★ Japan Rail Pass Calculator Tool: https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/
Learn more about the price increase: https://www.japan-guide.com/news/japan-rail-pass-cost-increase.html
Learn more about the Japan Rail Pass : https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html
In this video, we’ll cover all the basic things to know about the Japan Rail Pass, how to buy it, how to use it and answer some of your most frequently asked questions.
*Chapters*
0:00 Intro
0:51 Types
1:12 Validity
2:42 How to Purchase
3:38 How to Use
4:06 Are seat reservations mandatory?
4:49 What is the pass’ exact validity period?
5:17 Is the Green Car worth it?
5:36 Can I upgrade to Green Car with an Ordinary Pass?
5:56 Does the pass pay off?
6:28 Outro
*Video Credits*
Videographer: Charles Sabas
Producer: Stefan Schauwecker
For more information about Japan:
https://www.japan-guide.com/
Any questions regarding your future trip to Japan? Feel free to ask a question in our question forum:
https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quedisplay.html
37 Comments
You can still purchase one before 31 Sept 2023 and it lasts for 3 months, which means you can exchange it latest by end December 2023. Heck since it's going away, why not splurge and buy a green car pass? It's pretty worth it.
the real bad news will be if shinkansen tickets also go up. bc no one is going to buy this now
That's sad news. We used the JR Pass in 2020. It was wonderful and affordable so we upgraded to the green pass… But if it's more expensive, we probably won't get it next time we visit.
Great, informative video. The new price is ridiculous—you would have to travel at least the distance from Kagoshima to Hakodate to get your money's worth from just a 7-day pass. I can't imagine why anyone would buy it.
So sad jr pass is now more expensive.
Can't afford it now in trip.
I have a pregnant
I just bought my JR but I'm traveling to Japan until September 25 but I'm going to use my JR from October 1 to October 7, my question is, can I use the JR with the new advantages or does it not apply? thank you
I was curious whether Japan wanted more tourists, or less tourists, and now I know the answer.
This new price is abusive…
just buy tickets a la carte, you will not be able to match the value of the pass and enjoy your time visiting
I understand raising the price, but to increase it by so much, and STILL not include the Nozomi is pretty disgusting
sad
I would love a video or article on using regional JR passes instead because of the price hike.
It is best to check the cost of your train use use google maps (it will tell you the cost of your train trips) to see if you will get your money's worth out of the pass. I am going to Japan in a few weeks and I confirmed that I will be saving at least $100 with all the train travel that I will be doing.
Question, a friend and I are going to Japan on October 10th. Are we able to purchase the JR Pass before October with the current price and just activate it when we get there?
Oh dear, my heart goes out to the train station workers who will have to deal with even more confused tourists now that they have to purchase every ticket separately. Also I wonder if this will cause people to stay in the main tourist spot (kyoto) and miss out on less popular but still fantastic places. Maybe that's the plan.
tokaido sanyo shinkansen is covered from Hakata to Osaka and Tokyo, right?
It is expected and much needed for a rail industry .
I wonder if this is a way for JR to secretly discontinue the JR pass… Basically pull the strategy from Disney: Raise the price of the annual pass to ridiculous levels in order to get more people to buy single ride tickets, which they profit more from.
Was increased?? Its not October 2023 yet..
It is becoming too confusing.
Tip: Look into the regional rail passes. They still have a price that makes sense and actually saves money. I used the JR Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass this year and it was totally worth it, much better for my itinerary than the "general" JR Pass. Its cost will increase in October from 15k yen to 17k yen, that is 13,33% compared to 70% or so for the Japan Rail Pass. Completely ridiculous. Makes me think they want tourists to now go for regional passes and explore more of the regions instead of travelling only between the "usual" Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara cookie cutter places. By the way, out of my 7 trips to Japan so far, this was the best ! Got to see Himeji castle during Sakura season. Easily one of the most beautiful places I have been to in my life.
That's too easy, in 2019 we arrived at Tokyo spend a week there and then we stay at Osaka for another week because it's more affordable, and we use shinkansen daily to Kyoto. We also use the pass for nelita express. Our pass definitely worth it.
They omitted to mention that residents with non-Japanese passports are eligible to buy this since 2021! I just bought a 5-day pass at ¥20000 for my JR East Rail Pass!
JR Pass was introduced in 1981. If you have any sense of the difference in foreign tourist numbers between then and now, you’ll understand why JR no longer feels the need to subsidize your train travel.
Slow down.
now i take domestic flights instead
Did I hear correctly? You seemed to mention October 2023 as it had already passed, but we're in August 2023. Did you mean October 2022?
I used the 21 days pass in winter of 2023! Totally worthy back then at about 450 euro. Went to Niigata, Nagano, Fukui, Nagoya, most of Kyushu and back to Tokyo with many stops on the way
Thanks for this video, very informative. Are there any indications if the price of regular shinkansen tickets will also increase by October’23?
I’m visiting Japan early December this year, but can I still get the JR Pass with the old price in Sept so it still has 3 months validity to exchange to the Pass in December?
I just realised this was Charlie from 2 Min Japan! やった！
Glad I have used JR pass before price rise to travel from Shin-Hakodate to Kagoshima in my past trips. With the new price I would have to spend 5days travel on a 7day pass to make it worth it.
If u decide to not buy the JR pass, can u pay to use the shinkansen from tokyo to kyoto using the IC card?
If I may suggest, please emphasize that JR Pass is a Golden Ticket. Once you lost it, it will no longer be replaceable.
Did I hear it well? 70%?? Or 17%?
i'm just glad it isn't TOO confusing…
I know the answer to my question, but my paranoia is forcing me to ask it anyways.. lol.
My issue date on my jr pass that just arrived is August 2nd, 2023. So I should be totally fine to activate this on October 20th right?