How to Use the JR TOKYO Wide Pass | 3-Day Price, Area Covered (Kawaguchiko, Nikko, Karuizawa, GALA Yuzawa), Trains You Can and Cannot Ride, Seat Reservations, and Whether It Pays Off

Overview

The JR TOKYO Wide Pass is a pass sold by JR East for people who hold a passport issued by a country other than Japan. For 3 consecutive days starting on the day you choose, you can ride JR East lines and specified lines of other railway companies as many times as you like, within a set area around Tokyo. You can also use the pass to reserve Ordinary Car reserved seats on shinkansen and limited express trains within the area. The price is ¥16,000 for adults (age 12 and over) and ¥8,000 for children (age 6 to 11). The prices and rules in this article were checked on the official websites of JR East and the other companies on October 25, 2026. The conditions of carriage on the JR East official website are marked "as of March 2026".

The map is a simplified summary of the lines running from Tokyo toward the edges of the area the pass covers. The numbers do not show an order to visit; they point to the following places.

1. Kawaguchiko Station. From Shinjuku Station, you can get there without changing trains on the Fuji Excursion limited express.
2. Nikko and Kinugawa-Onsen. You can ride the limited expresses that run from JR stations straight through to Tobu-Nikko Station and Kinugawa-Onsen Station on the Tobu lines. You can also go to JR Nikko Station on the JR Nikko Line.
3. Karuizawa Station and Sakudaira Station. With this pass, you can ride the Hokuriku Shinkansen only as far as Sakudaira Station.
4. GALA Yuzawa Station. A station on the Joetsu Shinkansen that is open only from winter to spring.
5. Narita Airport Terminal 1 Station and Narita Airport Terminal 2·3 Station. Both are stations inside Narita Airport, and you can ride the Narita Express (N'EX) limited express from them.
6. Izukyu-Shimoda Station. The last station at the far end of the Izukyu Line.

• The railway companies you can ride and the trains you cannot ride are summarized under "Railway companies and lines you can ride" and "Trains you cannot ride, and things you pay for separately".
• You cannot ride the Tokaido Shinkansen. This is not a pass for traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto or Osaka. A pass that covers JR lines all over Japan is explained in JAPAN RAIL PASS (JR Pass): Prices and How to Use It | Prices on the Official Website and from Agents Outside Japan, How to Buy, and How to Ride Nozomi and Mizuho.

Prices

Prices

• Whether you count as an adult or a child is decided by your age on the day you buy the pass. A child's age can be checked with a passport or similar document.
• Children under 6 do not need a pass if they do not reserve a seat. To reserve a seat for a child under 6, you need a child pass or a child ticket for that child.
• There is no discounted price for students.
• To ride in the Green Car or Gran Class, you pay charges in addition to the pass.

Period of use

The pass can be used for 3 consecutive days, starting on the day you choose when you buy it. In the example on the official website, the pass can be used on the 3 days of October 2, 3 and 4. You cannot use it on 3 separate days with gaps between them, such as October 2, 4 and 6.

• The price table for the JR TOKYO Wide Pass lists only the price for 3 days.
• While you are traveling in Japan, you can use only one pass at a time. You cannot buy a second pass whose period of use overlaps with the first.
• After you buy the pass, you cannot change its period of use or exchange it for another pass.

Conditions

Railway companies and lines you can ride

• JR East lines, on the sections inside the area shown on the official map. You can ride Ordinary Car reserved and non-reserved seats on shinkansen, limited express, express and local trains.
• Tokyo Monorail Line. This is the line that goes to Haneda Airport.
• Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit (Rinkai Line).
• Fujikyu Railway Line. It takes you as far as Kawaguchiko Station.
• Izukyu Line. It takes you as far as Izukyu-Shimoda Station.
• Joshin Dentetsu Line.
• Saitama New Urban Transit (New Shuttle), on the section from Omiya Station to Railway Museum Station.
• Ordinary Car reserved seats on the limited expresses that run straight through between JR lines and Tobu lines (the "Nikko", the "Kinugawa", the "SPACIA Kinugawa" and others).
• Tobu Railway local trains (including rapid trains) from Shimo-Imaichi Station to Tobu-Nikko Station and from Shimo-Imaichi Station to Kinugawa-Onsen Station.

Between Kurihashi Station and Shimo-Imaichi Station on Tobu Railway, you can ride only the limited expresses that run through from JR lines. You cannot use this pass on limited expresses that run only on Tobu lines (such as limited expresses departing from Asakusa Station). When you use this pass on a limited express running through between JR lines and Tobu lines, on any section, at least one of the two stations, the station where you board or the station where you get off, must be a station on a JR line.

