The Japan Rail Go (or JR Go, for brief) could be a good solution to get round Japan, however many vacationers don’t notice that it’s not at all times your best choice for exploring the nation.
Relying on the specifics of your itinerary, the Japan Rail Go may prevent some cash. Nonetheless, this isn’t at all times the case (particularly in gentle of the October 2023 JR Go worth will increase). Moreover, the Rail Go comes with sure limitations that always make it much less handy than common rail tickets.
So, how do you determine whether or not or not the Rail Go is price it for you? We’ll assist reply this query beneath, however first, let’s start with somewhat background concerning the Japan Rail Go itself. And for extra about getting round Japan, see our complete information to coach journey in Japan.
Initially written in 2014, this submit was up to date and republished on January 11, 2024.
Japan Rail Go Fundamentals
The Japan Rail Go is a reduced practice cross provided by the Japan Railways (JR) Group for abroad vacationers, initially designed to assist vacationers discover Japan extra affordably.
JR has an intensive community of trains and shinkansen (bullet trains) all through the nation, and the JR Go presents entry to most, although not all, of them (learn extra beneath). In concept, it presents ease and comfort: merely present your cross on the ticket gate, and hop on.
The place You Can (and Can’t) Use the JR Go
The Japan Rail Go supplies entry to an enormous community of hundreds of trains throughout the nation. It may be used on JR native, speedy, categorical, and restricted categorical trains, together with most bullet trains (all however the Nozomi and Mizuho shinkansen).
Understand that Japan Railways is only one of many native and regional railway corporations round Japan, and the JR Go doesn’t offer you entry to trains run by these different corporations, which in some circumstances supply higher routing choices than JR.
Historically, many vacationers have discovered explicit worth and comfort in utilizing the JR Go for long-distance shinkansen journeys. Nonetheless, as alluded to above, the Rail Go doesn’t offer you free entry to all bullet trains.
As one instance, you probably have the JR Go and need to journey from Tokyo to Kyoto, there could also be a few JR Go-eligible trains per hour. Alternatively, vacationers utilizing common rail tickets can have entry to the way more frequent Nozomi and Mizuho bullet trains, which function a number of instances per hour, and make fewer stops en route (observe that JR Go holders may journey these sooner trains by paying a supplemental fare).
Japan Rail Go Costs & The place to Purchase
Varied on-line distributors supply the JR Go. For general comfort, it might be greatest to buy immediately from the Japan Railways Group’s official web site. One profit of buying your cross from JR immediately is the power to order your seats on-line by way of their web site (in the event you purchase your cross from a third-party vendor, you received’t have this feature).
The Rail Go is out there in denominations of seven, 14, and 21 days, and when buying it you’ll be able to choose between customary class (“Strange”) or firstclass (“Inexperienced Automobile”). The value is predicated on length, class of service, and the age of the traveler.
For probably the most up-to-date pricing, please consult with the JR Group’s pricing web page.
- With regards to the timeframes, needless to say the 7, 14, or 21 days consult with consecutive durations of use. In different phrases, in the event you get a 7-day Rail Go, all journey have to be accomplished inside a consecutive 7-day interval.
- Strange class is kind of snug in Japan, however for luxurious vacationers we usually suggest the Inexperienced Automobile, which has extra spacious seating. Notice that Inexperienced Vehicles are usually solely accessible on long-distance trains equivalent to regional categorical trains and the shinkansen.
- The Japan Rail Go is discounted for kids aged 6 to 11 years outdated. Youngsters 5 and beneath can journey at no cost, both in an accessible seat or on a mother or father’s lap.
Particular Notice About Non-Vacationers
The JR Go is simply accessible to short-term guests to Japan with a non-Japanese passport, and who enter Japan with a “short-term customer” standing. In the event you’re visiting a good friend or member of the family who lives in Japan, it’s essential to remember that they is probably not eligible for the Japan Rail Go.
