A Full Information to the Japan Rail Move

Posted: 1/9/23 | January ninth, 2023

Japan is certainly one of my favourite nations on this planet. The serene great thing about the mountains and temples, the hustle and bustle of the sprawling cities, the beautiful meals, and its lengthy historical past make for an enchanting place to go to.

Nonetheless, Japan has a popularity, particularly amongst funds vacationers, as being too costly. “Higher skip Japan and head to Southeast Asia, the place your cash goes additional,” they are saying.

But you possibly can journey Japan on a funds. Meals, sights, and even lodging (it’s the land of capsule motels!) may be discovered for a comparatively low price if you recognize the place you look.

But one side of touring in Japan that does reside as much as its expensive popularity is transportation — notably prepare journey.

Japan’s iconic bullet trains (known as shinkansen) are stunning, comfy, handy, and quick. They’re world-class wonders of transportation, racing round at speeds as much as 320 kilometers (200 miles) per hour. They run on particular tracks separate from the opposite trains and are a formidable feat of engineering.

They’re tremendous costly. There’s simply no manner round that truth.

Fortunately, there’s one simple factor you are able to do to chop your prepare ticket costs in half (or extra): purchase a Japan Rail Move. You actually shouldn’t be touring across the nation with out one (and I’m fairly positive they value the go and common tickets out in a manner that basically forces you to purchase one).

On this submit, I’ll introduce the JR Move and clarify the way it works, how a lot it prices, and reply frequent questions I get in regards to the go.

What’s the Japan Rail (JR) Move?

The Japan Rail Move (also called the JR Move) was created to assist vacationers get across the nation (much like the Eurail go in Europe). JR is the biggest prepare operator in Japan, and the go offers limitless entry to all its trains for a set value.

The go is available in 7-, 14-, and 21-day choices. Be aware that these are consecutive days, not journey days. So, if you wish to journey round Japan for 2 weeks, you’ll must buy the 14-day possibility, though you received’t be taking the prepare on daily basis.

A number of JR trains are included within the go. The most well-liked is the shinkansen (bullet) prepare, which is the quickest prepare and goes to almost each vacation spot and area. The subsequent quickest is the tokkyu (restricted specific). The kyuko (specific) prepare comes subsequent, adopted by the kaisoku (fast) and kakueki-teisha or futsu-densha (native trains that make each cease).

Briefly, because of this there are JR trains that quickly journey between areas, some that go between cities with a number of stops, and native commuter-style trains which might be gradual (however low-cost).

Moreover, JR trains additionally serve some metropolitan areas, to allow them to be used inside cities. For instance, on my final go to, I used my JR Move to get round Kyoto and Tokyo as an alternative of shopping for native metro tickets.

The JR Move must be bought earlier than you arrive in Japan and it must be mailed to you so that you’ll need to order it properly upfront (extra under).

How the JR Move works

The JR Move may be very simple to make use of — you simply want to recollect to buy it beforehand, whereas in your house nation, because the go is simply obtainable to guests. (When you can buy it at choose ticket places of work in Japan till March 2023, in-person passes price considerably extra, so it’s higher simply to order it upfront).

The go has a number of choices (every legitimate for consecutive days, not simply journey days):

• 7 days: 29,650 JPY (39,600 JPY for a Inexperienced Move)
• 14 days: 47,250 JPY (64,120 JPY for a Inexperienced Move)
• 21 days: 60,450 JPY (83,390 JPY for a Inexperienced Move)

The Inexperienced Move is the first-class possibility. For the reason that trains in Japan are already superb, you doubtless don’t want to purchase the Inexperienced Move except you actually need some luxurious. Moreover, touring in inexperienced automobiles may be extra of a problem in the event you prefer to be spontaneous, as you have to all the time reserve a seat upfront in inexperienced automobiles, requiring you to go to the ticket workplace or automated reservation machines forward of time to take action. In extraordinary automobiles, you possibly can simply hop on and take any obtainable seat.

Along with the usual and inexperienced JR passes, there are regional passes in case you aren’t touring throughout the complete nation. These choices can prevent much more cash since they’re cheaper than the common JR passes. Every area has a number of go choices, often ranging between one and 7 days.

You should purchase JR passes for six areas:

• JR East (for the principle island)
• JR West (for the principle island)
• JR Central (for the principle island)
• JR Hokkaido (for the northern island)
• JR Kyushu (for the southwestern island)
• JR Shikoku (for the southeastern island)

If you happen to’re simply going to be specializing in one area of the nation, think about shopping for a JR regional go. If you need entry to the complete nation, get the common JR Move.

If you happen to’re a first-time customer to Japan, you’ll doubtless need the common JR Move, because it covers all the key locations.

In sum, to get a go, it is advisable:

1. Choose the time period in your go (7, 14, or 21 days)
2. Select your class (Inexperienced or commonplace — once more, commonplace is greater than adequate for many vacationers)
3. Determine what geographical space you need to go to (all the nation or a single area)
4. Pay the payment and order the go earlier than you permit house

Getting and utilizing Your JR Move

The best approach to get a Japan Move is by ordering it on-line (there are numerous official on-line suppliers however I like to recommend this one because it’s been promoting passes for the longest time).

