JAPAN RAIL PASS (JR Pass): Prices, How to Buy and How to Use | Official Website vs. Overseas Agent Prices, and How to Ride Nozomi and Mizuho

Overview

The JAPAN RAIL PASS is a ticket for visitors to Japan, sold jointly by the six JR Group companies. For a set number of days, you can ride JR lines throughout Japan as many times as you like. It also covers shinkansen and limited express trains, and reserving a seat costs nothing extra.

• There are six types, combining the number of days (7, 14 or 21) with the class of car you can ride (Ordinary Car or Green Car). With a Green Car pass, you can also ride in Ordinary Cars.
• It can be bought by foreign travelers who enter Japan from abroad for sightseeing or similar purposes with the "Temporary Visitor" status of residence. Your passport must have a "Temporary Visitor" stamp or sticker from immigration. Different conditions apply to Japanese nationals living abroad.
• You cannot ride the Nozomi and Mizuho trains on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen with the pass alone (not even in non-reserved seats). To ride them, you need to buy a separate special ticket that only pass holders can buy.
• The pass does not cover non-JR private railways or subways.

Prices

Prices

These are the prices when you buy on the official website (JAPAN RAIL PASS Reservation). The same prices apply if you buy from a designated overseas agent by September 30, 2026.

If you buy from a designated overseas agent on or after October 1, 2026, the prices are as follows. The date is based on the local time where you buy.

• Child prices apply to people aged 6 to 11 at the time of use. People aged 12 or over pay the adult price, even if they are still in elementary school. However, if the person is 11 on the day of payment on the official website (for agents, the day the Exchange Order is issued), the child price applies even if they are 12 by the time of use.
• On the official website you pay in Japanese yen. At agents you pay in the local currency, converted from yen at the exchange rate when the Exchange Order is issued.
• Prices may change. The price that applies is the one at the time you buy on the official website, or at the time the agent issues the Exchange Order.

Conditions

Trains you can ride, and what you pay extra

• Covered: JR shinkansen (except Nozomi and Mizuho), limited express, express, rapid and local trains, and BRT. JR Bus local route buses, JR West's Miyajima Ferry and the Tokyo Monorail are also covered.
• Not covered: JR Bus highway buses and some local route buses. Non-JR private railways and subways.
• Where a JR train runs onto another company's tracks, you pay the fare and charges for that section separately. For example, on the Fuji Excursion limited express from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko, the section from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko belongs to the Fujikyu Railway.
• If you ride in a Green Car with an Ordinary Car pass, you pay the Green Car charge plus the limited express charge and other charges. Some special cars, such as GranClass and sleeper cars, require an extra charge even with a Green Car pass.
• When you cross to Miyajima on the Miyajima Ferry, you pay the Miyajima Visitor Tax separately from the pass.

Your options

Riding Nozomi and Mizuho

Nozomi and Mizuho are the fastest trains on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen. Depending on whether you want to ride these two trains, choose one of the following.

• Ride with the pass alone: Take trains such as the Hikari and Kodama on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, or the Sakura and Tsubame on the Kyushu Shinkansen. There is no extra charge.
• Ride Nozomi or Mizuho: Before boarding, buy the "[ONLY WITH JAPAN RAIL PASS] NOZOMI MIZUHO Ticket", which only pass holders can buy. You use this ticket together with the pass.

These are the prices of the NOZOMI MIZUHO Ticket for main sections (tax included). The price is the same whether you ride in the Green Car, a reserved seat in an Ordinary Car or a non-reserved seat in an Ordinary Car.

• Buy one ticket for each ride on Nozomi or Mizuho. You can buy it from one month before the day of travel up to the day itself, at reserved seat ticket machines or at Midori-no-madoguchi (JR ticket offices) in JR stations.
• You can buy it only for rides within your pass's validity period.
• With an Ordinary Car pass, you cannot ride in the Green Car on Nozomi or Mizuho. Only holders of a Green Car pass can buy the Green Car version of the ticket.
• You cannot go through automatic ticket gates with this ticket alone. Insert the pass into the gate.
• During especially busy periods, all seats on Nozomi are reserved.