It’s typically secure to imagine that the individual you’re visiting is not eligible for the Japan Rail Go in the event that they match into one of many following classes, which means you’ll in all probability need to determine one other solution to make seat reservations collectively:
- They’re a Japanese citizen
- They’re in Japan on a piece or working vacation visa
- They’re a pupil on a semester overseas in Japan
- They’re US Army or DOD staff in Japan
When Is the JR Go Not the Greatest Possibility?
In some circumstances, in case you are making a number of journeys on the bullet practice, the Japan Rail Go might show to be an excellent worth. Nonetheless, the Japan Rail Go is probably not the best choice for you if:
- You’re a luxurious traveler
- Your Japan itinerary doesn’t contain many long-distance rail journeys
- Your long-distance practice journeys don’t match neatly into durations of seven, 14, or 21 days
Under are extra particulars about every state of affairs that can assist you decide whether or not or not the JR Go is price it for you (in the event you’re one among our purchasers, you don’t want to fret about this as we are going to do the legwork for you).
You’re a Luxurious Traveler
In case your precedence is consolation and comfort, you could want to not spend hours learning practice schedules, evaluating routes and timetables, and making your whole personal seat reservations.
On this case, the simplest possibility general is to rearrange your journey by way of a journey firm (whether or not Boutique Japan or one other respected Japan journey firm). Once you work with a Japan journey specialist, you’ll be able to go away it to the specialists to deal with the logistical legwork, and have your whole reserved rail tickets despatched on to your first lodge in Japan.
Your Itinerary Doesn’t Contain Many Prepare Journeys
In case your Japan itinerary doesn’t contain many long-distance rail journeys, the Japan Rail Go might be not an ideal possibility for you. For instance, in the event you’re merely going from Tokyo to Kyoto and again, it might price much less to purchase common rail tickets (versus the JR Go).
It’s comparatively easy to do your personal price comparability, pricing out common (non-JR Go) fares on Google Maps, or Japanese transit websites like Navitime and Jorudan (when utilizing Google Maps, make sure that to append the phrase “station” to your search. In different phrases, moderately than typing “Tokyo to Kyoto,” sort “Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station”).
Even when the price of your long-distance trains is decrease than the price of the JR Go, some would possibly argue that the Rail Go would nonetheless be advantageous, because it offers you entry to native trains inside cities equivalent to Tokyo and Kyoto.
Whereas it’s true that you need to use the JR Go on some trains in Tokyo (such because the JR Yamanote Line, Tokyo’s loop line), it’s not legitimate on the Tokyo Metro subway traces, or any of the opposite personal railway traces in Tokyo. It’s additionally not legitimate on lots of Kyoto’s trains. This being stated, in the event you plan to take a number of comparatively lengthy day journeys from Tokyo or Kyoto, the price of these might make the Rail Go worthwhile, so make sure that to take this under consideration.
Be taught extra about costs in Japan for regular subway journeys (and different widespread gadgets).
As one other essential facet observe: in the event you’re merely on the lookout for the comfort of having the ability to hop on and off trains and subways, with out having to buy a ticket every time, we suggest IC playing cards (see beneath).
Your Prepare Journeys Don’t Match Neatly Into Durations of seven, 14, or 21 Days
The JR Go is legitimate just for consecutive days, which means you’ll be able to’t “skip” days, so in case your long-distance practice journeys don’t match neatly into 7-, 14- or 21-day durations, the Japan Rail Go is probably not the best choice for you.
For instance, in the event you start utilizing your 7-day Japan Rail Go on April 1st, it will likely be legitimate by way of April seventh. Virtually talking, which means you probably have two bullet practice journeys, however they’re separated and never doable to do inside a 7-day window, you then wouldn’t be capable of use the 7-day Rail Go to cowl each of them.
Alternatively, in the event you’re crisscrossing Japan and taking a number of bullet practice journeys, then a 14- or 21-day Go might come in useful.
Japan Rail Go Options
For our personal vacationers, not less than, we usually don’t suggest the Japan Rail Go, for lots of the causes outlined above.
With regards to our purchasers’ Japan itineraries, we painstakingly map out every rail journey, making an allowance for a mess of things (equivalent to greatest instances of day to journey, check-out and check-in instances, actions and experiences, and so on.). We then pre-purchase the rail tickets and ship them on to our vacationers’ first lodge to be obtained upon check-in.
