Exchanging your JR Ticket for the JR Pass

If you plan to go to Japan and visit more than just one city, then there’s no better deal than the Japan Rail Pass, commonly known as the JR Pass. The tricky thing about the JR Pass is that it can only be purchased abroad and only people on a tourist visa can use it. Why is that? It’s a push by the Japanese government to encourage tourism by providing visitors a cheaper option to travel within the country.

The pass comes in two categories: ordinary and green car. The green car JR Pass is more expensive, but gives the holders the opportunity to ride in the fancier Green Cars. I believe the difference between the two is quite negligible, with the green cars having bigger seats, footrests and more leg space. Oh, and the upholstery is green.

The pass can be purchased at most “respectable” travel agencies outside Japan. You can choose between a pass valid for a period of one, two or three weeks. The price of a one-week pass is 28,300 yen, which might seem a lot, but if you think that ordinary Japanese (or foreign residents of Japan) pay around 10,000 yen for a one-way ticket from Tokyo to Hiroshima, then you realize that the JR Pass is very cost effective.

Once you arrive in Japan, you have to exchange your JR Ticket for the actual JR Pass. You can do this at several exchange offices at any major train stations throughout Japan, but you can also exchange it at the airport and get it done with.

For my two-week trip to Japan I had bought a one-week JR Pass, which meant that I had to know the exact date when I was planning to start using it. Once the pass is issued, you cannot change the dates.

So, after landing at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, I picked up my backpack, cleared immigration and went straight to the JR Exchange Office. This can be easily found by just following the signs but, in case you get lost, any airport staff can point you in the right direction.

The staff manning the JR Exchange Office have perfect grasp of the English language, are very helpful and extremely courteous. You might have to wait in line until your turn comes, but you’ll be just like the person in front of you, asking many questions and making sure you understand how to the complex Japanese railway system. You’ll need to show your passport with the tourist visa and, of course, the JR Ticket. You then exchange the ticket for a cardboard JR Pass which will have written down your name, nationality, passport number, and the first and last day the pass can be used on.

You’ll be able to use it on any means of transporting operated by the Japan Railways, including the Shinkansen – “the bullet trains,” regular trains, subway, buses and even ferry boats. There are a few exceptions though: the superexpress Shinkansen train Nozomi and Mizuho, plus the Green Cars on any of the other Skinkansen trains (Hikari, Sakura, Kodama or Tsubame) for which you will have to pay extra if you want to indulge yourself in Nipponese luxury.

After you’ve exchanged your JR Pass, it’s time to get the train into Tokyo or whatever destination you’ve planed to go to. As I was not planning to use my JR Pass straight away, I bought my train ticket for downtown Tokyo right there at the JR Travel Service Center. I had scheduled four days in and around Tokyo and I intended to use the JR Pass to travel in the Kansai region only after that.

If your mouth is left dry from too much talking, a drink from the convenience store on the right-hand side of the JR Office might be able to take care of that. Unlike airports in Bangkok, prices at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport are exactly what you’ll get anywhere else in Japan.