Since 1981, the Japan Rail Pass has provided overseas visitors with budget-friendly access to unlimited rides on the country’s local and regional lines, as well as the famed shinkansen bullet trains, which can reach an operational speed of 200 miles per hour, at prices unchanged in decades.
Indeed, visitors to Japan in 2023 pay the same unadjusted amount for a two-week rail pass as they did in 1989.
But all good things must come to an end, and the train operator, Japan Railways Group, announced in April that steep increases to the rail pass — as high as 76 percent, depending on pass duration and class — are coming in October.
BackgroundAn enduring draw of visiting Japan is the chance to experience high-speed rail travel aboard the country’s extensive network of sleek and immaculately maintained, but notoriously expensive, shinkansen.
Inspired by similar systems such as the Eurail Pass, the Japan Rail Pass, available exclusively to overseas travelers in seven-, 14- and 21-day increments in both Ordinary and premium Green Car classes, allows for flat-rate access to shinkansen and JR-operated regional and local lines at a fraction of what it would cost to buy individual tickets.
Organizations:
Japan Railways Group, JR
Locations:
Japan