How to get jr rail pass Videos

+Dr. Bonedriller Hi, if you will only be travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka (or the reverse), then I do not recommend a JR pass. If you are for some reason making a round trip (ie Tokyo->Osaka->Tokyo), then it depends on itinerary. Considering your length of stay, I think you probably should not get a JR pass.Amazing Pass is a short term pass- only 1-2 days. It's an attraction pass. If you plan to see stuff around Osaka, you can definitely make the pass worth it, especially the 2 day pass. As a straight transportation pass, it's very unlikely to pay off. Osaka JR is a loop line. It hits quite a few attractions, though it can feel a bit slow, and misses the whole Namba/Shinsaibashi/Nipponbashi/Dotonbori zone. To be frank, I don't really know the best way to do Osaka. When I was there, I had an active JR pass as I was passing through, so I favored JR even when it was a little convenient, though still took the subways.Kyoto 1-day bus passes are 500 yen, and will basically always pay off. It's a bus city, so you should usually get a bus pass. However, you can put together about a 1-2-day train itinerary for Kyoto as Inari Fushimi, Nijo Castle and Arashiyama are along the JR line, and with a bit of walking (~6km), you can do a loop through the Ninnaji/Ginkakuji/Ryoanji area. Also, Uji is a bit out of town and so you can day trip there as well. But a lot of areas aren't covered by trains- you'll generally want to use the bus system.Tokyo runs a wide variety of train companies. The only really good deals are 1-day passes for a single train company. The Tokyo Metro is 600 yen a day still I believe (maybe a little cheaper at the airport). However, some subway lines won't be included. You really have to know your itinerary to make these things worth it. Tokyo Metro goes almost everywhere in central Tokyo (EXCEPT Odaiba, and Shinagawa area), but can be a bit slower than JR, or a bit inefficient in terms of transfers/walking, depending on where you're going. If you know for sure you'll need to take multiple companies in a day, then you probably just want to pay as you go.No matter what you do, you'll want to buy an IC card when you get there. Suica, Pasmo, Icoca, etc- at this point they're all pretty integrated and will do the same thing. Which is allow you to put money on it, and then let the card calculate fares for you so you can pass through ticket gates in a flash.

+Tania Matthews Well, it would depend where in Ichikawa you're actually staying. You're just barely in the one-day pass zone for Tokyo Metro, but you're a little bit outside of the zone for JR. So, economically speaking, Tozai-line to get into Tokyo would probably be best, as you could then use the various Tokro Metro subway lines to get most places in town and would keep the price down to 600 yen per person per day to go get into town, and travel around town. Probably not the fastest, since Myoden to Tokyo (Nihombashi/Otemachi) is about a half hour. If you're staying closer to the JR Lines or Keisei Lines, then you'll probably just want to pay the difference. Still MAY make sense to but one day Tokyo Metro passes or JR passes, depending on itinerary.For Disneyland, that's JR Keiyo or Musashino. Should be relatively simple to get there from Ichikawa.

+Shaz W Where are you from? If you aren't already used to extreme humidity, July (and August, and the first 3 weeks of September, and the last 2-3 weeks of June) isn't recommended. The weather is terrible, and the flight cost itself is often 30-50% more than what you would pay most of the rest of the year.

+Stead3111 The best pass is no pass, if that's all you're doing.