Main stations on the official map

If you ride the Hokuriku Shinkansen beyond Sakudaira Station (to Nagano Station, for example) and buy a ticket for the section beyond Sakudaira Station at a station ticket office before you board, you can stay on the train without getting off at Sakudaira Station. This ticket cannot be booked on JR-EAST Train Reservation.

Trains you cannot ride, and things you pay for separately

• The Tokaido Shinkansen. This shinkansen is run by a different company, not JR East.
• JR Bus.
• The Hayabusa and Komachi trains on the Tohoku Shinkansen. To ride them, you pay the limited express charge.
• Gran Class. To ride it, you pay the limited express charge and the Gran Class charge.
• The Green Car on shinkansen and limited express trains. To ride it, you pay the Green Car charge and the limited express charge.
• Reserved seats on the Fujisan Express and the Fujisan View Express on the Fujikyu Railway Line. To sit in a reserved seat, you pay charges in addition to the pass.
• The Fuji Tozan Densha on the Fujikyu Railway Line. To ride this train, you pay charges in addition to the pass.
• Lines of companies that are not in the list under "Railway companies and lines you can ride", and sections outside the area on the map. To ride them, you pay the fare and charges for that section. For example, Tokyo Metro, Toei Subway, the Keisei Line (Skyliner), the Keikyu Line, the Odakyu Line, the Hakone Tozan Train and the Enoshima Electric Railway (Enoden) are not in the list.

Costs

How to compare with paying fares and charges one by one (adults)

Add up the fares and charges for the trains you will ride during the 3 days. If the total is higher than the price of the pass (¥16,000), the pass is cheaper. The table below shows the one-way adult fares and charges for the trains used as examples in this article. All are prices for Ordinary Car reserved seats.

• One round trip between Shinjuku Station and Kawaguchiko Station on the Fuji Excursion costs ¥8,400, and one round trip between Shinjuku Station and Tobu-Nikko Station on the through limited express costs ¥8,280. If you make only one of these round trips, paying the fares and charges is cheaper than buying the pass.
• If, within the same 3 days, you make one round trip each to both Kawaguchiko Station and Tobu-Nikko Station, the total is ¥16,680. The pass is ¥680 cheaper.
• If, in addition to those 2 round trips, you also ride the Narita Express (N'EX) from Narita Airport Terminal 1 Station or Narita Airport Terminal 2·3 Station to Tokyo Station within the same 3 days, the total is ¥19,820. The pass is ¥3,820 cheaper.
• The JR East official website gives this example trip: from Tokyo Station to GALA Yuzawa Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen, from GALA Yuzawa Station back to Omiya Station, from Omiya Station to Tobu-Nikko Station on the "Nikko" limited express, and from Tobu-Nikko Station back to Shinjuku Station. The fares and charges for reserved seats come to about ¥21,500 in total. This is the value for the regular season, which is neither a period with higher charges nor a period with lower charges.

The child pass is ¥8,000. The rules for child fares and charges are explained in Child Fares on Japan's Trains and Subways | When Kids Pay Adult Fare, Free Rides for Young Children, Child IC Cards. How to get to Kawaguchiko is explained in Day Trip from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko | Fuji Excursion Limited Express vs. Highway Bus, a Route via Arakurayama Sengen Park (Chureito Pagoda), the Ropeway, the Sightseeing Boat and Oishi Park, and Total Costs with the Kawaguchiko Shuyu Pass or Separate Tickets, how to get to Nikko in Day Trip from Tokyo to Nikko | Tobu Limited Expresses from Asakusa (SPACIA X, Revaty) Compared with Routes from Shinjuku and Tokyo Station, NIKKO PASS vs. Individual Ticket Totals, and a Route to Toshogu and Rinnoji Before Closing, and how to get from Narita Airport in From Narita Airport to Central Tokyo | Skyliner, Narita Express or Airport Bus?.

Where to buy

Who can buy and use the pass

• Only people who hold a passport issued by a country other than Japan can buy and use this pass. People with Japanese nationality cannot use it.
• Having the "Temporary Visitor" status of residence is not a condition for this pass. On JR East's page about how to buy, it is listed as one of the passes without this condition.
• When you buy and when you collect the pass, show the original passport of the person who will use it. You cannot buy or collect the pass with a copy of your passport. You cannot buy a pass on behalf of another person, even a family member.
• Your passport must also be valid during the period you use the pass. While you are using the pass, carry the original passport and show it if staff ask for it.

