You might be a bit confused about the Japan Rail pass. A lot of people who travelled to Japan in the past will swear its one of the best travel deals ever, others are saying it's overpriced and individual tickets will save you far more. The reason for the discrepency is the Japan Rail Pass price increase that happened in 2023. This was no normal inflationary adjustment or increase, it was a complete repositioning of the value and target market.
We are have also been fans of the Japan rail pass having purchased it many times since we started travelling regularly to Japan in 2010 but we are also vocal advocates for doing your own assessment of whether it is good value for your trip or not. It's not for everyone and with this change, MOST people will be in the category of it not being a good option for them.
Before the price increase if you make a return trip from Tokyo to Kyoto within a 7-day window, with one or two local train rides in between, then the pass would pay for itself. Now you could travel from Tokyo all the way to Kyushu and back in a week and the pass would still not be economical. Eleven hours on the bullet train, past Kyoto, Kobe, and Hiroshima across to ocean to the island of Kyushu and back to Tokyo and still it will be cheaper to use individual tickets than the pass.
The official announcement on the JR Group website is in shown here in Japanese.
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When did the Japan Rail Pass price increase?
Japan Rail implemented the change in October 2023. So this change now impacts eveyone travelling to Japan. I have updated this article but left it in place to help new Japan travellers understand the reason for the diverse range of options and to make the assessment of whether or not it is for them.
How much did the Japan Rail Pass price increase?
The price of the most common pass, the 7-day standard seat, increases by 69%, and the green car (business class) of the same duration increased by 77%.
These massive increases completely changed the value proposition of the Japan Rail Pass. It does still have its place and for a limited set of travellers, it will still represent good value, although not the great value that it once did.
For years now we have had conversations with travellers planning their Japan trip on social media and in the comments section of our main Japan Rail Pass article. Based on this we can confidently say that almost everyone who had purchased the pass in the past few years would not get value from it today on the same itinerary.
Don't write it off, I'm quite certain we'll still buy it for some future trips but we use the regional passes, individual tickets and private railway pass much more often now. Please do your own assessment.
| Type | Current Price | New Price | Increase % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular - 7 day | 29,650 yen | 50,000 yen | 69% |
| Regular - 14 day | 47,250 yen | 80,000 yen | 69% |
| Regular - 21 day | 60,450 yen | 100,000 yen | 65% |
| Green - 7 day | 39,600 yen | 70,000 yen | 77% |
| Green - 14 day | 64,120 yen | 111,000 yen | 73% |
| Green - 21 day | 83,390 yen | 140,000 yen | 68% |
Why is the price of the JR Pass increasing?
While Japan Rail didn't announced the reasons for the increase there are a number of factors that clearly impacted it.
Firstly the price of the Japan Rail Pass didn't change in the years we purchased it from 2010 until 2019 in Japanese Yen, it's only the foreign exchange rate that meant it cost a little more or less on different trips. That made the pass increasingly attractive to foreign tourists and to some degree, this huge popularity was its downfall. It became hugely oversubscribed
Secondly Japan Rail anticipated, and so far have been proven right, that demand is elastic and foreign travellers will either pay the higher price for convenience or be easily moved across to paying rack rate for individual tickets.
Finally, Japan hasn't had the same issues as the Western world with inflation over many decades, if anything it has struggled economically with the impacts of deflation but that is has changed and Japanese consumers are seeing inflation-related price increases across the board. In that environment, it is unpalatable for locals to subsidise tourism which is a government priority but something many Japanese would like to see decrease not increase.
Are Train fares in general increasing by similar amounts?
Between 2023 and now there have been some general price increases to individual tickets and other passes but nothing on that scale. It is unlikely that the Japanese public could sustain that level of increase in their household expenses or that the rail company could justify such as increase based on current economic factors.
What else is changing?
A key feature of the JR Pass has been that you can't travel on the fastest Nozomi trains, these trains have fewer stops along the route meaning you get to your destination faster rather than travelling at a higher speed. After the price increase, you will be able to use Nozomi trains with the pass but will pay a supplemental fee if you want to do that.
Another change is around luggage, you do need to book a 'luggage seat' if you want to take larger suitcases onboard the bullet train and they don't fit on the luggage rack above your head. That doesn't mean an extra seat cost but it is a booking rather than just showing the pass and getting on as you didn with the pass in the past.
So what can you do about it?
While you can't change that the pass is quite likely uneconomic for your next trip there is a lot that is still in your control but it will change the way that many people visit and experience Japan.
Multi City flights
This is where you fly into one city and out of another. We have done this from Australia with Jetstar or Qantas for many years, arriving in Tokyo for example, travelling around for a few weeks and flying home from Osaka. It saves time backtracking across the country and also the cost of that extra domestic travel. It's not an option with all airlines or departure points but it is worth considering.
Narrow down the region you will cover
With the national JR pass the whole country became accessible to visitors for minimal additional cost beyond a Tokyo/Kyoto itinerary, this really expanded the reach and enabled visitors to experience so many different aspects and areas of Japan.
Now it is significantly more affordable to have one base and explore areas within an easy distance from there or buy individual tickets between two or three base cities.
Consider regional transport passes
The regional passes haven't seen a comparable pricing change so in conjunction with narrowing down the regions you visit these regional passes offered by JR and many of the private transport companies are well worth looking into.
The Japan Rail Kansai Wide Pass and the Japan Rail Hokuriku Arch Pass both still represent good value in our assessment for the right itinerary. The Kansai option not only covers the areas around Kyoto and Osaka but west to Okayama and Kurashiki Bikan, Kobe, Himeji, down to Nara and Wakayama or north to Kinosaki Onsen and Omanohashidate on the northern coast.
The Hokuriki Arch Pass is one of our favourites now and can take you from Tokyo up to Nagano, Kanazawa, then down to Hikone, Nagahama, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka.
Explore options other than Japan Rail and the shinkansen
Japan Rail is not the only transport provider in Japan, it is the largest and government owned but there are many others that are equally clean, efficient and cover many areas you are likely to want to go. Around the cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto there are ways to make JR work when you have the pass but other options are often far more convenient so city stays will only be minimally impacted.
Tobu Railways is a favourite of ours, they are fabulous and we have been with them to Nikko, Kinugawa Onsen, Kawagoe and Ashikaga.
In Kansai, in and around Osaka and Kyoto the Keihan, Kintetsu, Nankai and Hankyu railways are useful, they will also get you between the two cities and nearby attractions like Uji, Nara, Koyasan and Kobe very affordably. There is also a Kansai thru pass where these companies and a few others are all available on the one pass and I particularly like that this one you buy for a set number of days (say 3) but they don't have to be used consecutively so you can pick your bigger cost days to get the best value from it.
We'd be interested to hear your thoughts, have you been able to continue making use of the JR Pass at the new prices or do you have any cost saving tips for other travellers?
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