+Jennifer Ong Yes, it should usually be very clear if a JR Pass is worth getting or not. If you will just be in the Tokyo OR Osaka/Kyoto area, then it almost certainly is not worth getting. If you are going from one to the other, then it is unclear and depends on your itinerary. And if you go one other place, or roundtrip from Tokyo/Osaka, then it tends to be worth getting.I strongly recommend getting personal wi-fi or a SIM card. I have no experience with SIM cards in Japan. I have only ever gotten personal wi-fi.I've used this site twice: //japan-wireless.com/For my purposes, it ran cheap, since the charge for additional days was only 300 yen/day. The upfront cost is pretty high (33 USD, including shipping, for 2 days) and so you MAAAY be able to find a cheaper service if your stay is short. But, both times I've looked, this site was cheapest, and service was prompt and accurate, with no issues.SIM card tends to run a little bit cheaper, but mobile wi-fi worked for my laptop too, so it was the obvious choice.Although the investment is a bit more for mobile wi-fi than getting that suica card, I pretty much consider this indispensable for keeping hiccups to a minimum. If nothing else, it's extremely useful for checking train schedules and routes, and getting your bearings quickly when you exit a station. Can also help with translation and such, or finding good places to eat nearby, etc. Even though your hotel/hostel will likely have wi-fi, there's just too much "on the go" use you can get of it. Frankly, just reducing the time you spend lost makes it worth every last yen spent on it- and it definitely pays off if that means you don't miss your train or another deadline!Somewhat tangential, but if you don't have one already, I highly suggest buying an external battery. They're maybe 15-30 USD. The Japan-wireless folk send you a small one with the mobile wi-fi, but if you want to keep both the wi-fi and your phone going all day, especially with a lot of pictures taken, it helps to have something in the 5000-7000mAh range so you don't have to worry about losing power end of the day without quite remembering how to get back to where you're staying. =P

+redfish337 I am truly thankful for your reply and advised! I will go ahead with suica card. JR pass is indeed costly and I do not use it often. It is just a short trip though. Thank you so much for the explanation and this really clear the cloud. By the way, should I get a portable wifi and sim card while I am at Tokyo? I was told it is advisable. I am checking some of the services and not too sure which one to choose. Appreciate if you could give a bit of a thought. Thanks a zillions!Jennifer :D

+Jennifer OngJR Pass is for comfortable long-distance travel, at a discount. If you will not be taking the shinkansen at least twice (1 week) or three times (2 week pass), it is almost certainly not a good idea to buy a JR pass. Sure, the pass pays for everything on the JR lines so it can save you a little bit of money here and there, but it's priced for use on the nation-wide high speed rail network.The suica card isn't necessary, but frankly, it'd be foolish not to get one. It only costs about 4 USD (and technically you can return it and get half of that back if you really wanted to...). It'll make navigating the train system much much much easier. You put money in. It calculates all the fares for you based on the entry and exit gates you scan it at. Fill it up once for a week's worth of intra-city travel, and not have to worry about it again. Or go without, and have to go buy a ticket every time you want to go anywhere. Everyone uses them, for good reason.

+Kym G I strongly recommend against getting a JR East Pass. The JR East Pass is priced for travel to northern Honshuu, such as Sendai. It is not aimed at a typical foreign tourist. The Kanto/Tokyo area pass is priced for travel in the range a tourist would be more interested in. However, even before the upcoming price hike, it is also unlikely to be a good buy unless you were planning to go to two, if not three, of Nikko, Fuji and Yokohama/Kamakura. With only 5 days in Tokyo, I really doubt you'd want to spend so much of your time visiting far out places. One day Tokyo metro passes are available for 600 yen, or if you want to use multiple train companies, paying as you go is unlikely to exceed 1000 yen a day in the city. And if you want to take a day trip one of the days, then just pay for it.The Kansai JR Pass and Kansai Thru Pass, is harder to say, as you'd probably want to see at least Kyoto AND Osaka, if not also Nara. Note that Kyoto is a bus city, And note that Osaka is a subway (ie, non-JR) city- there's a loop line that hits a lot of attractions, but that's all there is- and it misses the most famous Namba/Dotonbori/Shinsaibashi/DenDen Town district completely. On the other hand, the main connectors between the cities are JR lines. You could technically figure out how to make it worth it, but it'd probably be a lot of work and force you to take certain trains for likely a pretty small savings.

+Stephenie Teoh Hi. Well, redfish337 answered your question. As I can't picture your entire itinerary, it's hard to tell. But redfish337 got the point.

