With next week being Golden Week, a friend (also foreign) told me about the JR East Pass, which according to him costs 20,000¥ and gives you five days of JR Rail and Shinkansen in the East. He also stated that it was only for foreigners or something about promoting tourism etc. However when I went to enquire at the station, the clerk told me I had to register online and directed me to a site that seemed to be open to everyone including Japanese people (dare I say specifically Japanese people, or at least residents, because the forms to fill in included Japanese address, name, company/school, etc) which led me to understand this was some sort of different pass, as I was under the impression I was applying for something for foreigners. Are there different types of passes? Have I got something wrong/ was there a miscommunication? And if so, could someone more knowledgeable about these passes tell me more about them please? I haven’t come up with much more information.
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You don’t buy them at the station, you buy them/pick them up at JR Service Desks.
Also it’s literally the first google result – [https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=JR+East+Pass](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=JR+East+Pass)
I get the JR pass all the time. I’ve only ever received it in person, but you can also get it in specific ticket machines. The other guy gave you instructions on how to do it. But yes, the JR East pass is legit.
There are several types. You can get any one that doesn’t say “only for those with status of overseas visitor” by ordering online and picking up at designated machines (with a passport reader)/some staffed offices. You can also buy the pass directly from one of the survival machines but it’s better to purchase online so that you can make reservations online.
https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/pass/eastpass_t.html
I get my JR pass through Klook, it’s very worth it if you will take day trips or get a little bored of the city your in and want to train hop.
It’s open to foreign residents too, not just tourists.
I’m pretty certain you can also buy them at the station if you can speak Japanese. At least I don’t remember registering online last time. We just took our passports with us.
You can buy these passes from any JR ticket machine that has the passport reader attached to it