Thank you so much! The trains are my biggest concern for my trip to Tokyo at the end of March - using the JR pass correctly and getting on the correct trains. Showing the use of the machines was tremendously helpful. I appreciate you making the video in English as well.
Thank you so much for this explanation! This was extremely helpful, and you've made the process seem much easier than every other explanation I was reading. Your video is sure to help many, many people who are new to the experience of the JR Pass!
Thank you for your comment. Maybe you know, the New Japan Rail Pass will start from October this year. I'll make a new videos bout it. Plz check it out!
Konnichiwa Jake-san, first I want to say I really appreciate your efforts in explaining new rules of JR Pass. People like you that are willing to help others are the reason I still have faith in humanity. I've visited Japan for almost every year before the pandemic happens and this June, I am going to visit Japan again after 3 years. I absolutely love that we now can reserve through online website. Usually I have to spend more than half an hour after landing to queue and get my JR Pass, and then book all the necessary reserved seats for the shinkansen and limited express trains. Looking forward to visiting your beautiful country once again!
so did I...until February 2020, shortly before Japan closed it's borders for tourism and I was lucky not to have to leave Japan before my scheduled visit ended (Chinese tourists were already not allowed to enter Japan at that time). I visited Japan every year and also used a Japan Rail Pass each time. It makes travel a lot easier, and with the new rules it is even much more easier. Even though a Japan Rail Pass can be bought in Japan by foreign tourists now, I recommend to buy it abroad before leaving for Japan. It is cheaper. Now that reservations can be made either online or at Shinkansen Ticket Machines makes it even faster. You don't have to wait in front of the ticket counters anymore, which sometimes can be a little time consuming. So you can even plan your train journey at short notice and more spontaneous. I love Japan and I hope I can visit the imperial islands again as soon as possible.
@@fajar79 I don't mind lining up in a queue for a short while. The queues always move fast anyway AND it is fun to be able to practice my limited Japanese with a real human, AND I can be assured that my travel tickets will be problem-free during my entire trip.
I’m going to japan in a few months and I’ve used the old style JR pass before in the past so I didn’t know there’s a recent change. Thank you for making this video! It takes away a lot of the stress i would’ve felt if I arrived in Japan not knowing this system is totally different now 😊
new JR pass is a ticket now that you put into the machine and it 'll come out. To go on Shinkansen, you need a separate shinkansen (or narita expess) ticket, and you go to the JR gate by putting 2 tickets together at the same time, and both JR and shinkansen tickets will come out when you get in. When getting out of the gate, put 2 in and only JR will come out, this finish your current journey.
@@aczephyr You need a JR pass that includes green car in order to book the green car (more expensive JR pass). I just bought a regular JR pass coz ordinary car is good enough.
One way to ensure JR pass user don't forget that they are using a JR Pass ticket is why not use a different colour, example Yellow or Red, from the normal ticket which is light green. Its easy for the train inspector to spot from far away.
Cause that would be the same colors as the Tokyo Subway Pass. Which they changed) If anything tho, just look at the top if its in English lol Also as a tourist, if I already am using a JR Pass I dont know if Id really be getting a separate ticket again unless its for Nozomi and Mizuho.
We went to Japan back in October. There was one station that required both the rail pass and the seat reservation to be inserted at the same time. This particular train was reserved seats only. At the station, there were signs in English clearly stating what to do and there were announcements in English explaining this. In this case, you stacked the ticket and seat reservation then inserted both together into the machine. Both popped out at the other end. I was more worried about losing the rail pass because it was so much more compact than before.
Thank you for your comment. When I asked about this point, JR East company's member said you can insert both tickets but seat reservation ticket has no meaning. What you have to avoid is insert only seat reservation ticket. Your information is very meaningful. Thank you so much!!
We were in Japan just a week ago. We bought the 3-days Tokyo Wide pass (one of many JR passes available for tourist) and made a round trip seat reservation via the machine at Shinagawa Station for our trip to Karuizawa. The gate attendant instructed us to stacked and insert both the pass and the reserved seat ticket. Both popped out at the other end. When we reached our destination, we inserted both tickets again and but this time only the pass popped out at the other end. We did the same way for our reserved seat ticket coming back.
