Has Anyone Used The New Version of The Japan Rail Pass?

petestrash on 11/02/2023 - 18:19

Has Anyone Used The New Version of The Japan Rail Pass?

The Japan Rail Pass now comes in the form of a ticket instead of a booklet.

There are a couple of pluses:
1. You can reserve more seats online, and collect the seat reservations from ticket machines (no more queuing in are the reservations office once you have exchanged your voucher).
2. You can now pass through the ticket barriers inserting your pass without needing to use the manned gate.

Just want to know if there is anything else to be aware of?

Travel Japan Railways Group Rail Pass

Comments

  • evp on 11/02/2023 - 18:59

    You cannot reserve seats again if you are traveling the same route: eg. Tokyo to Nagoya. What they told me was IF YOU MISS the train, you won’t be able to rebook. I didn’t miss any trains and was simply visiting the same destination again but system blocked me from accessing reserved seats for same route. Also, the new JR pass looks exactly the same as any other Shinkansen tickets so be very careful!

    • boomramada on 11/02/2023 - 20:32

      So its not really unlimited travels?
      But, Tokyo to Nagoya, you only need to go there once lol 😆
      How about without booking?

      • evp on 13/02/2023 - 08:47

        That route was an example :) you can still travel without reserved seats

    • petestrash on 16/02/2023 - 20:14

      That's pretty shit.
      I assume the 2nd trip was not for the same date?
      Could it be overridden in the reservations office?
      Did you ride in the unreserved section instead?

      • evp on 25/02/2023 - 19:15
        +1

        2nd trip was not on same date and system was blocked both on the machines and at the JR office. The workers had no idea how to fix it at the time. I ended up riding in the unreserved section. Thank god it wasn’t a popular route rolls eyes

  • Bonbi on 11/02/2023 - 21:36

    Regarding your first point, you can only reserve seats online if you buy the pass from the official JR site. You won't be able to do this if buying from a reseller i.e klook, etc.

    Also you don't have to reserve seats, you can always just jump into a non-reserved car and hope there are empty seats.

    • petestrash on 16/02/2023 - 20:16

      I would assume you can book online once you have exchanged the ticket, Just not before you travel?

      That's no worse than the old system.

  • sonicentropy on 11/02/2023 - 22:21
    -2

    .yes in japan atm the fact you have to put pass and reserve ticket through the machine got me. I dont miss the booklet smaller jr stations were a real pain.

    • first in line on 27/02/2023 - 09:54

      LOL. You don't need to put reserve ticket through the machine. Just the JR Pass.

  • petestrash on 16/02/2023 - 20:23

    The ability to book before you travel is good, but unless you are travelling golden week or some other busy time, there are usually plenty of reserved seats at short notice.

    From the comments above, I think I prefer the old system, even thought the size of the pass was a bit inconvenient.

    There was no tracking of reservations, as they were not linked to the individual pass.

  • jamball on 24/02/2023 - 19:21

    Returned from 2 week Japan yesterday and use the pass easily. We reserved seats. We did Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Hakone, Tokyo, Narita.

    • petestrash on 02/03/2023 - 11:45

      How did you get to Hakone using the JR pass?

      From memory, the closest JR gets is Odawara, is there an Odakyu benefit on the pass now?

  • Tazzaaa on 25/02/2023 - 18:03

    I'm traveling in to Japan in May and want to know more about this. From what i understood, you can book tickets online only IF you buy the JR pass through their official website https://japanrailpass.net/en/

    1) I'm assuming you cant buy from a reseller and still book tickets online? Tickets on reseller websites are around $50 cheaper.
    2) Can I reserve seats for oversize baggage through the online portal?
    3) Do you still get a physical JR Pass if you buy tickets online?

  • Tazzaaa on 25/02/2023 - 18:44

    Just came across this video about online ticket reservations. Pretty informative, worth watching.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNkThRD1ZK4

    • rake on 26/06/2023 - 09:32

      Amazing video, JR site should replace their FAQ page with that video!

    • dsiew on 08/09/2023 - 14:19

      A belated thanks to @Tazzaaa for the video and @rake: agreed! For anyone looking for their itineraries made through the official site:

      1. Log into your account and go to "My Menu".

      2. Copy the "Reserve a Seat" link. The URL should look something like:
        https://www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/ReservedSeat/Search?CompanyCode=6&PnrRef=XXXXXXXXXX&IdentificationNumber=YYYYYYYYYY.

      3. Paste the link but change the URL to:
        https://www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/JrpDetail/Itineraries?CompanyCode=6&PnrRef=XXXXXXXXXX&IdentificationNumber=YYYYYYYYYY.

      Perhaps I have missed this link elsewhere, but I only came across it on the confirmation screen after booking a trip.

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