Plan your trip around the passes. Which is to say choose your regional pass and then plan your trip within its restrictions.

Thank you. The single fare ticket that allow stop over is new to me! I will definitely explore that option

Very informative and clear.

Thank you! The best summation of the changes, and the thought process to determine the value of other options. For me, probably just spend for the increased pass for the convenience and options. But good to know about other options, particularly if I were focusing on specific regions.

Thank you, this was so helpful

Excellent video. Thank you!

I think regional passes are the way to go. Not mentioned much in the video but I think many first time travelers to Japan are not aware that a JR pass doesn’t even make sense if you go to specific regions and that there are many private railways. As an example. In Tokyo, or Hakone, or Mie peninsula/Koyasan a JR pass is pretty much useless or super complicated if you want to use mainly JR

Hey Japan guide Love ur videos keep it up Lots of love from India 🇮🇳❤

Great video. Thank you.

Great info. Thanks!

Wonderfully well done. Thank you!

ありがとございます❤ Lots of love from India 🇮🇳❤ Keep it up

Great information

Great content. A shame that the increase in price almost made the pass unviable.

For me the best alternatives is to now go for the regional passes. For example I will be heading for Fukuoka and want to visit Nagasaki and the Kansai region and even have stop in Hiroshima along the way. Then instead of the JR Pass buy the San’yo Sanin Northern Kyushu Pass which is not that expensive and you are covering a great distances. Although not as simple as the JR Pass with a bit of research it will save you a lot and still cover long distances.

Got my pass right before increase, but good to start thinking of alternatives for next time!

This helps alot, im staying for 3 months and i didnt want to do the JR Line because I want to take my time traveling

I have booked my 5th trip to Japan using the JR paid a few days before the price increase. I think from the next trip on, we will start focusing in specific areas of Japan, using only regional passes. They increased of price, but not mentally like the standard JR.

Not even the increase in JR pass rates can deter me from going back to Japan! Those regional passes are definitely an option to consider when moving around within a certain prefecture.

This video is unnecessarily daunting. For regular overseas travellers, who typically do a simple run like Tokyo to Osaka, visit the JR ticket office at the station and buy a ticket (single or return) on the day. They know enough English to help you. Vending machines are also simple to use. Unreserved seat is fine because that can be used for any train on the day, while a reserved seat can still be used in an unreserved car of a later train if you somehow miss your train. You're only minor concern for obtaining a ticket is travelling on a hugely popular national holiday, and the train is sold out. Visiting Japan 6 times and bought the rail pass 5 times, I've never struggled for an unreserved seat, so it really isn't an issue. Next visit I will just buy at the station.

Thanks for the video, generally what would you advise for a trip from Tokyo to Kyoto and okinawa with a stop in lake kawaguchiko?

That's some good information about those regular train tickets. I completely wasn't aware about those rules for stopovers or multi day validity. For my upcoming trip in November I'll just be buying tickets, as even at the old price the JRP wouldn't pay off. And the new prices are just a bad joke....

The base fare ticket sounds good! Clear explanation on which trains can be used for this system is needed . Could Japan guide please do a short KZfaq to explain slowly thus? Does it mean base fare system cannot be used with Shinkansen and Limited Express trains?

The price is insane now but the alternatives can be complicated

Both JAL / ANA offer flight passes exclusive to foreign visitors. They are much cheaper than Shinkansen if travelling long distances within Japan. For example, HND to ITM is only 7700 yen for JAL, and HND to FUK is only 11000 yen.

The best way to make your trip cheaper and more time efficient is to completely ignore the JR Passes and book an open-jaw ticket. Land in Tokyo and return from Osaka/Hiroshima/Fukuoka.

The 7-day Sanyo-San'in area pass is great for my trip. Although I'm in Japan for 2 weeks, I spend 8 nights bouncing around Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima (including within that travel to Nara and Miyajima etc.) When combined with other travel within the region for tourist attractions etc. it becomes the stress free way to do things as although shinkansen use for me in the region is only a return Osaka - Hiroshima (10,000 yen each way), the 3000 yen covers all other trips within and around each city. Which is great when in Kyoto and Osaka especially but Hiroshima too thanks to covering the ferry.

great video. As a family of four people could be renting a car a valid solution for a round trip along the west and east coast between tokyo and kyoto?