@iking-the-einstein8880 yes, this was my reason for mentioning it. At the end of the journey you get the pass back, but the gate disposes of the seat reservation which is no longer needed. No risk of people throwing the unnecessary ticket on the ground.
That's kinda sad because I always keep the seat reservation tickets as a souvenir every time I went to Japan (but rules are rules). Maybe I'll try ask the JR officers or website if I can still do that when I have a chance to go to Japan in the future.
Used the new Jr Pass in October 2022, is way more confortable than the booklet they gave before. When buying tickets for the Shinkansen you can just go to a counter and ask for a ticket, remember you need a seat reservation if you have big suitcases, then you use the JrPass at the gates and the shinkansen ticket if they ask you to check your reservation. Also is kind of hard to forget your ticket because the gates make a sound when you haven't retrieved it and is loud.
@@andrefricke9998 Depends on what you consider oversized, you need a reservation for any bag between 160 cm and 250cm, over 250cm can't be carried in the train. 160cm is the standard baggage size for an airplane checked bag
In Germany, suitcases with a combined size of 160cm are the largest pieces of regular luggage you can get. That's what kept me wondering about the focus so many people seem to put on the new luggage rule in Japan. I guess it's mostly an issue in parts of Asia and the US.
konnichiwa! hey, you remind me of rion oshida, another youtuber, thanks for the info on JR pass, my next visit to japan in april/may 2023, and so happy to be travelling again, greetings from australia xjas.
Thank you for your comment. I know about Rion Ishida-san (surely he don't know me, lol). First I found him, I think "he looks like me!" When my channel subscribers grown, I want to see him in somewhere.
I wish I had this video before I went to Japan in December! But everything was pretty easy to pick up once I had it. Putting both tickets into the gate was quickly explained by the gate attendant and it was straightforward from there
Thank God I found your vid in my feed. I am goiing to go to japan this April and it is definitely helpful (as my previous trip to japan was in 2019). Thank you for the vid!
I subscribed because your English is understandable and really good, and the topic of this video looks really informative. Thank you for making this video, the bell is on so please keep making videos.
For the person concerned about the ticket machine “eating” the JR Pass, I would say consider that millions of people use those ticket gates with similar tickets every day, and they are virtually trouble free. That said, if there is any difficulty, the staff attending the gates can open up any of the gate mechanisms and get a ticket out. If the worry is just too great, you can also show the rail pass as before at the ticket gate window or office, but that defeats the purpose of the changes in the pass. I used the new pass in October 2022 for over a dozen trips with no problem. I would recommend keeping it in a dedicated pocket or spot in a wallet as it can get mixed up with reserved seat tickets if you use them since it’s the same size and color. 😊
I am in Japan now, on my 3rd and final leg of my visit. I used JR Pass without trouble - just insert it and it will come out again. Just remember to take it out later at the end of the machine. 1. Please book your JR pass online and redeem it at JR office upon arrival at any Japan’s international airports. It is possible to buy it at JR office in Japan but the queue is always long…. 2. Please keep your JR pass safely and if it is lost, then you will need to buy it again. It will not be reprinted again for you.
@@nunodeazevedo - No. You must buy it outside Japan. You can have your Reciept delivered to your Japan hotel. You still have to go a main JR office to get your JR Pass card after showing your Passport and Recept.
Thank you for the information! I was in Japan in November but I didn't use a JR that time, however I used it in the past, so it's good to know this new information for my trip in April this year! 鑑賞、本当ありがとうね！
@@liljapan はい! 🙏🌸 It will be my first time in spring, I'll be there for peak sakura bloom hopefully (March 29 I arrive to be exact) I also make videos from my travels!
I lost my rail pass last time I went to Japan. Felt really crushed by that, but thankfully it was near the end of the trip, so I only really need to pay out of pocket for the bullet train from Mishima to Tokyo. Seems like the smaller pass might be easier to misplace if you set it down somewhere, but looks like it will fit in any wallet / card-holder; hopefully something you're much more likely to keep track of at all times! Going back hopefully in the winter, was thinking about skipping the pass entirely this time, but I think I'll consider it again now that the process seems much easier. Thanks Jake!
