JR Pass = unlimited travel on all JR trains, available only to short-term visitors. Nationwide passes for 7/14/21 days cost ¥50,000/¥80,000/¥100,000. Worth buying when traveling far from Tokyo.
**7-day**: ¥50,000 for adults, ¥25,000 for children aged 6-11. **14-day**: ¥80,000. **21-day**: ¥100,000. Valid on all JR trains (Shinkansen except Nozomi/Mizuho), Narita Express, JR buses, and the JR ferry to Miyajima. Nozomi/Mizuho are NOT included — pay an additional fee or take Hikari/Sakura instead.
**JR East Tohoku Area Pass** 5 days ¥20,000 (Tokyo + Tohoku). **JR West Kansai Area Pass** 4 days ¥9,200 (Osaka, Kyoto, Himeji, Nara). **JR Kyushu Pass** 7 days ¥20,000. **Tokyo Wide Pass** 3 days ¥15,000 (Tokyo + Mt Fuji + Nikko). **Hokkaido Pass** 7 days ¥24,000.
**Before arriving in Japan** (about 5% cheaper): JRailPass.com, Agoda, HIS. Receive the Exchange Order by post → exchange it at Midori-no-madoguchi in Japan. **In Japan** (from 2023+): buy directly at major JR stations (Narita, Haneda, Tokyo, Shin-Osaka, Kansai) — 5-10% more expensive.
1) Go to the Midori-no-madoguchi at a JR station. 2) Present your Exchange Order + passport (with a short-term visit stamp). 3) Choose the start date — you can select any date within the next 30 days; it does NOT have to be the date you receive the pass. 4) The staff will print a personal pass with your name on it. 5) From the activation date, count 7/14/21 consecutive days (pausing is not possible).
Traveling only around Tokyo: NOT worth buying (a 1-day Metro pass at ¥600 is cheaper). Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka for 7 days: Tokyo-Kyoto ¥13,320 + Kyoto-Osaka ¥570 + Osaka-Tokyo ¥14,720 = ¥28,610 — not worth buying. Tokyo-Kyoto-Hiroshima-Fukuoka for 7 days: ¥13,320+¥11,210+¥18,830+¥22,220 = ¥65,580 > ¥50,000 — WORTH BUYING. Rule of thumb: The JR Pass is worth buying when you take ≥3 long-distance Shinkansen legs.
