Trailblazer Guide Books

Worth watching out for.
 - John Cleare

RAIL PASSES

The original and still the best-value rail pass available to visitors is the Japan Rail Pass, which covers the whole country. Most regional JR companies have their own pass(es) which compliment the national pass; see opposite for further details. These are a cheaper alternative and may be of interest to anyone intending to focus their travel on a specific area. With some exceptions the JR passes must be purchased before arrival in Japan (for full details, see p20).

Travel by rail becomes much more expensive without the rail pass, but there are still some discounts and bargain tickets to be had (see p84).

THE JAPAN RAIL PASS

The Japan Rail Pass is truly the bargain of the century. It entitles the pass holder to travel freely on almost all JR services, including most shinkansen (the bullet train). The only exceptions are the Nozomi shinkansen and some overnight services. Having a rail pass means you can travel almost everywhere without having to buy a ticket.

JR has a dedicated website (www.japanrail.com) in English which provides up-to-date information about the Japan Rail Pass and all regional passes. For more details, see: www.japanrailpass.net.

Who can use the pass?
The rail pass can be used by any non-Japanese tourists visiting Japan under ‘temporary visitor’ status. Some Japanese nationals not residing in Japan can use a rail pass but all other Japanese cannot. The pass cannot be used by anybody arriving in Japan for employment.

Buying the pass
The most important rule concerning use of the rail pass is that it cannot be purchased in Japan. It is sold, in the form of an exchange order, at authorized agents (see pp17-20) outside Japan. Before contacting an agent, work out what kind of pass you will need. First decide whether you would like a 7-day, 14-day or 21-day pass. The pass runs on consecutive days from the date you first use it but there is no limit to the number of passes you can buy.

Once you've decided the length of pass you want, the next step is to decide what class you'd like to travel in. There are two types of rail pass: the Ordinary Pass is valid for standard-class rail travel, which is likely to be more than adequate for most people. Seats in ordinary class are very comfortable and on some trains are as good as first-class rail travel elsewhere in the world. For those used to luxury and wishing to travel in a bit more style, the Green Pass is the one to get. Green-class carriages (known as ‘Green Cars�) offer much wider seats, more legroom, and often include extras such as slippers, personal TVs, laptop power points and free tea/coffee.

Local trains in Japan have standard class only but most limited expresses and shinkansen convey Green cars – the main exceptions are the Hikari Rail Star (Okayama to Hakata) and the Kyushu shinkansen.

REGIONAL JAPAN RAIL PASSES

In addition to the pass for nationwide travel, most companies in the JR Group offer their own range of regional passes; these are a cheaper alternative if you're planning to restrict your travel to specific areas. None of the regional passes includes travel on the bullet train between Tokyo and Kyoto so you need to buy the national pass if planning to take this route or be prepared to pay the cost of the ticket.

Regional rail passes can be purchased before arrival in Japan, or at Narita, Kansai and Nagoya airports, and at selected mainline stations.

JR East Rail Pass
Valid for travel on the JR East network, which extends east of Tokyo and includes the route around Tohoku (see pp278-308) as far as the northern tip of Honshu, but does not include Hokkaido. The pass is also valid for travel from Tokyo into the Japanese Alps, as far as Nagano (see p168) and Matsumoto (see p174). It also includes travel on the Tohoku, Nagano and Joetsu shinkansen, the Narita Express train from Narita Airport to downtown Tokyo, and JR services in the Tokyo metropolitan area (including the hot-spring resort of Atami, see p128). Passes are available in 5- and 10-day varieties, or the flexible 4-day ticket is valid for any four days within one month from the first date of use. The pass is an especially good deal if you're aged between 12 and 25 because there is a youth rate. For more details see: www.jreast.co.jp.

JR West Rail Pass
There are two types of JR West Rail Pass: the Sanyo Area Pass and Kansai Area Pass. Both are available in ordinary class only. These passes are the exception to the rule and can be purchased in Japan as well as overseas but you still need to show your passport with ‘temporary visitor’ stamp.

The Sanyo Area Pass is valid only for stops on the Sanyo line between Shin-Osaka and Hakata (Kyushu). The pass permits travel on: all shinkansen services on this route (including the Nozomi) as well as local trains, the JR ferry service to Miyajima (see p268), and the journey from Kansai Airport to Osaka. It is not valid for journeys to Kyoto. To buy this pass (4-day or 8-day) visit a JR travel service centre at any main station between Shin-Osaka and Hakata.

The Kansai Area Pass is useful if you're spending only a few days in and around Kyoto and plan to make a couple of short excursions. It covers travel on local trains only between Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Himeji and Kansai Airport. It is also valid for non-reserved seats on the Haruka LEX to Kansai Airport. The pass is available for one day or four days. To buy this pass, visit a JR travel centre at either Kansai Airport, Kyoto or Shin-Osaka station. For more details see: www.westjr.co.jp.