Thank you for your comment and I'm happy to hear you come to Japan again. We often use pass case like this; item.rakuten.co.jp/shelly-shop/slide-pass/ You can get similar item at 100JYP shop.
Thank you very much, Jake-san. My wife and I from the USA were in Japan in October 2019 (my seventh visit -- I just can't get enough of Japan!) and used the "old-style" JR Pass ticket. JR has made some wonderful improvements. We appreciate that you have showed us the way, and we hope to return (for my eighth visit) later this year. Dōmo arigatōgozaimasu. ☺☺
John-san, arigato!! I hope to visit to "eighth" Japan. Maybe, it changed a lot of things compare to before COVID. Enjoy your stay including that points.
When I went to Japan a few months ago I didn't know what tickets to use when entering/leaving the gates, so I inserted my pass and the seat reservation ticket together. Every time the machine just took what it needed and returned what it didn't need. I saw some older Japanese people doing the same thing and just inserting all the tickets they had.
Yes, you are right! Shinkansen tickets require to insert two tickets, one is train ticket and the other is limited express ticket. In this case, it needs to insert two tickets together. Thank you for your comment ☺️
I really like that they made the JR Pass more compact, it will be so much easier to carry in a wallet, and much easier to just walk through the gate by inserting the ticket. I also love that you can book reserved seats online in advance. It was already very easy to use the JR Pass when I visited Japan 2019 before the change, but it looks like it was made even easier now. Hopefully I'll be able to visit again soon!
With the old JR Rail Pass, there were times where I had to wait to go through the attended gate because the attendant was busy helping another customer. Fortunately I wasn't in a hurry to get somewhere on those occasions, but it's good to know that I won't have to worry about that possibility again with the new form of the pass.
For a country as advanced as Japan, I was shocked that the JR pass is so small and easily lost. Surely , they could have made it into a QR code on an app?
The one thing I am now worried about is that with a 3 week pass, that the ticket will become a bit problematic at the end of the trip as it still is a paper ticket, and now a lot smaller, so it can sneak out of places where you think it sits safe. I am now also wondering, since the ticket has a QR code and gates appear to have gotten a QR scanner, could you also scan the QR code?
@@Hans-gb4mv From my experience in October and November 2022, the QR code is only used at the seat reservation machine. Here you often also have to enter your passport number as proof of ownership. The 3-week pass does indeed cause problems at the automatic ticket gates at the end of its period of use and you have to go to the manned counters from time to time to leave the station.
Glad this popped up before I go to Japan next week. Site I got my pass from failed to note the change in style. As another comment mentions though, not sure why it's done as a regular ticket. If it's going to be used regularly, especially the 14 day and 21 day passes, it's going to eventually wear out. Sure the ticket machines have no issues with all the other travellers daily...but how many of them are using the same ticket more than a few times?. Would've been better to make it work with the IC gates or use the QR for scanning at the gate as well as for seat reservations.
You explain well, it will be good for people who are not used to this system. That is a nice video, thank you for the effort you put into it, great video!
I’m in Japan right now. The jr pass would be better if there was a wallet app like the suica. I damaged my jr pass on day one, luckily it still works but now I always put it back into my wallet in fear of damaging it even further.
That is my worry with the redesign. The old one was more robust and more difficult to misplace. I understand it’s being done to limit staff interaction and bottlenecks at the manned gates, but it would be a lot more useful to have an IC option like you said.
Can you so a video. How to move in tokyo after 0:00 I heard no trains will be available. Can ppl use e scooter or any other ways u can travel in the night ?
You've done excellent work to clearly explain how the new-style JR Pass works. Finally the cumbersome big old pass is no more. The ability to now use the automatic ticket gate is also another big improvement as previously the manned gate used to get extremely congested. It's a pity that JR haven't used another colour for the JR Pass so it isn't confused with the seat reservation or regular railway ticket. Still making the JR Pass a more convenient size with the ability to reserve seats from website & ticket machine is a fantastic improvement. Thank you!
Take a big, colored marker and put a line on your ticket. You're not damaging it, you're not altering the properties so it still goed through the machines without issue and you'll have a clearer picture of what your JR Pass ticket is.
