Thinking of buying a whole Japan JR Rail pass for your trip to Japan? Most guidebooks and blogs will list these as a ‘must have’ for newbies visiting Japan for the first time. And in a lot of cases, they’re right! But some people would save money if they didn’t buy a Japan Rail Pass at all. So is the Japan Rail Pass worth it? And do you really need to buy a Japan Rail Pass? That’s the big question I’m setting out to answer here!

The reality is there is no one-size-fits-all answer: it depends on what you’re doing, and who you’re doing it with! We’ve done a trip to Japan where we DID buy a Japan Rail Pass and a trip to Japan where we DIDN’T buy a JR Pass, so this post is based on our real and honest experience as a family of four!

We’ll cover the pros of buying the Whole Japan Rail Pass as well as the cons (the obvious one being the cost!) and then I’ll outline who I think the pass would work for, and who should probably give it a miss.

1. What Is The Japan Rail Pass?
2. How Much Does The JR Pass Cost In 2025?
3. Our Itinerary And How We Used The Pass
4. Pros of the JR Pass (From Our Experience)
5. Cons of the JR Pass (From Our Experience)
6. Who Should Buy The JR Pass?
7. Final Verdict – Was It Worth It For Us?
8. Further Reading

Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!

What Is The Japan Rail Pass?

Before I outline our full JR Pass experience, I’m going to start with the basics! What is the Japan Rail Pass?

The Japan Rail Pass (I usually call it the JR Pass but they’re the same thing!) is a specific train ticket designed for tourists visiting Japan. You can only buy these tickets BEFORE you land in the country and they can only be used by those in Japan on a temporary visitor visa. The Whole Japan Rail Pass (which this article is all about) offers unlimited travel on most trains operated by Japan Railways (JR) for a set number of consecutive days.

We used a 7 days whole Japan Rail Pass, but you can choose between:

• 7 day pass
• 14 day pass
• 21 day pass

To get the best value from your pass, you will need to use it on the Shinkansen bullet trains, but you can also use the JR Pass on any local JR trains as well as on buses and even ferries that are operated by JR.

The aim of the pass is to make long-distance travel across Japan worthwhile, simple, and (if you do it right) cost-effective.

🚄Ready to buy your JR Pass? You can book it here with instant confirmation
🎁 Use the code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to save 5% off your ticket prices

If you want a full breakdown of how the JR Pass works and the different options available, then check out my post: Best Value Whole Japan Rail Passes For Families in 2025.

How Much Does The JR Pass Cost In 2025?

One of the most frequently asked questions for first time travellers to Japan is how much does the JR Pass cost in 2025, and I’m going to level with you here. This isn’t cheap!

When we first visited Japan in 2023 the passes were very affordable and almost everyone visiting got one as standard, but since then the prices have been put up by around 60% meaning you have to make several journeys, and long journeys, for these passes to be financially worthwhile.

It’s also worth noting that you’re only considered a child under the age of 11, so now our oldest is 12, we would need to pay for 3 adult tickets. Another factor that bumps the price right up! At the other end of the scale, if your kids are under 6, they can share your seat and travel for free!

To help you decide if the JR Passes are right for you, I’ve broken down the prices for the three types of whole Japan JR passes here:

Type of Pass	Price Per Adult (12+)	Price Per Child (6-11)	Check Availability and Buy
7 Day JR Pass	£256.75	£128.39	👉Check availability
14 Day JR Pass	£410.79	£205.39	👉Book now
21 Day JR Pass	£513.49	£256.75	👉Buy tickets here

🎁 SAVE 5% off these prices by using my code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK when you click through to buy!

Our Itinerary And How We Used The Pass

We travel as a family of four (2 adults and 2 children) so we got half price tickets for the boys. We also travelled a lot, leaving Tokyo and then managing to see Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Hiroshima in seven days then zooming back down to tokyo before our 7 day Japan Rail Pass ran out! This is how you get the most value out of these tickets.

🎎 You can see our FULL 14 day Japan itinerary in this post

Planning a different route? I ran some example itineraries so you could see when the JR Pass is worth it AND when it isn’t:

Example 1 – Classic “Golden Route” trip

• Itinerary: Tokyo → Kyoto → Osaka → Hiroshima → Tokyo (all within 7 days)
• Individual tickets: ~¥59,000 per adult
• 7-day JR Pass: ¥50,000 per adult
   Saving: ~¥9,000 per person

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Example 2 – Tokyo + day trips only

• Itinerary: Tokyo → Nikko → Kamakura → Yokohama → Mount Fuji area (all within 7 days)
• Individual tickets: ~¥18,000 per adult
• 7-day JR Pass: ¥50,000 per adult
   Result: Not worth it — better to buy regional passes or single tickets.

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Example 3 – Family trip with kids

• Itinerary: Tokyo → Kyoto → Osaka → Tokyo
• 2 adults + 2 children (ages 8 and 10)
• Individual tickets: ~¥162,000 total
• 7-day JR Pass: ~¥130,000 total
   Saving: ~¥32,000 for the family

https://thatmumtravellife.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/image.png?w=723

Pros of the JR Pass (From Our Experience)

• Great value for long-distance travel – If you’re visiting multiple cities (like our route to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima that I’ll link here) then the pass will save you money compared to buying separate tickets.
  
