Ultimate Lifehack Guide to Purchasing Rail Passes

As mentioned above, rail passes typically allow holders to ride trains for an unlimited amount of times within the valid area and time period. They can be great for fully exploring an area quickly and cost-effectively. Most rail passes typically run for a consecutive duration, although there are occasional passes that allow you to use it on non-consecutive days.

Rail passes typically differ by coverage area, duration, and valid lines. The most commonly known rail pass is the Japan Rail Pass that covers all JR lines nationwide, including most Shinkansen services in 7 day, 14 day or 21 day durations.

Different regions also have their own operators which offer smaller scale passes covering individual regions at lower rates, for example there are JR East passes that cover Tohoku, JR Kyushu passes that cover Kyushu, or Hankyu passes that cover Kansai.

You can find more rail passes and itineraries for them at our Rail Passes section.

Each rail pass has its own purchase and redemption conditions. In general, for passes offered by JR, you can purchase them online before coming to Japan, and then bring the reservation email to a JR ticketing counter to redeem your physical pass.

Do note that you should check which stations your pass can be redeemed at, and also your supporting documents such as your passport. Note that most passes can only be purchased by foreign tourists (carrying a “Temporary Visitor” stamp on their passport), so take note if you are traveling with friends who stay in Japan.

Some passes can only be purchased in person, either at a ticketing office or at automated ticket machines. So do check the requirements of each pass before hand.

Rail passes these days are largely automated, although there are some that still require the use of manned ticket counters.

For automated rail passes, you will get a physical ticket that you can put into the ticket gantry. Remember to retrieve it from the end of the gantry after passing through it. These tickets cannot be used at IC Card only gantries, and at stations without ticket gantries, you can show this ticket to the manned counter staff when entering or exiting.

For manual rail passes, you typically have to pass through the manned counter lane where they would usually stamp your ticket. When you leave, you will have to go through the same process.

If you are taking a Limited Express train, you can simply board it and show your rail pass to the conductor during ticket checks. The conductor might also ask you which station you are alighting at, so that you won’t be checked again till you alight. Make sure that you board the non-reserved carriage if you do not have a reserved seat ticket.

For the Shinkansen, you can use the rail pass to pass through the Shinkansen gantries. Similarly, make sure to sit in the non-reserved carriages if you do not have a reserved seat ticket.

Depending on your rail pass, you might be entitled to seat reservations. Some passes might entitle you to unlimited seat reservations, while some would have have a restriction of six reserved seat tickets for example.

Also depending on your rail pass, you might be able to use automated ticket machines to reserve your seats. For example, JR East and JR Kyushu allow you to insert your rail pass into their Limited Express ticket reservation machines to make your reservation, while JR West still requires you to go down to the ticket counter to make your reservation.

You can usually cancel or change your seat reservations up till right before the departure of your train, just go down to a ticketing office and tell them which tickets you no longer want and which tickets you want instead.

This largely depends on your trip itinerary, and whether you are making the best use of your pass.

For example, if you want to travel by round-trip from Tokyo to Osaka and back, buying the 7 Day Japan Rail Pass would not make financial sense. The pass would cost around ¥50,000, while a round-trip without it on the Shinkansen would cost around ¥25,000, and a round-trip by bus would cost around ¥10,000. In this case, it would not be worth it, unless you use your pass to travel elsewhere around Japan.

Conversely, if you use that same 7 Day Japan Rail Pass to travel for example: Fukuoka - Nagasaki, Nagasaki - Hiroshima, Hiroshima - Osaka, Osaka - Kanazawa, Kanazawa - Matsumoto, Matsumoto - Tokyo, this trip by Shinkansen and Limited Express would cost around ¥54,000 as compared to the ¥50,000 of the train pass. Making it barely worth it, but saving you the headache of constantly buying new tickets.

So if you’re thinking of buying a rail pass, it’s best to plan your itinerary around maximizing the value of it. Again, if you’re looking for itineraries for rail passes, you can check out our Rail Passes section.

The idea of dragging your luggage across multiple cities might seem like a daunting one, but there are actually solutions to make your journey a more hassle-free one.

The most common is to use the coin lockers available at almost every major station. These lockers typically take ¥100 coins (or IC cards for larger stations), and a locker that would take 2 cabin sized luggages usually costs around ¥700. So most people would simply leave their luggage at the station locker for the day, and just pick it up to head over for check-in at the hotel.

If you have a bit more cash to spare, there are also luggage forwarding services where you can send your luggage from one hotel to the other via courier service. Depending on how much you’re willing to pay and the distance, you can send it within the day or get it the next day.

Generally, we recommend the coin locker option as it is easier to manage, and you don’t have to worry about delivery timings and schedules.

Apart from the major JR rail passes that cover large regions across multiple days, many private train operators often offer round-trip rail passes or day-trip passes around major cities. For example, Tokyo Metro has a 1/2/3 Day Metro Pass that gives you unlimited rides on the subway over that duration. Tobu offers a rail pass for a round-trip to Kawagoe from Tokyo, and Keikyu offers a rail pass from Shinagawa to the Miura Peninsula, even including lunch.

There are a wide variety of rail passes with different benefits, and it’s always worthwhile checking out what’s available in the city that you’re visiting in order to maximize the value that you can get out of it.

Rail passes are great ways to explore across the entirety of Japan, allowing you to cross long distances that would otherwise be too expensive by a regular Limited Express or Shinkansen ticket, or too slow by local trains.

Designing an itinerary around a rail pass can also often feel like a road trip, as you travel from city to city exploring new places, and discovering new things. We highly recommend getting an appropriate rail pass when you come to Japan, and really venture out beyond the usual tourist spots in Japan.