Three ways to buy

1. Buy it on JR-EAST Train Reservation, JR East's booking website. You can buy it from 10:00 (Japan time) one month before the day you travel. After you arrive in Japan, collect the pass at a station.
2. Buy a voucher (e-ticket) to exchange for the pass from a travel agency outside Japan. After you arrive in Japan, show the voucher and your passport at a collection point and exchange it for the pass.
3. Buy it at a station after you arrive in Japan. You can buy it at a Reserved Seat Ticket Vending Machine with a passport reader or at a JR EAST Travel Service Center.

A pass bought on JR-EAST Train Reservation is collected at a Reserved Seat Ticket Vending Machine with a passport reader or at a JR EAST Travel Service Center. To collect it at a reserved seat ticket vending machine, you need a passport with an IC chip. Check the stations where you can collect the pass in the list on the JR East official website.

Refunds

• A pass you have in hand (a pass bought at a station, or a pass after you have collected it at a station) can be refunded at the place where you bought it, within its period of use, if you have not used it yet. 10% of the pass price is deducted as a fee.
• A pass bought on JR-EAST Train Reservation and not yet collected can be canceled on the booking website without a fee until 23:50 (Japan time) on the day before the first day of use. After that time, and until 23:50 (Japan time) on the last day of the period of use, it can be canceled on the booking website for a fee. This cancellation cannot be done at a station.
• If you bought a voucher from a travel agency outside Japan and have not yet exchanged it for the pass, contact the travel agency where you bought it. In this case, you cannot get a refund from JR East.
• After you receive a seat reservation ticket with the pass, the pass cannot be refunded once the departure time of the train for that reserved seat has passed, even if you did not ride that train. If you will not ride a train, cancel its seat reservation before the departure time.
• After you start using the pass, the period of use is not extended and no refund is given, even if trains are stopped or delayed. A lost or stolen pass is not reissued.

Booking

Reserving seats

• To sit in a reserved seat, get a seat reservation ticket before boarding, at a reserved seat ticket vending machine, at Midori-no-madoguchi (JR ticket office) or at a JR EAST Travel Service Center. The pass alone does not guarantee you a seat.
• You can ride in non-reserved seats with just the pass. Some trains have no non-reserved seats.
• On the "Tsubasa", the "Nikko", the "Kinugawa" and the "SPACIA Kinugawa", all seats are reserved. You cannot ride these trains unless you have received a seat reservation ticket.
• On the Narita Express (N'EX), the "Hitachi", the "Tokiwa", the "Akagi", the "Azusa", the "Kaiji", the Fuji Excursion, the "Odoriko", the "Shonan" and others, you can reserve any seat in the Ordinary Car. If you board without reserving a seat, sit in a vacant seat in the car.
• On JR-EAST Train Reservation, pass holders can make up to 15 bookings, including the pass. According to the official FAQ, when you collect your booked seat reservation tickets at a station, this booking limit is reset and you can book again.
• After you have collected the pass, you can also get seat reservation tickets directly at a station ticket office or a reserved seat ticket vending machine.

How to go through the ticket gates

• Insert the pass into the automatic ticket gate to go through. After you go through, do not forget to take the pass back.
• Where you cannot use the automatic ticket gates, go through the staffed gate. On Saitama New Urban Transit (from Omiya Station to Railway Museum Station), you cannot use the automatic ticket gates.

Good to know

• To get toward Hakone, you can take the JR Tokaido Line as far as Odawara Station. The Hakone Tozan Train beyond Odawara Station and the Odakyu Line are not in the list under "Railway companies and lines you can ride". How to get around Hakone is explained in Hakone Day Trip from Tokyo | Route and Times for the Hakone Golden Course in One Day, the Last Boat and Ropeway Hours, Doing the Loop in Reverse, and Hakone Freepass vs. Separate Tickets.
• You can get to Kamakura on the JR Yokosuka Line. The Enoshima Electric Railway (Enoden) is not in the list. How to get around Kamakura and Enoshima is explained in Day Trip from Tokyo to Kamakura and Enoshima | Getting There from Shinjuku Compared (Odakyu Line, Romancecar, JR), Whether the Enoshima-Kamakura Freepass and the Enoden 1-day pass “Noriorikun” Save Money, and a Route to the Great Buddha and Hasedera Temple Before They Close.
• How to get to the area near Mt. Fuji is explained in Tokyo/Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko & Mt. Fuji: How to Get There | Fuji Excursion Limited Express, Changing Trains, Highway Bus Fares, Travel Times and Booking.
• Tickets for riding Tokyo's subways (Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway) are explained in Tokyo Subway Ticket (24, 48 and 72 hours) | Prices, where to buy it and how to use Tokyo's unlimited subway pass.