Your video was easy to understand adding an important difference between the proper gate for the JR Pass and IC pass. For first time travelers like myself I can think of two potential questions: For reserved seat (Green Car Pass) when do I want to make a reservation for the Shinkansen; Do I need to make a reservation in advance or can I just go to the station and use the machine and choose a train and a seat. Coming from the U.S. I understand buying the JR Pass in advance on line. Arriving a Haneda Airport I need to find the JR Pass office and surrender my claim check to receive my JR Pass. It is necessary to have a Passport for each ticket I purchase. The tickets can be activated at Haneda Airport if I wish to use it to ride the train into Tokyo. Once the pass is activated it is good for the number of days purchased 7, 14, or 21 days which is contiguous. If you could correct any mistakes I make and add information on the questions It would be greatly appreciated.
About reservation, you can choose each way. Using with Japan Rail Pass web site, you can reserve seats in advance. Although you can make reservations at station. Second question, you're correct. Don't forget to get the stamp with your passport. Today, I shot videos at Haneda Airport for you. Please wait till upload.
THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION, IM PLANNING MY FIRST TRIP TO JAPAN FOR MY 64th BIRTHDAY NEXT YEAR , PLANNING TO GO TO STAY IN TOKYO AND KUMAMOTO CITY , L🙏👊🥋⛩
Thank you so much for the video! It might be seen as something really easy but some ppl like me really apreciate detailed explenation like this with lots of stuff so i really apreciate the video❤
wow, I did not know there was a "new" JR pass system, i always thought we had to go through the assisted gate. thanks this video will prepare me for my trip next week :D
if you go to the Tokyo Station for the JR Pass , be ready to stay up for 1h minimum (only 2 desks or 3). Everyone is leaving their hotels (11h) and go to the office for the Pass at the same time. It was a nightmare . you Have to choose the good moment for this ( may be in the evening , one day before you leave Tokyo)
I was there last October and had a two week JR Rail Pass. It was superb but by the end of the two weeks it had stopped working due to the wear and tear. It couldn’t be read at the gates…so I had to find an attendant to get me through. They reaaaally need to make the passes more durable.
It’s very simple to reserved tickets on the vending machine. You recieve the tickets straightaway and I believe you can reserve as many tickets as you want. (I did reserve 3trips on the machine and I already prior reserved ticket in person at the jr office because I didn’t realise they changed rule. If you ride Shinkansen train you need to insert both the tickets (jr pass and your reserved ticket.) but if you’re not sure, it doesn’t hurt to ask their staffs.
I once tried inserting my old style JR pass into a ticket gate as there was no attendant at the gate that we arrived at when we got off the train at a small station. It did't go well, it took the pass and didn't give it back, and I had to wait for an attendant to come from the other end of the station to open the gate up and take the pass out. All up it took up about 20-30 min.
Thank you for your comment and video request 😊 Which kind of reservation video do you need? 1. Reserve shinkansen with JR Pass 2. Typical shinkansen reservation If you want 2, I will👍 In case of 1, I can't. Because JR Pass is only for foreigners. If you're ok, please answer. Thank you for your comment 😊
@@liljapan Thank you for your response! I understand how to reserve seats on the Shinkansen for the JR PASS using the machine Kiosk, since you explained it very well but I can't seem to understand how to reserve seats online. But it's ok, I see that you are unable to do that because as a Japanese citizen you can not get a JR PASS. Here is another question for you if you can answer. If my first train I am taking is a Non-JR train, using an IC Card,(Metro or Odakyu line) and I need to transfer to a JR Line, do they always have a separate entrance/exit to the JR line? If you can transfer directly from a Non-JR line without scanning your IC Card and you exit a JR station, do you scan both IC cards and insert JR Pass? Thank you!
Also as pointed out ..the new style Pass looks very much like a standard reserve ticket....so be careful. As such It is not very durable either..so could get damaged easily if not taken care of...You can keep it in a holder...but when using it you always have to take it out of the holder so it can be passed through the ticket machine...unlike the Sucia or PASSMO cards which can be kept in a plastic holder (or a fun fluffy charactor holder)and tapped on the ticket gate when needed. I brought a holder for my Suica and hung it around my neck as it also had a pullout cable....So when needing to use it..I just tugged on the holder..tapped the ticket gate..and just let go..and it wound back in...So no losing it!....Just remember when using the pass to collect it at the other end of the ticket gate!
