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How much is a 1-day rail pass?

Do you have to have a rail pass to ride the Japan Rail?

  • Do you have to have a rail pass to ride the Japan Rail or can you just buy a ticket when you get there?

  • Answer:

    Below is the website for the Japan National Tourist Organization. It has information on different regions of Japan that you could download and print, also info on JR pass. http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ Jr Pass link english version http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html Make sure you make a schedule of each day of your vacation plans. Transportation may become a big factor in time consumption. Always make sure you purchase Jr Pass outside of Japan, then whoever you bought it from will give you a voucher. You then would have to redeem it for the actual pass at the designated areas (see link for list). I would recommend investing in the pass. It may seem pretty steep, but think of the cost when it adds up especially if you will be backpacking / hopping different cities. I found it better to get the pass for the following reasons: You get the opportunity to stop (unlimited) at various train stations...Many have a mall connected to it or something special about that region. No Yen / coin fishing. Just show the pass on the side with the booth people and bypass lines. Frustrating asking for information / help at some stations. Not all have english speaking employees. You could just get on the next train & go to a main station that has information booths with english speaking people. No lines for buying train tickets. Some stations do not have english ticket machines where you need to purchase the ticket to get to the terminal of the trains. In addition, forget about getting english speaking help at that station, if they don't have english signs, booths, or machines...Chances are they don't have english speaking employees. If you make a mistake on getting to the wrong station or purchased the wrong ticket, good luck. It'll be difficult / frustrating to solve the problem. Language barrier / cost problems. If you had the pass...No problem. Just catch another train. Time and convenience is why I invested in the JR pass. If you decide on getting it... Get those passport holder / carrier that you could hang around your neck or bag. It protects your pass & it's easy to find. Hope this helps, have a fun and safe trip.

arya_of_... at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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Here is how I figure it, if you are going to ride the shinkansen more than 2 times in 1 week, get the rail pass, you can get it in 1, 2, and 3 week flavors, I didn't get the most use out of it by far, but it was still handy to have. I rode the shinkansen a total of 3 times in 3 weeks, it is also good on all the bus lines (but if you can ride the shinkansen 3-5x as fast then why?) it is also good for the JR rail lines in the cities, example, the JR loop line in both Osaka and Tokyo. my Japanese isn't perfect, but if you go to the JR shinkansen window and say (destination) ni kippu onegaishimasu, they should get the idea of what you want and tell you how much, they will also ask if you want smoking or non, but sometimes smoking is the only thing available. Oh, and if you are riding local trains and don't understand the fare system (it took a few times for it to sink into my head before I understood it) buy the cheapest ticket for the line you are traveling on, and then use either the fare adjustment booth or machine to be told how much extra you need to pay for the trip. Have fun!

Norsehawk

you dont have to buy the pass, but its cheaper if you plan to take the train a lot. when i was there we took the train a lot. also the bus, the subway, taxis, public transportation is the way to go over there. driving is expensive, there are tolls for almost everywhere. ask a travel agent or whoever you plan to go with.

r.preest

You can just buy the tickets. If you intend to travel long distances, including taking the Shinkansen (which is more $$ than regular trains) then the rail pass is cheaper in the long run. The rail pass was designed to facilitate travel for tourists. People who live in Japan aren't allowed to buy them--there are many people who wish they could buy one. . .!

tiger lou

Simply put...no...you don't need a rail pass to ride on JR trains...you can just buy a ticket at the stations using their ticket vending machines or stepping up to a Midori no Madoguchi to make reservations for longer distance trains. However, if you plan to travel on multiple shinkansens, or just travel long distances in general while visiting Japan...it would be to your advantage to get a Rail Pass. You can travel on nearly any JR line (except certain sleepers and Nozomi Shinkansen) without any extra fees...and it's a real nice and convenient thing. I'd suggest reading up information on http://www.japanrail.com/index.html and www.japan-guide.com They are very very helpful websites and I hope this helps!

WingsOTWorld

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