+Stephenie Teoh Honestly, it's hard to make a lot of passes all that worth it. Kyoto is a bus city, and you can buy a one day bus pass for 500 yen.The Thru Pass is 2000 yen per day for 2 days, or about 1700 yen per day for 3 days. The Thru Pass has some benefits, but IIRC, doesn't work on JR lines either, which is generally the more convenient line for getting between the major areas. The plain JR Railpass is expensive, but it's the only one that comes across as an obvious deal. I mean, it's not good for your itinerary this time- I just mean, you can just plan to go two places and know that it's going to save you money. Almost every other pass is pretty much priced as if you were abusing it- they tend to be on the expensive side unless your itinerary is specifically designed to make the most out of it. You can make these things worth it, but you've really really got to plan it out in advance.

+4613766 No, it doesn't. JR and Tokyo metro are different company.

Yes we know, but we can had holidays all together just in that period! We will travel a lot, from tokyo to Nagasaki and return, also through your Osaka!

+ChiaraTaurus Moretti I made some edits, so check it again if you missed them. August will be ridiculously hot, but have a good time! =)

Thank you very much!

+ChiaraTaurus Moretti While where you can exchange your rail pass is often limited to a handful of very major stations, you can make reservations at any "midori no madoguchi" at any relatively major JR stations. Midori no madoguchi have green signage, and should also simply say "ticket office" as well.Pro-tip: Sometimes there are midori no madoguchi PAST the ticket gates at very major stations, which are almost certainly going to be significantly less crowded. I know this is true for Ueno at least, which often has fairly long lines in the one outside the ticket gate, and yet the one 100 meters away inside the gate tends to be empty.You can make reservations as soon as you exchange your exchange order for a pass in Japan. At that time, you tell them when you want it to activate, within 30 days. However, activated or not, you can at least make reservations as soon as you get it.That said, the JR trains do not accept reservations by anyone more than 30 days in advance, so if you have a particularly long trip, you'll have to remember to reserve later. If you'll be there for obon (~August 15), make sure you reserve any of those ASAP, as those may actually have some risk of filling up.

+kanadajin3 Are they a common thing by the way? Can they be found in every town?

Just had a look, now i know what you mean xD

Hm, no idea what that is :) 

+Timeyful why sleep on random persons couch when you can sleep at manga kissa ^^

+machavideosite サイトやパスには乗れないって書いてあるけど乗れることもあるみたい。

+Kaden McInnis What are you serrious. send me a link to the video.

+Kaden McInnis mongeaou

+Kaden McInnis tanna mongea

+kanadajin3 tanna a youtuber she was reading hate comments on one of her vids and said that you always post mean comments on her account

+Kaden McInnis whats a tanna

Thank you so much how long did you stay? At hotels or ryokan? Im sorry I find they're is so much to plan and im still debating on stuff !

Definitely! I travelled around Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto, Nara and Hiroshima.  Being able to use it on the shinkansen is where the real value for money is I think, as full price tickets are pretty expensive. Enjoy your trip! :)

I plan to there soon with my fiance for a 7 to 14 day trip depending on the money! we are debating on buying this is it really worth it ? where did you go :o

+Utsukushi sekai google JRpass and you should be able to find the website that you can book it on, you then pick the pass up at the airport when you arrive in Japan or it can be picked up at major train stations.

+zombieater666 I would like to know this as well.

+Shelyn Chua I haven't taken that train before, but Haruka is a JR West train, so it should work. You can't make reservations until you get your actual JR pass, in Japan. Make any reservations you can as soon as you arrive. I doubt you'll have any problems, as most people will likely be waiting a couple more weeks for the New Year to travel.

+angel67lverAlthough it's not necessary, for clarity, I always write down my itinerary in advance on a piece of paper.I write down the date, the embarking and disembarking stations, the time of embarking and disembarking, and the train code. You can research this all in advance on hyperdia.For example:Sept 14 : Tokyo(16:03) -> Shin-Osaka(19:03) HIKARI 479Sept 17 : Shin-Osaka(15:59) -> Hiroshima(17:25) SAKURA 565Sept 20 : Hiroshima(15:17) --> Shin-Osaka(16:42) SAKURA 556 : Shin-Osaka(17:16) --> Tokyo (20:10) HIKARI 530When I went during Golden Week I had a bunch of alternatives prepared- and it was a significantly longer itinerary... nevertheless I fit it all onto a piece of paper clearly. Other times of year you will almost certainly be able to get your first choice of train. Even during Golden Week- while I did reserve quite early, I still only had to take my 2nd choice on one leg.Anyway, you just go to the ticket counter in any "midori no madoguchi/ticket office" at any halfway decent sized JR station, show them your railpass, and hand them your piece of paper with your itinerary. They'll type it in in a couple minutes- maybe ask you if you want window or aisle, and then give you your tickets.Pro-tip: The midori no madoguchi inside of stations, past the ticket gates, tend to have significantly shorter lines.