You forgot to mention the Hokuriku Arch Pass. We are going to purchase this one because still worth it without lots of travelling and no rise in price 😊

I still feel a bit lost because I don't know which pass to buy when I go to Japan next year. 😢 I will be in Japan for 3 weeks in total. First I will be in Nagoya and the surrounding areas, then go to Fukuoka and would like to possibly go to Kagoshima. At the end I would like to travel to Tokyo. For my travel plan, I think I'd still be better off with the Japan Rail Pass (14 days) because I don't want to have a domestic flight either. The last time I bought the Kansai Pass, but then I had problems because it didn't allow to ride the trains that I could normally ride with the Japan Rail Pass. That was confusing. 😰

JR Pass was such a treat when I visited Japan in 2008. I had the 21 Day pass and used it every day! 7 Days in Tokyo for regional ans Subway train´s. For the transit from Tokyo to Kyoto and in and around Kyoto of curse. Transit from Kyoto to Fukuoka and oll over the area there. For example I went to see Beppu and mount Aso from Fukuoka. I also went to Kagoshima and its surroundings. From there I went to Osaka for my Flight back home. It was such a great time. Sadly that kind of trip would be much more expensive now and I struggle to see equally cheap alternatives. Combining multiple Regional passes will easily be as, if not more, expansive.

How about supplements ticket? How does it work?

Thank you, can you answer my question? The ticket is from Fukuoka to Osaka. Can I have a day in Hiroshima and Kobe?

I shall now only cycle to get anywhere in Japan.

there should have been mentioned JR passes do not cover all travel unlimited within the stipulated period as there are exceptions with non jr privately owned lines and of course the nozomi shinkansen

Hakuriku Arch pass is the best option for golden route area + kanazawa (Shirakawa)

Forgot to book before🥴. The price of 7 Days Pass eqivalent to a round trip air tickets. 😄 No need to worry about anymore ....

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One thing You missed with the base fare is that the area in Kanto in which you cannot stopover is HUGE spreading from Matsumoto to past Mito(Hitachi if I remember correctly?). The areas in other metropolies are much smaller but still need to be accounted for. That's the main reason why I'll take the overnight bus and local pass route.

6:45 where I can find this table online? This is very interesting and want to check if I can save money for my upcoming trip.

I saw that the Calculator does not allow for Green Card pricing. How can evaluate a 7 day JR Pass vs buying individual tickets?

What do you mean by paying supplement with limited express train when you want to do stop over in kyoto riding from Tokyo to Hiroshima?

There is more than one website when you check in google.. Which one is the official website of JR Pass please?

Does the national JR railpass cover Tokyo Metro? It did when I visited in 2018 but I can't find anything saying it does now.

The route passing any given station twice is a bit tricky. Could you please explain in detail with real examples?

This is a reactionary to over tourism in discrete areas of Japan such as Kyoto, and too many tourists on Hikari Shinkansen's between Osaka and Tokyo. Aside from this, this is JR doing a cash grab in light of inflation in many overseas countries, and potentially in response to strong US dollar (a case of "well, they can pay"). The issue is that it will fail miserably to address the real issues. 1. Firstly the elephant in the room - this is not to adjust for Japanese inflation. Unlike many other countries, Japan's inflation over decades has been minimal. To get an accurate increase of 70% using Japanese inflation, one would need to go back to 1977. Effectively 100 Yen in 1977 is equivalent to 170 Yen now. 2. If this is a cash grab, it will fail miserably because..... The Japan Rail Pass price is elastic. It's already one of the highest priced rail passes globally, and at the price it was, was costly but worth it for the convenience. Having elastic pricing means there should be a very drastic reduction in sales for each yen the pass is increased. Increasing the pass by 70% might reduce sales to as much as 10% of the original figure. Time will tell, but JR will certainly find out they've made a mess of it. 3. The problem is a Japan Central one, with Osaka and Tokyo having too many tourists on it. This change though simply shifts the problem from Hikari (that is less frequent, but less frequently used) to Nozomi. Hopefullly a severe reduction in usage will mean that the few that use the pass post price change, will be the type annoying enough for JR to realise they've just burdened Japanese commuters using the Nozomi where previously they were unaffected. And with many noting that rail passes are not worth it anymore to travel between Tokyo and Kyoto, all the tourists that choose not to get pass will flood the Nozomi anyway (because they'll be paying for that single trip). 4. How the price increase was calculated.... I have a hypothese. With the introduction of self booking through ticketing machines, JR was able to accurately calculated exactly how much each JR pass user was incurring. Some users of the pass (like myself), used the system to make it a very good value proposition. Others were purchasing it and using it for convenience rather than cost. Could it be this cost is now incurred by all users? If this is so, that's not the purpose of the pass. It's not meant to be a way to charge foreigners a price above and beyond what they would actually pay. It's encourage tourism. 5. Japanese tourism and the Japanese economy could benefit by keeping it as it is.... Although Japan's economy does not rely on tourism, small towns used to be beneficiaries of tourism by rail. Small towns usually rely heavily on tourism due to many having populations migrate out to large cities for the purposes of work. Small towns that once thrived on international tourism on top of domestic tourism, will now have to rely on primarily domestic tourism as without a railpass, many tourists will stick to the cities they arrive in or take single trains between Kyoto and Tokyo (of course flooding the Shinkansens as they always did.... defeating the purpose of the change). The change will fail!

