Did you know that JR Pass prices are increasing by ~70% from the 1st of October 2023? And are you heading to Japan on or after October 2023?
If so, and you’re considering whether to get a JR Pass, this video is for you, as we’ll be talking about how you can potentially still benefit from the current prices as well as maximizing the JR Pass with the new prices!
Grab a nice drink for the next few minutes and just think of me as a friend sharing some good summaries about it over a drink with you (virtually!)
Link to buy the JR Pass: https://bit.ly/3YPDjS4
If you’re wanting to learn more about the JR Pass in detail, you can first check out our Part 1 video about the JR Pass here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmZmZhVB-jU
Timeline as follows:
00:00 Intro to the JR Pass and its price that’s set to increase
00:20 2 scenarios before & after JR Pass prices increase
00:44 what JR Pass is (from our Part 1 video)
01:08 why is the JR pass prices increasing?
01:34 JR pass current prices vs new prices – a table summary
01:47 Watching this video before 1st October? This is 1 action you can take now!
02:06 1 recommendation for buying a JR Pass before your trip
02:23 when is the last day you can buy the JR Pass at the current prices before the prices increase – according to the official JR Group announcement
03:01 Scenario 1 – buying JR pass at the current prices and potentially use it until beginning of 2024
03:48 Scenario 1 example
04:40 Scenario 2 – is the JR pass worth it after the prices increase and how you might be able to maximise it
05:29 2 example itineraries after the JR Pass prices increase
06:32 a few more days in Japan before & after the itinerary examples? Consider these attractions!
06:55 Wrapping it all up about the JR Pass
07:30 Outro and thank you!
For this video, I’ll be covering the 4 main topics:
1. Quick overview of what JR Pass is and how you can buy it (link above)
2. Why the JR Pass prices are increasing!
3. Buying the JR Pass before 1st October: How you can potentially buy the JR pass at the current prices before the ~70% increase and use it until the beginning of 2024
4. Buying the JR Pass after 1st October: How you can still maximize the JR pass after the price increases with some itinerary examples. (Note: these are estimations based on the new JR Pass price compared to today’s individual ticket prices, which will likely also increase after the new JR pass prices come into effect from 1st October 2023. This means that you’ll likely save even more after the prices increase! )
Important notes:
#1 Within the video, I laid out a nice table of current prices vs. new prices for you to see the price differences and the % differences for each of the pass types: 7-day JR Pass, 14-day JR Pass & 21-day JR Pass, including both ordinary/standard class and green/premium class as well.
#2 I also included the prices for children below the same table.
#3 The itinerary examples include day-trip visits to places like Nara while you’re stationed in Kyoto or Osaka as well, so as to maximize your JR pass.
Why I’ve created this video is really because my family had the great opportunity to travel to Japan in 2023, and the JR Pass served us so well during our trip that we thought it would well be worth it for us to invest time to create this video to share our thoughts and ideas with the world from a tourist’s perspective, as the process of planning and deciding whether the JR pass would be worth it or not takes some thoughts and considerations!
My hope is that this video will help to benefit you in one way or another!
If you enjoyed this video & found it beneficial for your upcoming Japan trip, please LIKE the video and SUBSCRIBE to our channel, so more people in the world can benefit from this video like you just did!
THANK YOU and enjoy your trip in Japan, land of the rising sun!
11 Comments
Given Im travelling in November, this is really timely for me to get it at the current prices before I get there! Thank you! Definitely thinking to do the golden route that you mentioned, but not sure whether Kanazawa that you mentioned is a good option as this will be our first trip there. Thoughts?
Hey there Jules, I think it depends on what you’d prefer in terms of the places you’d want to visit and how long you’d want to spend in each place. I’d say if it’s the first time, might be a good idea to look at Hiroshima first as part of your trip because that’s a great historical location to check out and you’re buying the JR pass at the current prices anyway so you’ll definitely save quite a bit.
Thanks for this great video! We are planning to get the premium green pass before the price increases for our upcoming trip in Dec'23. Do you think we should go to Miyajima while visiting Hiroshima as well? Thanks!!
Thanks everyone for stopping by and watching this video about the JR Pass and how you can navigate your way through the impending price increases from 1st October 2023! I hope you enjoy it and I'll definitely be posting the updates as the JR group releases more information about the JR Pass, including the new benefits!
JR pass have a app?
All JR propertys with 1 app
JR they are working with airlines?
If you buy the JR pass at the current price, will you get the tourist discounts included in the update?
If you're doing the route mentioned in your video you should also include an average of JR line fare usage when in Tokyo or cities that have JR lines. Using the subway going around the city each day can become very costly for a duration of your trip. While the price increase is a slap in the face to tourists if you visit more than one city via Shinkansen and plan to ride JR local subways a bit during the day the pass will still be worth it. You can also buy the pass through a travel agency such as Klook and get discount offers on the pass, such as getting up to 15% off on the pass with promo codes. So you'll more than likely get some sort of discount on the higher price to.
Question: Not buying any passes. Do I need to pre-purchase tickets for these routes?
Plan:
Osaka -> Kyoto -> Tokyo: From KIX, take JR Haruka to Kyoto. From Kyoto, take Shinkansen (Hikari or Nozomi) to Tokyo.
Nikko: Use NIKKO PASS world heritage.
Tokyo -> Hakone: Take Odakyu train from Shinjuku to Odawara, then transfer to Hakone Tozan Line.
Hakone -> Fuji Five Lakes: Bus from Togendai to Gotemba. Then, Fujikyu Bus from Gotemba to Kawaguchiko.
Fuji Five Lakes -> Matsumoto: Fujikyu Bus to Mishima, Tokaido Shinkansen to Nagoya, then Shinano Limited Express.
22.09 Matsumoto -> Kanazawa: JR Oito Line to Shinano-Omachi. Then, Hokuriku Shinkansen from Toyama to Kanazawa.
25.09 Kanazawa -> Hida-Takayama: Hokuriku Shinkansen to Toyama, then JR Takayama Line.
27.09 Kyoto: JR Takayama Line to Nagoya, Tokaido Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka, then JR Kyoto Line to Kyoto.
Note: Stopping at Kyoto for luggage (studying there for 4.5 months).
Hey there, seems like you’re going end of September? If you’re going during this month I think it’s not the peak season, but I’d suggest to look into pre-purchasing some train tickets, especially the shinkansen, odakyu train (if you take the romance car, limited express) and Shinano leg. Apart from those, I think you’d be fine but I’d also just double check again on TripAdvisor’s Japan forum for some of the great opinions there!