As soon as you buy a go, you’ll obtain an “alternate order” within the mail, stamped with a date, that you just’ll flip in to choose up your precise go in Japan. Don’t overlook your alternate order at house, as you have to deliver this doc to choose up your go in Japan!

When you get to Japan, you’ll alternate your alternate order (therefore the title) for a JR Move at a JR workplace. Ensure you have your passport on you (not a photocopy) whenever you go to gather it, as they’ll examine to just be sure you have a short lived customer stamp in your passport. The JR Move is simply obtainable to guests and they’re fairly strict about verifying you’re a vacationer.

You will have three months from the date printed on the alternate order to choose up your JR Move, however you don’t want to begin utilizing the go on the identical day that you just decide it up.

For instance, say that you just need to decide up the go when you arrive however you need to spend a while in Tokyo earlier than heading on to see the remainder of the nation. You may choose any date inside one month of exchanging the order as your beginning date. (However as soon as the go is issued, you possibly can’t change the beginning date.)

When you’ve acquired your go in hand, you don’t want to fret about getting tickets, as you merely use your go to go proper by way of the automated turnstiles.

Along with utilizing the shinkansen and different trains, the JR go provides entry to:

• Native buses operated by JR (such because the vacationer loop bus in Hiroshima or JR buses round Sapporo)
• Ferries operated by JR (such because the one from Hiroshima to the island of Miyajima)
• JR strains working by way of metropolitan areas (akin to Tokyo and Osaka)
• Free seat reservations (in any other case, seat reservations price round 330-930 JPY)

The JR Move shouldn’t be legitimate for:

• The Nozomi and the Mizuho shinkansen strains
• Japanese residents or residents, akin to foreigners working in Japan (solely these with a vacationer visa can use the go)

Is the Japan Rail Move value it?

Completely! Despite the fact that you may get sticker shock initially when buying a go, you’ll save a whole lot of {dollars} throughout your journey with one — even in the event you simply go to 2-3 cities. For instance, with out a rail go, a ticket from Tokyo to Osaka prices round 27,000 JPY (round-trip), but you may get a seven-day rail go that features limitless journey on JR trains for simply 29,650 JPY. So for the worth of 1 round-trip ticket, you get limitless journey. It’s a no brainer!

Listed below are some extra examples of one-way prepare tickets on the shinkansen trains with non-reserved seats within the “extraordinary” (non-green automotive) class:

• Tokyo-Hiroshima: 18,380 JPY
• Tokyo-Kyoto: 13,320 JPY
• Tokyo Fukuoka: 23,390 JPY
• Kyoto-Hiroshima: 10,570 JPY
• Kyoto-Osaka: 4,230 JPY
• Hiroshima-Fukuoka: 9,000 JPY
• Nagano-Kanazawa: 8,440 JPY
• Tokyo-Yokohama: 3,210 JPY
• Hakodate-Tokyo: 23,500 JPY

As you possibly can see, it solely takes one longer-distance journey from Tokyo (akin to to Hiroshima or Fukuoka) to justify the price of the go. And also you’ll doubtless use it far more than that!

And even in the event you aren’t taking the bullet trains, the go nonetheless is sensible. For instance, a visit on a neighborhood prepare from Kyoto to Tokyo prices round 8,360 JPY — as an alternative of 13,320 JPY for the bullet prepare. Nonetheless, the native prepare journey takes 9 hours and requires a number of transfers, as an alternative of a direct three hours, making it a lower than best selection for many vacationers (particularly in the event you’re tight on time). It’s usually merely not value the associated fee financial savings.

You’re higher off utilizing the bullet trains and reveling within the high-speed expertise because it whisks you from one unimaginable vacation spot to a different!

Japan Rail Move Steadily Requested Questions

Is JR Move just for vacationers?
Sure. Solely individuals visiting on a vacationer visa can use the JR Move.

Can Japan Rail Move be used on the Tokyo subway?
Yep, among the subway strains (although not all) in Tokyo are run by JR, which implies you possibly can entry them without spending a dime together with your JR Move. That is true for the complete nation. Metro strains and native subway strains are excluded from the go.

Can I alter the times on which I want to use the Japan Rail Move?
No. As soon as the go has been activated, the dates are set in stone.

How do I activate the Japan Rail Move?
To activate the JR Move, deliver your alternate order and your passport to a JR workplace in Japan. As soon as they confirm your identification and visa standing, they’ll activate your go.

Can I take advantage of JR Move from Tokyo to Kyoto?
Yep! The space is 445 kilometers (283 miles), and the journey takes below three hours on the bullet prepare.

Are buses included in JR Move?
Sure, JR does run some bus strains, that are included within the JR Move. Some locations the place JR has buses embody Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

Can I cancel my Japan Rail Move?
You may cancel your go so long as it has not been activated, however as soon as it’s activated, you possibly can’t.

Practice journey is one of the best ways to see Japan. The trains are clear, quick, and the surroundings attractive. I really like touring the nation by prepare. Whereas shopping for a rail go may look like a expensive selection, it would prevent a ton of cash — and it’s a uniquely Japanese expertise that you just received’t overlook!