The JR Pass

Wednesday 28th April
This is really the last word, I promise.
I thought I should mention the sensational value that we got from our JR passess. We purchased the 'all regions' passes for 14 days at a cost of about Australian $600.00 each. The cost of the shinkansen journeys that we made during the 14 days would have been $840.00 each if paid for individually, so we more than recouped the cost just on those trips. In addition to the shinkansen, we made a number of long distance trips on express or limited express trains as well as many small local trips within the cities. These trips would have totalled a few hundred dollars more, so we really got great value from the passes. JR passes cannot be purchased in Japan. They are only for temporary visitors and the 'exchange order' for the pass must be purchased in the country of residence before departure. The exchange order is then swapped for the actual pass after arrival in Japan.
Travelling with a pass is so easy - we just flashed the pass at the staff on the gates and they waved us through. For the longer trips, including the shinkansen, we were able to go to the booking office a day or two before the trip and booked seats in advance (no cost to do this).

THE END