We had a busy itinerary for our two weeks so we worked out if we would benefit from getting a JR Pass. JR Pass (Japan Rail Pass) is a pass that lasts for either 7, 14 or 21 days and allows travel on Shinkansen bullet trains (except for Nozomi and Mizuho Shinkansen), local trains, the Hiroshima-Miyajima ferry and some buses. There are two types – Ordinary and Green Class, Green Class allowing first class services, access to first class carriages, more luggage space and catering on some trains.
We had the 14 day pass that at the time cost €379.67 each. Prices and eligibility have changed since we went – 14 day passes are now €321 (7 days are €202 and 21 days are €411). You can check if it’s worth it for your itinerary with the Calculator on www.jrpass.com/farecalculator The calculator is very handy as it all depends on how you’re travelling, how frequently, how far and in what time period.
Our itinerary over 14 days: Narita International Airport to Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, with an afternoon in Miyajima, Osaka, Kinosaki Onsen, Tokyo, with day trips to Kawaguchiko and Kamakura, and back to Narita International Airport. Without including the Miyajima ferry, we saved around €50 each. With the new prices, the saving would be even more, around €100.
Previously there has been various ways to get the JR Pass, now there is a handy website where you can order, get your order number and then once you’re in Japan, use your order number and pick up from various centres. You can also get the pass delivered to abroad, if ordering more than 3 months in advance. We were travelling in less than a month, so we opted to pick ours up from the ticket office at Narita Airport, there are 3 places in Narita to collect from, and one was handily placed by the entrance to the platform to catch the Narita Express to Tokyo, which is included with the JR Pass.
We could book our seats free with the JR Pass, via ticket machines or in the ticket office. English language was available with the machines and signs for ticket machines were in English too. To book the tickets we just needed to put our passport number in, this confused us at first as we thought it was asking for the order number. Once we figured that out, it was very easy, and as we had made our JR pass order together for both tickets, we could book seat reservations and collect tickets at the same time, with one number.
The ferry to Miyajima is also included with JR Pass
Travelling around on the Shinkansen and local trains was a great experience. The trains are efficient, run on time, are super clean and obviously the bullet trains are so fast. The seats are comfortable with lots of room and the train stations are easy to get around usually had shops with food, treats and souvenirs where we found a range of vegan friendly food.
We saw the most beautiful landscapes, travelling through small villages, having views of the big cities and the sea, and seeing Mount Fuji from the Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo. It was really a great part of this adventure, and I would highly recommend it.
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