Any good Japan journey firm ought to be capable of deal with this for you. However in the event you’re an impartial traveler planning your personal journey, you’ll have to do extra of the legwork your self.
Buy Your Personal Particular person Rail Tickets
In the event you’d prefer to map out every of your rail journeys and pre-reserve particular person tickets for every journey, there are a handful of the way to take action.
For shinkansen tickets alongside many (although not all) main routes, the smartEX app could be extraordinarily helpful. After registering, it permits you to select trains and make reservations all by way of a helpful app. Please observe, nevertheless, that it’s restricted solely to sure shinkansen routes, so it received’t essentially allow you to reserve tickets for all journeys.
There are additionally loads of companies like Shinkansen Tickets On-line that may e-book trains for you for a payment. Companies like this are more likely to price a bit extra, as there’s a actual individual on the opposite facet who might be able to reply your questions (they usually e-book not solely shinkansen, but additionally another varieties of rail tickets).
Regional Prepare Passes
Other than the Japan Rail Go, JR presents numerous regional practice passes, as properly. The Regional Rail Passes usually final for 3, 5, or 7 consecutive days, and canopy smaller areas of Japan, equivalent to Kanto (the place Tokyo is situated), Kansai (the place Kyoto is situated), or different areas equivalent to Kyushu, Tohoku, Shikoku, or Hokkaido. There are dozens of various regional passes, and these could be a sensible choice for vacationers who shall be spending prolonged durations of time in particular areas of Japan.
Native Transport Passes
Are you planning to spend most of your time in Tokyo, Kyoto, or Osaka, and canopy fairly a little bit of floor by native transport every day? As an alternative choice to (or maybe to enrich) the JR Go or a Regional Go, there are passes that supply limitless rail journey particularly areas, or on one operator’s railway traces. Some can be found solely to international vacationers (just like the Tokyo Subway Go or Kansai Through Go) however others can be found to anybody. For instance, Tokyo Metro presents one-day passes, and the Keihan and Hankyu railway corporations (serving Kyoto and Osaka) additionally supply their very own one-day passes.
IC Playing cards
Whereas not precisely an alternate, most vacationers additionally discover IC transport playing cards to be very helpful. As a result of Japanese trains run on an IC (built-in circuit) community, it’s doable to make use of the identical IC card in numerous areas. They don’t supply reductions per se, however their tap-and-go performance makes them handy for journey round cities and their environs.
Working very like metropolis metro playing cards you’ll discover elsewhere on the earth, these rechargeable pay as you go playing cards retailer their worth. They don’t supply limitless journey for a flat charge – while you buy an IC card, it will likely be loaded with a specific amount of yen. As you faucet and go in your travels, the price of your journey is deducted from the steadiness. You’ll be able to prime up the worth on the cardboard at station kiosks with money.
Take to the Skies (or Seas)
To be truthful, trains are usually the easiest way to journey round Japan, given how environment friendly, nice, and in depth Japan’s railway networks are. Nonetheless, there are definitely instances when you could discover it extra handy to fly.
For instance, in the event you don’t thoughts a full day of practice journey, you may make the journey from Tokyo to Sapporo by rail, however we frequently suggest going by home flight, because it’s a lot faster (and flying inside Japan is kind of nice, as properly). Whereas not fairly as widespread as an alternative choice to practice journey, ferries additionally abound in Japan and in some situations could be a good way to journey from place to position.
Is the Japan Rail Go Price It?
Whereas the JR Go is perhaps a sensible choice for some vacationers, it definitely isn’t your best option for everybody.
To resolve whether it is best for you, you’ll want to think about whether or not the JR Go will give you the worth, comfort, and suppleness that you just search in your travels, as that is very a lot dependent in your itinerary, your plans, and what standards are most essential to you.
We hope our introduction to this comparatively nuanced subject has helped you resolve whether or not or to not buy the Japan Rail Go to your personal Japan journey!
