For anyone getting visitors, JR pass prices for foreigners are set to skyrocket in October

13 comments

1. On the flip side, the yen is so weak right now that tourists from almost anywhere are unlikely to notice too much of a major difference

2. Absolute crazy hike, I’d advise my friends to plan around it and book a flight to Tokyo, get a one way shinkansen ticke to Kansai or wherever and fly home from there.

   Baffling decision by JR imho

3. With the yen so bloody low I don’t blame them. As long as normal train fares aren’t hiked up more I’m happy.

4. Well, the JR Pass is more of a luxury than necessity. You can always buy single tickets, rent a car, or if you’re a serious budget traveler, take the night buses.

5. On the plus side, it now gives access to the nozomi I believe

6. Sad, it has been one of the best travel deals anywhere. On my first trip to Japan before becoming a resident, I used a 3-week pass to go Nagoya -> Hiroshima -> Kobe -> Kyoto -> Tokyo -> Sapporo -> Tokyo -> Nagoya. Absolutely amazing value for money.

7. I have a friend who works for JR and I asked him about this when it was first announced. He said the reasoning was because they were still using the same price as when it was first introduced in like the year 2000, and it was way too low compared to the average costs of things in other tourist-oriented sectors. In the past 20 years the number of western tourists has skyrocketed and it’s been proven that the people who come to Japan are the types to spend a lot of money. Basically, they knew they could absolutely get away with it. The big increase is to make up for 20 years of difference.

8. I’ve been looking into the increase for work reasons and it does suck for visitors that it’s increasing so much, but OTOH:

   1. It’s the first fare increase in decades (possibly ever)

   2. Nozomi trains will finally be opened to the pass

   3. You can pre-purchase JR passes at the current rate ahead of the increase (up to 3 months in advance)

9. Thank goodness! The shink is getting overcrowded on some routes

10. Let’s say I buy the Jr pass at the current prices in September

    But I use the activation in November

    Wouldn’t I still be paying the old price considering once you buy the Jr pass – you have 90 days to activate it

11. Who is the current pricing a sweet deal for? I have a 2-week trip coming up in July and the JR Pass costs slightly *more* than buying all the individual fares (Narita > Tokyo > Hakone > Kyoto > Naoshima > Tokyo > Narita).

12. Here is my recommendation for people who wants to travel intercity but don’t want to pay for the upcoming huge JR Pass fee. If you are traveling between 2 cities ( eg, Tokyo ⇄ Osaka/Kyoto region ) it wouldn’t be worth a single cent using JR Pass.

    Just plan your itinerary early and purchase a Jetstar flight ticket from NRT to KIX. Although Narita is pain in the ass to go, but overall it only takes you about 3 hrs from Tokyo → Narita → Osaka. And most of the time the plane tickets only cost about 10k yen return ( and it’s not only for Osaka, most Jetstar flight to most of the Japanese cities are around 10k yen round trip ). Although you have to pay for you baggage but it’s definitely worthier than buying 50k JR Pass just to use their Shinkansen for 1 intercity travel.

    Also, many tourists may surprise but JR Pass is not the Golden pass for all Japan rails, only rails operated by JR are usable for JR pass as the name implies. Other major lines like Toei, Tobu in Tokyo or Osaka Metro, Hankyu in Osaka aren’t free for JR Pass holders.

13. JR passes are rarely a great option in the first place.

    Half the lines you ride aren’t covered by it. And unless you’re taking the Shinkansen nationwide every day it’s difficult to break even