JR Pass
Is a JR Pass still good value for money? When I travelled to Japan in 2015, 2016, twice in 2018, and 2019. Every time I went, I purchased a Japan Rail Pass. It was almost a no-brainer, worth it every single time. However, returning in 2024, I don’t think the Pass is everything it used to be. A JR Pass is available only to foreign tourists, for travel on all JR operated transport. Trains, buses, and ferries, all over Japan. It is available as a 7, 14, or 21 day pass, and all travel must be taken on consecutive days. You can’t use it here and there.
To read how the pass works, click the link here. (Don’t follow the out of date advice, though 🙄)
In the past, the passes worked out to be very good value for money. However, Japan Rail increased the prices of the rail passes by 30% in October of last year. It was a very steep hike and the pass no longer offers the value it once did.
When I started thinking about our impending trip, I assumed we’d get the pass, as always. But, after manually adding up all of the bullet trains we will take, and then using the JR Pass calculator, it is abundantly evident we will save money by NOT buying the pass.
JR Pass Calculator
The JR Pass calculator is a great way to work out if the pass is worthwhile for you. If you intend on travelling long distances over a very short period of time, the answer is probably yes. If you are taking your time, it is probably not worth it.
Here are some example photos:
The above photos show a trip from Tokyo to Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nagoya, Nikko and back to Tokyo. If you take this trip over seven days it’s good value. You will be exhausted though, and won’t enjoy the uniqueness of each city at that frenetic speed.
This is our itinerary. You can see we would save money if we were doing this over 7 days, however, we need three weeks to enjoy this trip, and so we will save ¥43,870 or $453 AUD.
You can find a link to the calculator here. Enjoy Japan! I know I will.
This is something I have to work out for our next trip (in March). When we went in November, I was able to get the pass in October for the October price. It was definitely worth it. This time, I am not so sure as we will be staying in some cities a bit longer and might not get the full use of it.
Thanks for the calculator. I have a couple people I need to share that with.
My pleasure. It’s definitely worth doing the calculation 🧮 I even added all the local trains and busses and it was still cheaper not to buy the pass. What day in March are you going?
We leave on the 20th…I am hoping to have timed the cherry blossoms perfectly….and maybe getting tickets for Sumo in Osaka.
Awesome. I’ll miss you but 10 days. My husband is Canadian. Would have been funny to meet up. Maybe in Toronto next time we’re in Canada 🇨🇦
That would be awesome.
I visited Japan in Nov 2023 and I had a 7-day pass; it was bought before the price hike in Oct. I only used the pass for six days but whatever I “clocked” still exceeded the new price. So I think the pass is still good value.
Thanks for sharing the calculator too. I used Navitime to calculate and it could be a nuisance. This calculator feels easier.
Did you take lots of shinkansen? I added all my trips up on Navitime too, before I found the calculator…the calculator is much easier!
I took several rides, but only three were over an hour. The rest were short rides such as from Tokyo to Shin Yokohama, Nagoya to Kyoto, etc.