Since the national JR Rail Pass has risen in price by about 65% it's no longer worth getting for a lot of travelers, however JR East have decided to release a one day pass for the Kanto, Tohoku and eastern Hokuriku regions of Japan allowing up to 2 rides on the Shinkansen (bullet train) and unlimited rides on a number of JR and non-JR lines that connect to the JR east network.
The Kyun Pass will be available on the JR East Ekinet booking site from January 14 to February 29 2024 and can only be used on weekdays from February 14 to March 14, 2024.
This pass is not for the the Kansai region, so Osaka is not covered.
Below are a number of round-trip fares from Tokyo with their normal full price to demonstrate how easily you can get your money back with any of these rides. Even a one-way ride to most of these destinations is worth it.
- Tokyo-Aomori: ¥35340 Yen (~A$375.40)
- Tokyo-Sendai: ¥22820 Yen (~A$242.41)
Tokyo-Kanazawa: ¥27700 Yen (~A$294.24)Edit: Likely not included. See bottom of deal.- Tokyo-Nagano: ¥15620 Yen (~A$165.92)
- Tokyo-Niigata: ¥20460 Yen (~A$217.34)
- Tokyo-Morioka: ¥30020 Yen (~A$318.89)
Having recently visited the Tohoku region myself including Fukushima, Sendai, Yamagata and Aomori I can highly recommend the area. There's a lot of hidden gems and it's not swamped with tourists (yet) unlike Kyoto.
Other Information:
You can reserve two seats in advance for the day that you'll be using it. Non-JR lines that connect to JR East include Aoimori Railway, IGR Iwate Ginga Railway, Sanriku Tetsudo, Hokuetsu Express and Echigo Tokimeki Railway (between Naoetsu and Arai Stations).
The Kyun Pass will also give discounts (TBA) at the New Days convience stores and selected rental car agencies found at JR stations.
The pass cannot be used on the Hokkaido Shinkansen (Shin-Aomori - Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto).
Cannot be used on the Hokkaido Shinkansen (between Shin-Aomori and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto) and the Hokuriku Shinkansen (between Joetsu-Myoko and Kanazawa).
Use the JR pass calculator and see if it's worth getting. My 21 day pass paid for itself at around 160,000 yen and that excluded all the smaller stops and tourist attraction queue skipping and discounts.