Where to buy

How to buy, and how to collect the pass

There are two ways to buy. Either way, you collect the actual pass after arriving in Japan, at a station ticket office or a similar location. When you collect it, you show the passports of everyone who will use the passes, and staff check that they meet the conditions.

• Buying on the official website: You can pay only with a credit card in the buyer's name. In addition to the buyer's own pass, you can buy passes for up to six people traveling together (up to seven people in total). You enter names, an email address and passport numbers. To collect the pass, bring the number issued when you bought it and your passport. Collect it before your start date or within the validity period.
• Buying from an overseas agent: Buy from a travel company designated by JR, such as JTB or Nippon Travel Agency. Exchange the Exchange Order within three months of the date it was issued. You can exchange it from one month before your start date. You cannot ride trains with the Exchange Order itself. If you lose the Exchange Order, you cannot receive the pass.
• You can collect or exchange the pass at ticket offices in the stations at Narita Airport and Haneda Airport, and at major stations such as Tokyo, Shinjuku, Nagoya and Sapporo. They can be crowded and take time, so allow plenty of time.
• You can reserve seats before arriving in Japan only if you bought on the official website.

Booking

Reserving seats

With the pass alone, you can ride in non-reserved seats on trains other than Nozomi and Mizuho. However, some trains have no non-reserved seats (all seats are reserved). To ride in a reserved seat, reserve before boarding and get a reserved seat ticket. Reserving costs nothing extra.

• Reserved seat ticket machine: Scan the QR code on the pass and enter your passport number. Enter the section, date and time, choose the train and seat type, and receive your reserved seat ticket.
• Midori-no-madoguchi: Show the pass and tell the staff which train you want to take.
• If you bought on the official website, you can reserve on the same website even before arriving in Japan. Before boarding, get your reserved seat ticket from a reserved seat ticket machine or at Midori-no-madoguchi.
• To change or cancel a reservation, do so before the reserved train departs. Once you have received the reserved seat ticket, do so at a station ticket office.
• Even when seats are available, some trains or sections cannot be reserved. Reserved seats are especially hard to get on May 1–6, August 7–16, September 18–23 and December 29–January 3.
• If you ride the Tokaido, Sanyo or Kyushu Shinkansen with a large suitcase, you also need to reserve a space for your baggage. This is explained in How to Bring a Large Suitcase on the Shinkansen | Reserving a Seat with an Oversized Baggage Area and Where to Put Your Luggage.

Step by step

How to board a train with the pass

1. Show your passport at a station ticket office and collect the pass.
2. Insert the pass into the slot at the front of the automatic ticket gate.
3. Take the pass from the slot at the far end of the gate.
4. Board the train. If you have a reserved seat, keep your reserved seat ticket with you as well.

• You cannot insert the pass into gates marked "IC専用" (IC cards only).
• You can also go through a staffed gate by showing the pass. When you do, show it so that the validity period is visible.
• Only the person whose passport is registered on the pass can use it. Carry your passport while riding and show it if staff ask.

Good to know

What to check before buying

• Deciding whether the pass is worth it: For the JR sections you plan to ride during the pass period, add up the fares plus limited express charges and other charges, and compare the total with the pass price. If you plan to ride Nozomi or Mizuho, add the NOZOMI MIZUHO Ticket prices to the pass side as well. If you are touring only a specific region for a few days, a regional pass sold by one of the JR companies may suit you better.
• As a rule, refunds are possible only before the validity period starts. For a pass bought on the official website and not yet collected, you can apply for a refund on the official website until 11:30 p.m. (Japan time) on the day before your start date. For a pass you have already collected, apply at a station ticket office that handles pass collection. When you do, show the actual credit card you used for payment. In both cases, the fee is ¥560 per pass.
• For a pass received with an overseas agent's Exchange Order, you can apply for a refund at an exchange office in Japan. The fee is 10% of the sale price. For an Exchange Order not yet exchanged, apply for a refund to the agent where you bought it.
• Once you have started using the pass, the validity period is not extended and no refund is given, even if trains stop because of a disaster or other causes.
• If the pass is lost or stolen, it is not reissued.
• You cannot buy two or more passes with overlapping validity periods on the same passport.