Hokuriku Arch Pass for Foreign Residents?

I’m going to Tokyo from Osaka next week and need advice on the trains: I can do the normal thing and take the Tokaido Shinkansen for \~¥28,000 for a round trip, but I’ve learned about the JR Hokuriku Arch Pass that, for ¥25,500 and for 7 days, will let me travel from Osaka to Kanazawa on the Thunderbird train and then ride the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Toyko. The travel time is longer (approximately 5 hours versus the 2.5 hours on the Tokaido), but it’s a few thousand yen cheaper, as well as critically giving me unlimited use of JR trains in the Tokyo area, which I will be using extensively during my stay.

But there’s a small catch: the eligibility for the pass is [stated on the JR site as](https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/hokuriku-arch-pass/#sec02):

* *This pass can only be used by foreign tourists visiting Japan from abroad under “短期滞在 (Temporary Visitor)” entry status. (It cannot be used by Japanese citizens.)*
* *To be eligible as a short-term resident, the following requirements must be met: A stay of up to 90 days with the intent of tourism, etc. or a passport stamp signifying the short-term stay status, provided by Immigration when arriving in Japan.*
* *Residents of Japan, including those with permanent residence abroad, are not eligible for the pass.*

The thing is, in October I used the ‘Kansai Wide Area Pass’ to travel around Kansai and Chugoku which had the exact same eligibility criteria where foreign residents ostensibly cannot use it (which I didn’t know at the time), and yet when I went to exchange my confirmation order at Osaka station, there was no problem. The staff even took my passport to check, and then gave me the pass without issue.

So I’m not sure what to do: do I do the ‘normal’ thing that will cost me thousands of yen more, or try the rail pass and hope it works a second time?