Japan Rail Pass: is it worth it for Australians

Japan Rail Pass deals are worth it only if you ride long distances in a short time. As a rule of thumb, the 7 day pass costs about the same as shinkansen tickets for a Tokyo and Kyoto round trip. Plan less rail travel than that and single tickets will cost you less.

This guide gives the 2019 prices, what the pass covers, how to buy it, and an easy method for testing your own trip.

Sources for this section: Japan Rail Pass official site, About JAPAN RAIL PASS; japan-guide.com, Japan Rail Pass.

What the pass costs in 2019

The pass comes in two types. Ordinary covers standard seats. Green covers the roomier first class Green cars. Each type is sold for 7, 14 or 21 days. These are the yen prices for an Exchange Order bought outside Japan, as at April 2019. Children aged 6 to 11 pay half.

You pay in Australian dollars, so the final figure depends on the exchange rate and on any service fee the agent adds. The rate used is shown on your Exchange Order. The JR Group says prices can change, and the price that applies is the one on the day your Exchange Order is issued.

Sources for this section: Japan Rail Pass official site, About JAPAN RAIL PASS (prices as of April 2019); japan-guide.com, Japan Rail Pass.

What the pass covers

The pass works on almost all JR Group trains. That includes shinkansen bullet trains, limited express, express, rapid and local trains. It also covers local JR buses, the Tokyo Monorail and the JR ferry to Miyajima. It does not cover highway buses.

There is one big catch. The pass is not valid on Nozomi and Mizuho trains. Nozomi is the fastest train on the Tokaido and Sanyo lines, which link Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. Pass holders ride the Hikari, Sakura or Kodama trains instead. Hikari is a little slower and runs less often. If you board a Nozomi by mistake, you pay the full fare. You cannot pay an extra amount to upgrade.

Some JR trains run partly on other companies' tracks. For those sections you pay a separate fare. Seat reservations on JR trains are free for pass holders. The Green pass does not cover the extra charge for GranClass cars on some shinkansen lines.

Sources for this section: Japan Rail Pass official site, About JAPAN RAIL PASS (Scope of Validity); japan-guide.com, Japan Rail Pass.

How to buy it and who can use it

Buy the pass before you leave Australia. You buy an Exchange Order from an authorised agent or sales office, such as JTB, Nippon Travel Agency, Kintetsu International, Tobu Top Tours, Japan Airlines or JALPAK. In Japan you swap the order for the pass at an exchange office in a major JR station. Bring your passport.

1. Buy the Exchange Order outside Japan.
2. Take the order to an exchange office in Japan before three months have passed since it was issued.
3. Pick a start date at the exchange office. It can be any day within one month of getting the pass, and it cannot be changed afterwards.
4. Show the pass at the staffed gate. Pass holders cannot use the automatic gates.

Only visitors who enter Japan as "temporary visitors" can use the pass, so check your passport stamp at immigration. If you cannot get a pass, you can return the order to the agent for a refund within one year of issue, though fees apply. Since March 2017 a trial sale has run at selected stations and airports inside Japan, but the prices there are much higher. A 7 day Ordinary pass costs 33,000 yen, against 29,110 yen when bought abroad.

Sources for this section: Japan Rail Pass official site, From purchase to travel, and About JAPAN RAIL PASS; japan-guide.com, Japan Rail Pass.

How the days count

The pass runs for consecutive calendar days, from midnight to midnight, not for 24 hour blocks. If you start a 7 day pass at noon on day 1, it ends at midnight at the end of day 7. That makes your first day worth planning well. Start with a long train trip, not a short ride from the airport into the city.

The pass is personal. Only the person named on it can use it, and staff may ask to see your passport.

Sources for this section: japan-guide.com, Japan Rail Pass; Japan Rail Pass official site, About JAPAN RAIL PASS.

Is it worth it for you?

Work it out before you buy. First, list each long trip you plan, such as Tokyo to Kyoto, Kyoto to Hiroshima, or Tokyo to Kanazawa. Next, price each trip as a single ticket on a timetable site such as Hyperdia. Then add the totals and compare them with the pass price for the number of days you will be travelling. The japan-guide.com rail pass calculator does the same sum.

• It likely pays off if you cover several far apart cities in one week or two, or if you want to make side trips on a whim at no extra cost.
• It likely does not if you stay in one region, use mostly subways and city buses, or spend most of your trip in one city.
• Remember Nozomi. Hikari trains take a little longer, so allow for that when you plan.

City travel alone will not justify the cost. In Tokyo the Yamanote Line and in Osaka the Loop Line are covered and useful. In Kyoto, however, subways and many buses are run by other companies and are not covered. Some travel agents also add a service fee or use an unfavourable exchange rate, so compare a few quotes.

Sources for this section: japan-guide.com, Japan Rail Pass; Japan Rail Pass official site, About JAPAN RAIL PASS.

Sources

1. Japan Rail Pass official site, About JAPAN RAIL PASS (archived 2 June 2019): japanrailpass.net
2. Japan Rail Pass official site, From purchase to travel (archived 27 May 2019): japanrailpass.net
3. japan-guide.com, Japan Rail Pass (archived 29 March 2019): japan-guide.com