I’ve tested the JR Ordinary Pass over a menstruum of vii days trying out diverse modes of transportations nationwide. During my travels, my novel Japanese friends all looked at my top amongst awe follow amongst a sigh,
So, if y'all are a foreigner visiting Nihon for a vacation, reckon taking upwards the offer! Now, let’s verbalize over a often asked question:
✅You are a fan of educate travels.
It's an first-class means to encounter vast areas of the country
✅You are going to embrace long distances inward a brusque period
This is what I telephone weep upwards the backpacker’s way: Going from cities to cities inward a brusque menstruum of time, staying just a nighttime or ii inward each.
Situation:
You are landing inward Osaka, working your means upwards to Kyoto, Nara, Hakone, Tokyo, together with and then flight out from Tokyo.
✅You wish to sense a Shinkansen circular trip.
The 7-day top costs nigh the same equally a Tokyo-Kyoto shinkansen roundtrip ticket.
Situation:
If you’re going to move past times the bullet educate from Tokyo to Kyoto, produce around solar daytime trips out from Kyoto (eg: Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima), together with and then provide to Tokyo inward vii days, this top volition convey y'all the best value.
✅You are basing yourself inward a city, doing equally much solar daytime trips equally possible.
Shinkansen (bullet train) brand previously impossible day-trips possible. This way, y'all won’t create got to motion your luggage every other solar daytime to a novel location.
Situation:
You tin easily achieve Kyoto from Tokyo inward three hours amongst Hikari bullet train, hence if y'all start your solar daytime early, y'all tin acquire inward at 9.16 am, pass 10+ hours exploring the sights together with and then acquire on the 8.53 pm Hikari educate dorsum to Tokyo.
❌You are just doing urban travel
Most cities aren’t good served past times the JR lines, but at that spot are too cities that do, for example: the loop trains inward Tokyo together with Osaka. However, inward my opinion, the Tokyo Subway top together with Osaka Amazing Pass convey much to a greater extent than value than the JR pass.
❌You prefer ho-hum travel
You are interested to encounter everything inward a place, immersing inward the culture, joining a cooking class, taking a long stroll inward the park… If y'all autumn into this category, perhaps a regional pass or city top with flexible move dates would produce goodness y'all instead of a broad province pass.
❌You are just visiting nearby cities.
A regional pass is to a greater extent than useful.
Situation:
You are basing yourself inward Tokyo, visiting Kawagoe, Nikko, Kamakura, Kawaguchiko together with Hakone.
❌You are traveling on a shoe-string budget.
You are just visiting major cities together with y'all have fourth dimension to spare.
If you’re on a rattling tight budget, JR top may non survive for y'all since it is not just “cheap” inward the commencement place.
First together with foremost, y'all create got to understand your ain priorities. Are y'all willing to merchandise off fourth dimension together with comfort? If the respond is yes, Highway buses is a much cheaper means to become that distance. Not to shout out getting to save a nighttime accommodation!
- Your bucket list! what produce y'all wish to encounter on this trip?
Step 2: Plan out your route
- You tin search Japan Experience for ideas. or Click hither for suggestions!
Step 3: write downward the train journeys y'all are taking.
Step 4: Go to the Hyperdia website
- Find out the move fourth dimension needed, transfers together with regular ticket prices of each journey.
- Always refer to the full cost from the top ( which usually contain of the educate fare together with spot price.)
Step 5: Add them upwards together with compare the cost amongst the JR pass.
🚄Wide coverage
- With to a greater extent than than 20,000 kilometers of track, the bulk of the country's most iconic landmarks are easily accessible via rails.
🚄Travel long distances inside a brusque time
- on Shinkansen, saving y'all a heap of time.
🚄Cost efficient
- if y'all are taking a lot of educate journeys.
- Flat-fee!
🚄hassle free
- You won't demand to purchase tickets separately.
🚄Be equally spontaneous equally y'all want
- brand side trips anytime at no extra cost.
🚄You tin brand spot reservations for free, staying away from the crowd.
- usually this is an additional cost but it’s an included service amongst the pass.
Visiting Nihon for three weeks doesn't hateful y'all should purchase a 21-day rail pass.
When I was on a 3 weeks trip to Japan, I just needed a 7-day rail pass for the most expensive leg of journeys (I grouped them together to maximize the pass). So other days, I could move slowly, view 1 or 2 subject parks, explore the cities throughout together with breathe inward the culture.
However, if move exhaustion is non something y'all would worry nigh together with y'all would similar to encounter equally much equally y'all could inward a faster pace, a 2 or fifty-fifty three weeks top would brand sense for the incremental cost acquire cheaper for each additional week.
Remember, there is no correct or incorrect means of traveling. So don’t acquire pressured into doing what everyone else is doing.
Now that you've decided to acquire one, create got a await at Japan Experience and pick out your desired pass: There are ordinary (standard) together with Green (premium) auto to pick out from, equally good equally the valid menstruum (7/14/21 days)!
"only foreigners acquire all these corking discounts".
I was similar HOW is this possible!? Then I establish out that Nihon citizens are just eligible to purchase these passes if just they are living abroad for more than 10 years. 