@@liljapan Yeah, maybe they should have a suica style JR pass with QR code on it. That way they can use existing equipment without the confusion between the ticket and JR pass. This would also eliminate durability issues that arise with a paper ticket
I didn't know it changed! Thank you so much for your video. We'll be visiting Japan next month so I'm glad I learnt something important before before our trip. Thank you for your helpful explanation. You're a legend!
Thank you for the video, I didn't know this finally changed to be like the regular paper tickets. The old passport-sized pass was a bother to pull out every time and it also required an attendant to visually verify your JR pass.
Thank you for this video. This was the information I have been looking for. I will be going there in September so I am getting a head start on traveling. Thank you!
I am so glad I've found this youtube! I will be on Japan next 2 weeks and this video helped me a lot with this new situation! I just know that we can do reservation and JR Pass looks so different now! Thank you so much Jake for clear explanation, really enjoy how informative your video is! so helpful!
I like your video, can you please make a step-by-step video on how to purchase a Japan Metro Train ticket all the way until you decide what platform to take, specially when there are several train lanes at the same train station? Thank you
Hi Jake! Thanks for making this video, it's really benefiting and helpful! I have a question about JR pass - is seat reservation required for trains other than shinkansen?
People living in Japan have the same problem with their rail tickets. As a result, you can go to Donki, Daiso or almost any variety store and get organisers to hold your ticket and other cards. Many people have a suica card holder attached to their bag, and these are quite good as they tend to have a bit where you can slide the contents out with your thumb. Most are 100 yen or so.
I had my father and step-mother visit me in Japan, back in 2018, before they changed it. The booklets were kind of inconvenient! I lived in inaka in Kanagawa prefecture, so the JR train station near my house was unattended! It's a good thing the next station had an attendant. This looks so much easier!
Went back in November recently, and from my experience, the new JR pass was hit or miss with the ticket gates. Like there were even multiple times where the ticket gate attendant would try it themselves only to get that classic "bu bu" sound complete with the "X", indicating there was a problem. The attendant would then just wave us through anyways. Sometimes it did work though, but I ended up just showing the pass to the gate attendants so they could wave us through (which was what i was used to with the JR pass wayyyyyy back in 2013 anyway) to avoid the complete rejection show. So anyone who is truly worried about the ticket gate eating their JR pass tickets could very well just use it like how it was previously, by going directly to the gate attendant, showing your JR pass, and being waved through. Then there's the question of "what if I am going to a place that's wayyyyy out in the countryside where the train station has no attendant", well then its just the honor system at that point. If there was an attendant you would've just been waved through, so no attendant means you can just walk past the gate (assuming this is a JR line, which is covered by the JR Pass), which is what we had to do at TadanoUmi station while we were on our way to Ookunoshima. There was even a box that looked like you would put your ticket in, but there was a sign that specifically warned "DO NOT INSERT JR PASS". I also didn't know that with the JR pass, we didn't need to get reserved seats on shinkansens, we could just go to the unreserved seat sections (obviously not a good idea during Japanese holidays like Obon or possibly Golden Week, or if you have large luggage). On a different note, I really liked all the streamlined processes overall compared to my last trip 10 years ago, this goes for all the stuff you had to do at the airport as well. It was also nice that my old manaka card could still be used, but I ended up just using as much I could outta it and opted to get the Suika card on my phone, where I could load it with more exact amounts rather than throw ￥1000 minimum each time.