Is it possible to combine two regional tickets? We would like to visit Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and then from Osaka go back to Tokyo. Would 2 regio passes be the best option or should we stick to the national pass?

Do you think that people should use the staffed ticket gates instead of automatic ticket gates when using the Japan Rail Pass, or maybe even all types of tickets? I’ve seen some reports online where people said that their pass got “stuck” in the automatic ticket gate. I’ve used the automatic gate-compatible Japan Rail Pass many times without issue. I envision that if there ever is a problem, the staff can retrieve it from the machine, but I’m thinking that next time I use the pass, I should just use the staffed gates.

Hi! Instead of buying the JR Pass, I want to buy a round-trip train from Tokyo to Hiroshima and buying separate supplements tickets to stop in some cities along the way. Where can I buy the fare ticket plus the supplements? Just at the station or can be bought online?

Ok, so my family and I will be going to Japan in November 2024. We are planning a 15 day trip. We’ll be arriving at narita, travel to Tokyo, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Nagoya, Hakone, Kanazawa and back to Tokyo. will it be still more beneficial for me and my family to buy the 14 day pass?

So if I understood correctly, I could buy a one way ticket from Tokyo to Hiroshima and I could stop in Kyoto and Osaka for a couple of days along the way as it would be valid for 6 days? Thanks

So I understand the base ticket concept but how do you buy the ticket choosing seperate supplementary charge to allow stop over. If I go to JR ticket office what is the terminology to request this so I can make simple requests please

So I planned to do Tokyo > Kyoto (Stay 3 days in Kyoto) > Osaka (Stay one night in Osaka) and then Hiroshima. Should I buy a ticket from Tokyo to Hiroshima then?

So if I buy a return ticket and I want to do a stopover at Kyoto between Tokyo and Hiroshima I have 6 days to do it and on my way back I want to stopover in Osaka does the 6 days start from my return date from Hiroshima? Or I have 6 days to complete the whole return trip?

The regional passes are now also too expensive😢😢😢

Ok that part of the base fare from 0524 onwards really needs more clarification etc. It is definitely confusing. It probably needs more examples to clarify how the savings would apply. E.g let's take a journey from tokyo to Hiroshima with a stop at himeji. If one were to take shinkansen on both legs, how can one make it cheaper? Do you mean one should buy for tokyo to Hiroshima base fare and buy two extra limited ticket to cover shinkansen vs tokyo to himeji and himeji to hiroshima? Is that what you mean? If yes, we may also need videos of how to do this via ticket machines. Most tourist i suspect do not know how to buy these base fare and additional ticket for shinkansen or limited express.

Hi, if I want to buy a ticket from tokyo to osaka by shinkansen and want to stop by in kyoto for three days, how do I only buy the base fair from tokyo to osaka and the two supplement fee tickets for shinkansen?

Guys I'm still confused, should I get the JR pass or no. I'm planning to visit for 2 weeks and will be going to - Tokyo, Yokohama, Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka. I planning to do a relaxed trip which includes these main touristy destinations. I'm not including Kanazawa, Shirakawa, Nagano. Can anyone guide me if I should take the JR pass or just use IC cards to travel everywhere & pay for Shinkansen separately? Which will be cheaper guys?

Just fly with the jal explorer pass for 7700 from tokyo to osaka

How would using an IC card be compared to getting a regional pass?

Is Sam Evans back?😀

Renting a car is it cheaper and convenient?

Nah, Just buy a ticket from where you are to where you want to go. All of the above info is strictly of value for for those who are prepared to spend a whole night comparing multiple options to save $3 on a ticket. It is a bit like those who spend hundreds of hours on the net juggling credit card/flight miles to save $20 on a flight from somewhere they are not to somewhere they don't want to be. I'm looking at my options for next year. If I twist and shape my travel plans around what is the cheapest travel option, I just won't get to where I want to be or stay there for how long I want to be there.

that’s ok i think i’ll just walk

Does anyone else think this was implemented to hinder multi-regional trips for tourists? From what I understand, the post-quarantine opening of Japanese borders were completely overwhelming to the infrastructure. Is this response meant to limit saturation of tourism of the country en masse? Prior to the pandemic, I had a month long trip to Japan planned, with the JR Rail Pass being the main transportation cost in my itinerary for visiting Tokyo, Osaka, Itsukushima, Kinosaki Onsen, and Kyoto. I don’t even see such a trip as being possible now. At least not on the budget I had it set for back then.

Когда у вас будут интересные видео? Были же? 5 месяцев без интересного контента!

70%...just why 😢

This is ridiculously complicated.

JR Rail Pass is unviable now

jr pass completely useless now unless you game the system and travel every day on Shinkansen!

With the opening of the new Brazil/Japan agreement, why not make a presentation in Portuguese or at least with subtitles in Portuguese?

I have no interest in this video whatsoever