So, if y'all are a foreigner visiting Nihon for a vacation, reckon taking upwards the offer! Now, let’s verbalize over a often asked question:
Does the Nihon Rail Pass pay off nether whatsoever circumstances?
Honestly, the respond is no. Not always, but it is a valuable purchase if y'all innovation your itinerary accordingly. I’ll pause things downward for you:It WILL pay off if:
It's an first-class means to encounter vast areas of the country
✅You are going to embrace long distances inward a brusque period
This is what I telephone weep upwards the backpacker’s way: Going from cities to cities inward a brusque menstruum of time, staying just a nighttime or ii inward each.
Situation:
You are landing inward Osaka, working your means upwards to Kyoto, Nara, Hakone, Tokyo, together with and then flight out from Tokyo.
✅You wish to sense a Shinkansen circular trip.
The 7-day top costs nigh the same equally a Tokyo-Kyoto shinkansen roundtrip ticket.
Situation:
If you’re going to move past times the bullet educate from Tokyo to Kyoto, produce around solar daytime trips out from Kyoto (eg: Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima), together with and then provide to Tokyo inward vii days, this top volition convey y'all the best value.
✅You are basing yourself inward a city, doing equally much solar daytime trips equally possible.
Shinkansen (bullet train) brand previously impossible day-trips possible. This way, y'all won’t create got to motion your luggage every other solar daytime to a novel location.
Situation:
You tin easily achieve Kyoto from Tokyo inward three hours amongst Hikari bullet train, hence if y'all start your solar daytime early, y'all tin acquire inward at 9.16 am, pass 10+ hours exploring the sights together with and then acquire on the 8.53 pm Hikari educate dorsum to Tokyo.
It WILL NOT pay off if:
❌You are just doing urban travel
Most cities aren’t good served past times the JR lines, but at that spot are too cities that do, for example: the loop trains inward Tokyo together with Osaka. However, inward my opinion, the Tokyo Subway top together with Osaka Amazing Pass convey much to a greater extent than value than the JR pass.
❌You prefer ho-hum travel
You are interested to encounter everything inward a place, immersing inward the culture, joining a cooking class, taking a long stroll inward the park… If y'all autumn into this category, perhaps a regional pass or city top with flexible move dates would produce goodness y'all instead of a broad province pass.
❌You are just visiting nearby cities.
A regional pass is to a greater extent than useful.
Situation:
You are basing yourself inward Tokyo, visiting Kawagoe, Nikko, Kamakura, Kawaguchiko together with Hakone.
❌You are traveling on a shoe-string budget.
You are just visiting major cities together with y'all have fourth dimension to spare.
If you’re on a rattling tight budget, JR top may non survive for y'all since it is not just “cheap” inward the commencement place.
First together with foremost, y'all create got to understand your ain priorities. Are y'all willing to merchandise off fourth dimension together with comfort? If the respond is yes, Highway buses is a much cheaper means to become that distance. Not to shout out getting to save a nighttime accommodation!
How to banking concern fit if y'all demand a rail top or not?
Step 1: List out your key destinations- Your bucket list! what produce y'all wish to encounter on this trip?
Step 2: Plan out your route
- You tin search Japan Experience for ideas. or Click hither for suggestions!
Step 4: Go to the Hyperdia website
- Find out the move fourth dimension needed, transfers together with regular ticket prices of each journey.
- Always refer to the full cost from the top ( which usually contain of the educate fare together with spot price.)
Step 5: Add them upwards together with compare the cost amongst the JR pass.
The payoff of having a JR broad province pass:
- With to a greater extent than than 20,000 kilometers of track, the bulk of the country's most iconic landmarks are easily accessible via rails.
🚄Travel long distances inside a brusque time
- on Shinkansen, saving y'all a heap of time.
🚄Cost efficient
- if y'all are taking a lot of educate journeys.
- Flat-fee!
🚄hassle free
- You won't demand to purchase tickets separately.
🚄Be equally spontaneous equally y'all want
- brand side trips anytime at no extra cost.
🚄You tin brand spot reservations for free, staying away from the crowd.
- usually this is an additional cost but it’s an included service amongst the pass.
The disadvantage of having a JR broad province pass:
Honestly, I can’t mean value of any.
How many days produce y'all demand it for?
When I was on a 3 weeks trip to Japan, I just needed a 7-day rail pass for the most expensive leg of journeys (I grouped them together to maximize the pass). So other days, I could move slowly, view 1 or 2 subject parks, explore the cities throughout together with breathe inward the culture.
However, if move exhaustion is non something y'all would worry nigh together with y'all would similar to encounter equally much equally y'all could inward a faster pace, a 2 or fifty-fifty three weeks top would brand sense for the incremental cost acquire cheaper for each additional week.
Remember, there is no correct or incorrect means of traveling. So don’t acquire pressured into doing what everyone else is doing.
The verdict:
For most of the time, the top is worth having.
To larn to a greater extent than nigh the pass, read: Everything y'all create got to know nigh JR Pass
To acquire itineraries, read:
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This postal service is made possible past times Nihon Experience.
As always, it is based exclusively on my honest sentiment or personal experience.
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