Japan Rail Pass

Are you traveling to Japan? If so, you may want to consider purchasing a Japan Rail Pass to save money. I bought the pass when I visited my family a couple of years ago. Transportation is extremely expensive in Japan. For example, it costs over $100 USD easily between Tokyo and Kyoto and the price is for one way. So if you are visiting multiple prefectures in Japan, it will save you tons of money by using this Rail pass. Of course some restrictions such as the Pass only covers the very basic features do apply so if you are visiting Tokyo and surrounding areas only, there is no need for you to buy a pass because the Japan Rail Pass isn’t cheap. 🙁

Japan Rail Pass types and prices. 

You can either choose Green Car (more luxurious and spacious, reserved) or an ordinary pass. The ordinary seats are good enough for me but some people want more privacy and also want to reserve seats. And if you don’t mind paying more for Green Car, I would say “go for it!”

You can purchase either Green or Ordinary Japan Rail Pass in the following duration.

For a 7-day Green Car pass, it would cost 38,880 Yen for adult and $19,440 Yen for children.

For a 7-day ordinary pass, it would cost 29,110 Yen per adult and 14,550 yen for children.

You can also get a ticket in 14 days and 21 days depending on where you would be staying. As I have to warn you that Japan is a  very expensive country so make sure not to

Eligibility

If you are a Japanese citizen, you need to be a permanent resident of another country.

For those who are not a permanent resident or a citizen of Japan, you need to be on a temporary visitor’s visa (tourist). You cannot buy this pass if you are on a student visa.

You cannot buy this pass in Japan so make sure to buy one prior to visit. ^_^ There are different websites that sell the Japan Rail Pass and you can get it from your travel agency as well.

There are some downsides to buying a Japan Rail Pass.
-It is still very expensive. (29110 for 7 days/46,390 yen for 14 days) but you can easily spend over $1000 USD if you pay for individual train ticket.
-Restrictions apply so you cannot use this pass for Nozomi or Mizuho. These are much faster than the regular bullet train. You cannot upgrade to these trains, and if you want to take Nozomi for example, you have to pay the entire ticket price.
-Rail pass only covers the very basic fare. So if you want a larger seat in Green Car, you will need to upgrade your pass.
-You cannot share the pass with other tourists or you cannot transfer the pass to another person.