• Unlimited travel within your chosen period – First-time travellers often try to cram in as much as possible in a short period of time. And we were just as guilty of this as everyone else! These passes are perfect for this, and even mean you can take spontaneous day trips without any extra expense!
  
• It includes some local trains and buses – it’s not just for long-distance travel, it can also be used for sightseeing within cities. It’s convenient – We loved that we only needed one ticket for everything. No queuing or paying every time we wanted to get on a train!
  
• Great value if you’re travelling with kids – Under 6s travel for free and kids aged 6-11 are half price so its amazing value if you have a young family. On our first trip both of our boys were under 11, so this worked out as great value for us.
  
• Train travel in Japan is a lot of fun! It would be remiss of me not to mention just how much we loved riding the shinkansen. The speed, the views from the window, eating the special bento boxes. One of those situations where the journey really is a part of the adventure.

💡 Check out my full guide to the Best Value JR Rail Passes for Families in 2025 to see which pass works for your trip.

🚄If you think the JR Pass will work for your trip, you can book it here with instant confirmation
🎁 Use the code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to save 5% off your ticket prices

Cons of the JR Pass (From Our Experience)

• These aren’t always cheaper – Don’t assume the JR Pass is automatically the cheapest option! If you only want to take 1-2 journeys by Shinkansen train then individual tickets will almost certainly be cheaper.
  
• The JR Rail Passes don’t cover Nozomi and Mizuho trains – These are the very fastest bullet trains so if you’re time-poor this is something to consider.
  
• They can only be used on consequetive days – You can’t pause your pass, so if you’re spending a couple of days in a new city and not using the train, this could decrease the value of the pass for you.
  
• You have to pay the cost upfront – You pay for your pass in full when you buy it, which can be a big chunk of your holiday money if you’re on a tight budget.

💡 I break down exactly When the JR Rail Pass is Worth Buying in this post, so check it out to avoid overpaying!

Who Should Buy The JR Pass?

I’m going to be honest here, the JR Pass isn’t for every travellers. But when it works, it REALLY works!

If you’re planning to cover a lot of ground, it’s a game changer. On our first trip we zipped from Tokyo to Kyoto, then down to Hiroshima and back up again – all without the expense of individual tickets. And I liked that i’d already paid for the passes months in advance too!

Families in particular will love the convenience of these passes – no constant ticket machines with kids (especially when they’re tired at the end of a long day)

But where these passes really come into their own? First time visitors who want to see a little bit of everything (and as much as possible) during their time in Japan.

My top tip? If you’re not sure if it’s right for you, jot down your planned train journeys and add up the costs. When it was our turn to book, we were surprised just how quickly the Japan Rail Pass paid for itself!

Final Verdict – Was It Worth It For Us?

For us (when we used it) the Japan Rail pass was totally worth it! We had two kids under 11 who we didn’t have to play full price for AND we were planning a LOT of train travel. The JR Pass was better value than buying individual tickets for all the trips we were planning to take. If we were doing that exact same route again, I think we would still book the Japan Rail pass.

🚄If you think the JR Pass will work for your trip, you can book it here with instant confirmation
🎁 Use the code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to save 5% off your ticket prices

It’s also worth factoring in that the pass provides the freedom to change plans at the last minute without buying new tickets, the convenience of not lining up at ticket counters in every city, and if you’re travelling with kids, the sheer excitement of riding the fastest trains in the world.

On our last trip to Japan we wanted to spend a couple of weeks really immersing ourselves in Tokyo and everything the city has to offer, so we only used Suica cards (I’ve got an in-depth post about using these coming!) and it would definitely not have made sense to buy JR Rail Passes for this trip.

And on next year’s trip? We will be using the Shinkansen to travel to Yokohama and Osaka. Then from Osaka we will be flying out to Okinawa and flying back into Tokyo to start our journey home. For this route (which only includes 3 shinkansen journeys) it isn’t worth getting the JR Rail Pass either. But we are excited to be getting back on these bullet trains again! It’s not just a way to get from A to B: it’s a huge experience, and a great part of travelling in Japan, especially if you’re travelling with kids.

What do you think? Have you used the JR Rail pass in Japan or did you decide not to? What route did you take, and was it worth it? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Further Reading

Are you researching shinkansen tickets as part of a wider trip to Japan? Wondering if the JR Pass is worth it for families? Planning to visit Japan with kids and looking for the best activities, itineraries, and things to see and do? Here’s a list of further reading to help you with your planning:

🚄 A step by step guide to pre-booking luggage on the Shinkansen
⛱ One day in Odaiba with Kids: The Ultimate Itinerary for Families in Tokyo Bay
🎎 The Ultimate 14 day Japan itinerary for First Timers
🗼The Ultimate 5 Day Tokyo Itinerary for Families: Full Guide for Travelling with Kids

Have you used the shinkansen in Japan? Did you buy a JR Pass and was it good value for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts, and please share any other tips you have too!

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Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!