I don't know how big this card is but I play a nerdy card game and you can buy a small box of sleeves for 1$-10$ or just goto a hobby store and ask them if they have one to give you. It'll keep the card protected from water and damage. Just something that popped up in my head to help keep it from being damaged. Just a thought
The best bet to make the best out of the JR Pass is buying green car pass. You would have no idea how much you save and most importantly, the green car is much quieter and less chaotic which is why I would always do whenever I need to travel extensively such as my last visit in January i had 6 shinkansen rides plus 4 limited express rides and 2 regular shinkansen (kamome kyushu cos no green car) and my longest travel was from Hakata to Tokyo which took almost 5-1/2hours. Moreover the new system is pretty good compared to the old pass and I had zero issues during my 9 days stay traveling from Nagoya-Hakata-(Yufuin +Nagasaki)-Tokyo-Nagoya…This could have cost over 150000Yen if I didn’t opt for the pass. Upcoming plan will be riding Granclass (paying difference)to Hakodate in May😂
Your travel records are awesome!! Granclass is sooo nice. I often use at Hokuriku-shinkansen. As yousaid, quet and comfort. Enjoy your new adventure to Hakodate!!
@@liljapan Thanks 😊 Yeah Im pretty frequent to Japan so it’s fun traveling around Japan on Shinkansen while making the best out of the JR Pass .. Your explanations of the pass surely is very useful for many visitors as well🙂
Thank you for your comment. Now I'm making helpful video for taking trains and buses. Please check it when I upload. And, if you have worried about something, please ask me in comment! Have a nice travel!
Jake: Can you please do a video about Suica and Passimo cards? I don't know if people planning a trip would really understand how versatile a Suica card is! We used ours all over the place - buses, subway, convenience stores, vending machines! Also, how to load it with more yen - that took us a little bit of work to figure out, because we didn't understand how to find the correct machine!
Your explanation is so clear!! Good job. I just came back from Japan and I can confirm that the JR Pass can be slotted into the gates, just like a regular ticket. Do not worry if the machine "eats" the ticket accidentally, there are always attendants in uniform at the gates and you can tell them what happened (even in english). They can open the gantry to retrieve the paper ticket haha... It happened to me before.
Very helpful video! The last time I used the JR pass was in early 2020 so I'm glad I saw this video before my next visit! I found the bus transit system to be quite intimidating last time I went so I didn't use it as much. Maybe a video on that would be nice?
I use Google map and it's pretty helpful. Tells you which line and platform to get on and how many stops there are (I like to keep track of each stops in case I realize I might be going the wrong way) 😆. Also tells you the price, and time of the bus / train arraival
I believe you have to insert the seat reservation ticket altogether with the JR Rail Pass ticket when you pass through the ticket gate. The machine will know and that's why there is a number of ticket count at the end of the walk way.
You are correct, one ticket inserting and two ticket inserting both ways are OK. No good way is inserting only seat reservtion ticket. JR attendants said, to avoid this trouble, they recommend to insert only JR Pass. Thank you!
new JR pass is a ticket now that you put into the machine and it 'll come out. To go on Shinkansen, you need a separate shinkansen (or narita expess) ticket, and you go to the JR gate by putting 2 tickets together at the same time, and both JR and shinkansen tickets will come out when you get in (it will show number 2 stating there will be 2 tickets coming out) When getting out of the gate, put 2 in and only JR pass will come out, this finish your current journey.
Thank you for your comment! Your infomation is correct, either you can go through the gate with only inserting the JR Pass. Because shinkansen tickets (it means seat reservation tickets) are only note for you. (JR company's member told me)
@@liljapan Oh that could be it. I put in only Shinkansen ticket and it didn't let me in. So I only had to insert JR pass and Shinkansen ticket was just for a note to give to the ticket checker onboard like you said.
Hi! thanks!!! I saw your videos and they are very useful! Although I have a doubt. If I have a jrpass, but I don't want a reserve ticket, have to go I to the vending machines and select a noun reserve ticket or can I go directly to the platform only with my jrpass??
Thanks for your comment! Concerning your question, if you don't need reserved seat, you can directly go to auto ticket gate. You DON'T need to vending machine. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for the video! I've read that you also have to reserve a "seat" for your luggage? Can you explain that, maybe? I think it's also not on every shinkansen?
If you are traveling with oversized luggage then you are required to reserve a “special” seat. These seats are usually in the last row with extra space behind your seats for your luggage. If your luggage is not oversized then you are not required to do this, you can just store your regular sized luggage in the overhead compartment by your seat or in front of you.
