku region, JR pass is required.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hi Takeshi,
Does all JR train in Tokyo area is also covered by JR East Pass Tohoku?
Regards,
Bintang
Hi Bintang,
Basically I can say Yes. It does not cover Shinkansen between Tokyo, Shin-Yokohama, Odawara, Atami.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hi Takeshi-san,
Let me clarify what I mean by JR trains in Tokyo Area is local train such as Yamanote line etc. Will it be covered by the JR East Pass Tohoku.?
Currently, I am planning the itinerary for next year visit to Japan.
Thank you,
Bintang
Hi Bintang san,
Yes, it does. Please find some more info in the link below:
https://jprail.com/destinations/kanto-area/tokyo-kanto-area/guide-to-take-trains-in-tokyo-how-to-choose-the-best-deal-and-the-best-route-by-train-to-get-the-major-spots.html
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Dear Takeshi-san,
Thank you very much
Best Regards,
Bintang
No worries, Bintang san.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hello Takeshi san,
This site is so wonderful. the best thing anywhere for understanding Japanese trains! My question is so big but you are so helpful so… what is the best solution for this 21day itinerary?
Nagoya to Tokyo to Tokorozawa
5 days in Tokyo
Tokyo to Sendai
Sendai to Yamadera
Yamadera to Tsuruoka
day trip Mt Haguro
Tsuruoka to Kanazawa
Kanazawa to Osaka
6 days in Kansai
Kyoto to Nagoya
I have thought of 21 day JR Pass, of a combination JR East-Tohoku + Kansai Thru Pass + some individual tickets, or just all individual tickets. It’s very difficult to decide! Your help will be much appreciated.
Hi Brian san,
JR pass 21 days is your choice. Other deals are not enough to cover your trip. But even if you have JR pass, you may need to add other deals or ticket because JR Pass does not cover subway, city bus and non JR trains. Especially when you are in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, you may need to add some fares. Please see the links below to find more info:
https://jprail.com/destinations/kanto-area/tokyo-kanto-area/guide-to-take-trains-in-tokyo-how-to-choose-the-best-deal-and-the-best-route-by-train-to-get-the-major-spots.html
https://jprail.com/destinations/kansai-area/guide-to-take-trains-in-osaka-how-to-choose-the-best-route-by-train-to-get-the-major-spots.html
https://jprail.com/destinations/kansai-area/guide-to-take-trains-in-kyoto-how-to-choose-the-best-route-by-train-to-get-the-major-spots.html
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Takeshi-san arigato gozaimashita!
I took a long time to thank you because I didn’t click the notification box and forgot to bookmark where I asked my question!
but I have another one now: I thought I had found a way to get from Sendai to Tsuruoka by train but can’t find it anymore. I know the Senzan line doesn’t go all the way there but is there another way? Or is it easier to go to Sakata?
Hi Brian,
There are two major ways.
Sendai – Furukawa – Shinjo – Amarume – Tsuruoka
Sendai – Akita – Tsuruoka
There are some more ways but these two routes are usually most common. Sendai – Akita – Tsuruoka is much longer distance than the first route. But you may take Shinkansen to get Akita from Sendai. This route is sometimes faster. Please use hyperdia to find the route. The fastest route is varied by the train connections.
https://jprail.com/travel-informations/basic-informations/timetable-and-reservation/hyperdia-perfect-guide-train-timetable-and-route-search-engine.html
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hi Takeshi-San,
Would you please give me advice on how to active this pass and reserve seats in advance before landing in Japan?
Does any other JR companies also offer pre-active and pre-reserve service in advance for its pass?
Thank you very much
Hi Joe san,
Please see the link below:
https://www.eki-net.com/pc/jreast-shinkansen-reservation/English/wb/common/Menu/Menu.aspx?_ga=1.4778995.1325107855.1421419524
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
cheers Takeshi-san.
So, it’s JR East the only JR company that does online pre-reservation?
Thanks
That’s right, Joe san.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Thanks
Hi Takeshi,
We are really having a huge confusion on what pass we can buy. here is our itinerary:
Day 1- Narita-Shibuya/Shrines
2- Disney Sea
3- Mt Fuji
4- Nagano
5- Nagano
6- Shirakawa-go
7- Kyoto
8- Kyoto/Nara
9-12 Osaka/KIX
Hi Joann,
You may use Hokuriku arch pass for the first 7 days.
https://jprail.com/travel-informations/other-rail-passes/rail-pass-for-visitors/tokyo-osaka-hokuriku-arch-pass-user-guide-clarify-valid-trains-coverage-area-and-compare-single-fare-and-pass.html
But you need to add the fare for trip to Fuji from Tokyo and trip to Shirakawago from Kanazawa in this 7 days coverage period.
After arriving Kyoto, you can use local deals in Osaka and Kyoto.
https://jprail.com/travel-informations/other-rail-passes/rail-pass-for-residents/how-to-choose-the-best-train-pass-for-sightseeing-in-osaka.html
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/sample-itineraries/airport-access/kansai-kix/how-to-choose-the-deals-for-access-tofrom-kansai-airport.html
Single ticket is okay for trip to Nara. But if you intend to add other day trip, like trip to Kobe and/or Himeji, you may use Kansai area pass or Kansai thru pass.
https://jprail.com/travel-informations/other-rail-passes/rail-pass-for-visitors/how-to-choose-discount-railway-ticket-and-pass-in-kansai-area.html
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com