JR Kyushu Rail Pass
Valid for travel on all JR Kyushu lines including the Kyushu shinkansen, so the pass is useful for the Kyushu route guide (see pp371-88). However, this pass cannot be used on the Sanyo shinkansen linking the Kyushu capital of Fukuoka/Hakata (see p389) with mainland Honshu.

The 5-day pass costs ¥16,000 (�66/US$131) and the 3-day pass costs ¥13,000 (�54/US$107). Children aged 6-11 travel for half price and 5 and under travel free providing they do not occupy a seat. The pass can be purchased prior to arrival in Japan as well as at the following JR stations in Kyushu: Kokura, Hakata, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Oita and Miyazaki. For more details see: www.jrkyushu.co.jp.

JR Hokkaido Rail Pass
JR Hokkaido offers two types of rail pass, both of which are valid on all JR Hokkaido trains, but not for the journey from Honshu to Hokkaido. The 5-day pass costs ¥18,000 (�74/US$148) in standard class and ¥25,000 (�103/ US$205) for first class (Green Car). A 3-day pass costs ¥14,000 (�58/US$115) in standard class and ¥20,000 (�83/US$164) for first class.

JR Hokkaido offers a special service which allows you to ‘reserve’ your rail pass online in advance of your arrival in Japan, saving you time and cutting out the need to fill in forms when you get there. Reserved passes can be coll ected at the JR Hokkaido Visitors Information Desk (see p359) inside Sapporo station or, if you are flying into Sapporo, from New Chitose Airport station.

As an alternative to the two rail passes, JR Hokkaido also sells a 7-day Hokkaido Round Tour Pass (Hokkaido Furii Passu), which costs ¥23,400 (�97/US$193) in standard class and ¥34,500 (�143/US$284) for first class. The ticket – which, unlike the other rail passes, can be purchased by anyone – offers 7-day unlimited rides in the unreserved carriages of both express and limited expresses as well as on some JR Hokkaido buses. You can make up to six free seat reservations (in either standard or first-class carriages, depending on which ticket you have bought) during the validity of the ticket. However, the pass cannot be used during peak holiday seasons: Golden Week, Obon, and New Year (see p67).

Finally, the One-day Sapporo-Otaru Welcome Pass, which costs ¥1500 (�6/US$12), is available only to tourists from abroad and allows unlimited rides on JR Hokkaido trains between Sapporo and the port city of Otaru, as well as on all subway lines in Sapporo itself. This pass comes with a handy leaflet on how to use the ticket and a sightseeing map of Otaru. Rail fans might consider purchasing this pass if they are planning a day trip to the transport museum in Otaru (see p364).

For more details on the above see: www2.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/english/railpass/index.html.

EXCHANGE ORDERS

For the national rail pass (and any regional pass purchased before you travel to Japan), what you actually buy before departure is not the pass itself but an Exchange Order; you can turn this in for the real thing once in Japan. Exchange orders are valid for three months from the date of issue, so only purchase one less than three months before you plan to start travelling by rail. When purchasing the exchange order, you should also receive a guide to using the pass and a timetable in English of main rail services in Japan. If not, see p85 for further information about timetables.

How and where to turn in the exchange order
Once in Japan, take your exchange order to any JR Travel Service Center authorized to handle the Japan Rail Pass. The most obvious ones are at the JR stations in Narita (Tokyo) and Kansai (Osaka) airports. Major JR stations such as Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Shin-Osaka, Sapporo and Hakata have travel service centres, but it's often easiest to sort your pass out at the airport offices, even if you're not going to start travelling immediately. Staff there are used to handling rail-pass requests and are extremely efficient.

At the time of exchange JR staff will ask to see your passport to check that you have been admitted on 'temporary vistor' status. you'll also be asked to specify the day you want to start using the pass; this can be any day within one month of the day you turn in the exchange order. Once a date has been stamped on the rail pass it cannot be changed. JR will not replace lost passes.

HOW TO USE THE RAIL PASS

Once you've received the pass, all you do is show it whenever you pass a ticket barrier and JR staff will wave you through. Since the pass is not computerized it cannot be fed through automatic wickets but this is not a problem as there is always a staff member around.

Unless you are boarding a train which contains reserved carriages only (as is the case with the Hayate shinkansen which runs between Tokyo and Hachinohe, see p294), seat reservations are not necessary as you can just turn up for any train and sit in the unreserved carriages. However, on some trains, and at certain times of the year (see p67), it's a good idea to m ake a reservation in order to guarantee a seat if the unreserved carriages are full. Since rail-pass holders can make any number of seat reservations for free (see p86 for details) it's worth doing so in any case.

A few JR trains run on sections of track owned by private companies. Rail-pass holders are supposed to pay a supplement for the section of journey over non-JR track. In practice, you will only have to pay if a conductor is checking tickets at the time the train is running along the non-JR track. Any instances where this occurs are referenced in the route guide.

For details of other rail passes/special tickets see p84.