+Samantha Scarcella The JR pass is for LONG-RANGE TRAVEL. You can use it for short trips, but, weird oddball exceptions aside, it's only worth the purchase price if you take at least two trips by shinkansen.The JR pass isn't about convenience in Tokyo. It's too expensive for that. It's about long-range convenience... getting you from far away cities at a more reasonable price, in typically a matter of a few hours instead of prohibitively long and uncomfortable bus trips.If you'll just be in Tokyo, don't get the pass. It almost certainly won't pay itself off unless by Tokyo you mean a bunch of day trips far out from Tokyo. Just get a suica or pasmo, and use that. If you know you'll be taking a lot of one train company, then buy a one day pass with Tokyo Metro or JR. Do NOT buy the combined day passes unless you math it out in advance and know for sure- it's almost impossible to make it worth it- if you know you'll be taking different train companies, then just use suica as you go without buying a one day pass.

+AmeliaranneStiggins I'll add that if you're not in Tokyo, the trains are unlikely to ever be crowded enough for people to care. When you're in Tokyo, most of the trip in from the airport will be on "airport" lines so people will be expecting it... and will probably mostly be getting on and off before you.The only issue would really be from wherever that line drops you off to the station for your hotel.And... I did the big luggage thing... when I moved there for a year and had to. That's why I do the small luggage thing when I travel there... =P

Thank you both for your replies x

+AmeliaranneStiggins There's an overhead rack on the shinkansens, that can easily accommodate carry-on size luggage- there's always space there. I would strongly suggest AGAINST taking some massive suitcase around... if you feel the need to have a lot of luggage, I would suggest taking advantage of what is probably fairly lenient international luggage rules (BUT CHECK YOUR AIRLINE!), and checking two small-carry on, and then taking a bag/backpack as your true carryon and then your personal item... but if you can get by with less, then go for it.Just too many stairs and escalators all around... and if you want some mobility while after checking out/before checking in/while exploring a city you're not actually staying at, you'll need to use lockers. Which besides adding up quickly, can't accommodate large suitcases either. It can even be hard to find lockers for "big" carry-on bags, especially outside of major stations.Buy yeah... pack light- probably a lot of walking involved, and July will have terrible humidity so you will be wanting to carry as little as possible. =P

+lionstar2222 IMHO, you should figure out your itinerary in advance and reserve ASAP. Sure, if you like to just live in the moment and go where the wind takes you, whatever, but you'll save some time getting all your tickets in one fell swoop, have one less thing to do after checking out from wherever you're staying to getting on the train, will be more likely to be able to sit together if you're in a group, more likely to be able to get the sort of seat you want (window/aisle), and not have to worry about finding out when peak periods are when it can be very likely for trains to fill up.And... you already have a rail pass- you can officially cancel the reservation later if you want to make a change, or just miss the reservation and reserve another one.

reserve is the best bet.

+Jessica Aki Smith Do I need to reserve my seat early or do I just go to the station and ask for a seat?

+Charlie Z es q mola mucho,!!!

+andrea gracias!!

+Monstie En ไม่ได้ครับผม ผู้ให้บริการรถไฟใต้ดินในโตเกียวไม่ใช่ JR ครับ รถไฟ JR จะเป็นรถไฟบนพื้นดิน กับชินคันเซ็นครับ

+Deducted Elm Yes. You can check the amount on a small display on each automatic ticket checker or by using a ticket vending machine.

That's only in rush hour