When Is The JR Rail Pass Worth Buying If You’re Travelling To Japan

If you want to visit more than one city on your next trip to Japan then the JR Rail pass is still excellent value in some cases! I’ve done the maths so you don’t have to!

On our last trip to Japan we flew in and out of Tokyo, but we also wanted to see Osaka and Kyoto. And we did it using JR Rail passes. Taking the bullet train is faster, easier, and cheaper than taking an internal flight in Japan.

It might not seem like the most exciting topic to write about (it probably isn’t to be honest!) but if you’re planning to go to Japan then understanding these passes could save you a fortune. So here’s what you need to know:

What Are JR Rail Passes?

JR Rail passes are unlimited train tickets that are only available to non-nationals in Japan, and you have to buy your pass before you arrive in the country. Because these passes are exclusively for overseas citizens, you will need to carry your passport when you travel with your pass.

You’ll actually get a voucher for a pass in the post: you’ll have to exchange this for your JR rail pass when you arrive in Japan. Once you’ve got it, your pass will allow you to travel on any JR (Japan Rail) train or train line for a set period of time.

You can get one week or two week JR Rail passes, but the one week tickets are a lot cheaper, so we got 1 week passes and made sure we did all our big train journeys within those 7 days!

Klook.com (function (d, sc, u) { var s = d.createElement(sc), p = d.getElementsByTagName(sc)[0]; s.type = “text/javascript”; s.async = true; s.src = u; p.parentNode.insertBefore(s, p); })( document, “script”, “https://affiliate.klook.com/widget/fetch-iframe-init.js” );

How Much Are JR Rail Passes?

A 7 day JR Rail Pass will cost 50,000 Yen (£243) for adults and 25,000 Yen (£121)for children.

A 14 day JR Rail Pass will cost 80,000 Yen (£390) for adults and 40,000 yen (£195) for children.

A 21 day JR Rail pass will cost 100,00 Yen (£487) for adults and 50,000 yen (£243) for children.

As you can see, the longer you get the pass for the cheaper it will be per day, but the more expensive passes are only good value if you plan to take long cross-country train journeys on a lot of the days of your trip. Otherwise you can get around the main cities in Japan using the metro system (and you can’t use the JR pass on the metro)

You can buy your passes here.

I’ve given the prices for the ordinary pass because that’s what we used and it worked perfectly for us. But there is also the option to upgrade and buy a Green Pass instead: however these are much more expensive. The difference between the Ordinary Pass and the Green Pass is that you get quieter carriages, amenities such as complimentary drink and hot towel, reclining seats, and extra luggage space.

So worth it if you’re feeling fancy (and spendy!) but not really needed for the average family.

You can see a full chart comparing the two passes here.

KLOOK SHINKANSEN TICKETS ARE NOW FULLY AMENDABLE! Meaning there’s no better place to buy your tickets: Read my post all about this big change here.
🚄 Book your easy to amend Shinkansen tickets with Klook now
🎁 Use code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get a 5% discount on all prices too

Is The JR Rail Pass Good Value?

The JR Rail pass represents great value BUT only if you plan on extensive intercity travel in your trip to Japan. If you’re visiting to spend a week in Tokyo then you’d be wasting your money: just get a SUICA pass for the metro system instead!

It’s worth noting the prices of JR Rail passes was almost doubled this year! Meaning that while they were worth buying for our last trip, they wouldn’t be if we were to do the same journeys right now.

We travelled from Tokyo to Osaka, Osaka to Kyoto, Kyoto to Osaka, and then Osaka back to Tokyo. The individual tickets for these 4 journeys would have cost significantly more than the price of the pass when we got them but significantly less right now!

And that’s what you need to do sadly: the grunt work of calculating how much the individual tickets for each trip you plan to take will cost, weighed against the price of the pass.

Some examples to help you do your own sums are below:

A one way ticket between Tokyo and Osaka will cost 14,650 yen (£71)

A one way ticket between Osaka and Nagoya will cost 6,237 yen (£60)

A one way ticket between Kyoto and Tokyo will cost 13,800 yen (£67)

A one way ticket between Osaka and Kyoto will cost 3,220 yen (£15)

So the JR Rail Pass worth buying? Yes, but with so many caveats! If you’re travelling the length of Japan by train then this is by far the best way to do it. But if you’re only taking 1 or 2 journeys (like travelling to and from Tokyo and Osaka, for example) then it might be better to book them when you arrive, and save your pennies!