Saturday, February 14, 2009

USING THE JAPAN RAIL PASS

The Japan Rail Pass comes in three forms, the 7, 14, and 21 day versions.

Initial Purchase
You must purchase the Japan Rail Pass outside of Japan. You can usually purchase it at any travel agency such as JTB or Kintetsu International. Only those visiting Japan as Temporary Visitors (eg tourist status) can get the Japan Rail Pass.

When you make your initial purchase, you get a Japan Rail Pass
VOUCHER. When you arrive in Japan, you use the voucher to exchange for the actual Japan Rail Pass.

Exchanging the voucher for the Japan Rail Pass
Exchanging for the Japan Rail Pass voucher can be done at select Japan Railway Stations in Japan:
Click here for the list of exchange stations.

When you exchange your voucher, you can specify which day you want the pass to start. So it is not necessary to use the pass immediately.

The Japan Rail Pass is a passport sized booklet, it cannot be used at the automatic ticket gates, so you must always show it at a manned gate to enter and leave a station.

Japan Rail Pass Validity
The Japan Rail Pass is valid per CALENDER DAY, not per 24 hour period.
For example:
If you activate the Japan Rail Pass on Monday at 9PM it will expire 3 hours later at 12AM. It is not valid until 9PM the next day.

Reservations with the Japan Rail Pass
The Japan Rail Pass covers all base fare, limited express, express fees. So to ride normal JR trains you just show your pass and you are ok.

If you need to make a seat reservation for a train, seat reservations with the Japan Rail Pass are FREE.

Using beds on night trains require paying an additional fee.

To make a seat reservation, go to any JR train station ticket office, and present your Japan Rail Pass to make a free reservation.

Train station staff will be able to understand basic English in making you a reservation. To make things faster, it is best to write down your travel information on a piece of paper and give it to the staff.

Be sure to include:
  1. Date you wish to travel
  2. Train Type (Shinkansen is the name for the Bullet Train in Japan)
  3. Time you wish to leave
  4. Starting Station
  5. Ending Station
Trains you cannot use the Japan Rail Pass on.
Generally speaking,
the Japan Rail Pass is only valid on Japan Railway (JR) Trains and not trains of other companies.

Also, the Japan Rail Pass is not valid on trains NOZOMI Shinkansen trains. If you are traveling Tokyo <--> Kyoto / Osaka / Hiroshima etc. You can only use KODAMA or HIKARI Shinkansen trains.