Japanâ€™s best train pass, the Japan Rail Pass, finally being made available for purchase online

Feb 19, 2020 | News On Japan

Feb 19, 2020 (soranews24.com) - Japanâ€™s best train pass, the Japan Rail Pass, finally being made available for purchase online

After years of complicated and added-expense hoops to jump through, JR will start letting international travelers buy their passes online and inside their home countries.

There are several reasons Japan has been booming in popularity as a travel destination over the past decade, and a big one is the Japan Rail Pass. Offered by Japan Railways Group (a.k.a. JR), Japanâ€™s largest rail operator, the pass is only available to visitors from abroad, and provides travelers with unlimited use of nearly any JR train in the country, including all but the very fastest classes of the Shinkansen bullet train, for periods of one, two, or three weeks.

But while the JR Pass is an incredible value for those with wide-range travel ambitions in Japan, the purchase process has long been a bit of a hassle. For many years, the pass could only be purchased outside of Japan and through an intermediary such as a designated travel agency or airline. More recently, the option to purchase the pass at select train stations in Japan has been offered, but with the penalty of being roughly 10 percent more expensive than if purchased outside Japan.

Those hassles will be disappearing, though, as this week Japan Rail Group announced that it will begin selling the Japan Rail Pass online come summer. A dedicated site, called Japan Rail Pass Reservation, is being set up to handle orders, and purchasers can pick up their passes at the station after arriving in Japan. JR has not yet specified whether the pass can be picked up at any JR station in the country, but it seems like a given that it will be available at rail hubs connecting to Japanâ€™s international airports, so that the passes can be picked up and activated quickly upon arrival.

Pricing for the pass has also been announced, with regular (non-Green Car passes) 7, 14, and 21-day passes costing 33,610 yen (US$305), 52,960 yen, and 66,200 yen for adults (16,800 yen, 26,480 yen, and 33,100 yen for children 6-11). Stepping up to the Green Car pass bumps those prices up to 44,810 yen, 72,310 yen, and 91,670 yen (22,400 yen, 36,150 yen, and 45,830 yen for kids). Passes must be activated no later than one month after their online purchase date.

Toyota to Launch Self-Driving Taxis in 2027

Toyota Motor will begin operating fully autonomous taxis in 2027 through a partnership with U.S. self-driving technology company Waymo, marking a major step in the Japanese automaker's efforts to expand driverless transportation services.

Mount Fuji Puts on First Snowcap

Mount Fuji has received its first snowcap of the season, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced on October 30, after temperatures at the summit plunged to minus 9.4 degrees Celsius, marking the arrival of winter conditions on Japan's highest mountain.

Chinese Female Spy Suspected of Targeting Nvidia Chief

U.S. intelligence agencies suspect that a Chinese female intelligence operative developed a close relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in an attempt to obtain confidential corporate and U.S. government information, according to a report published by The New York Times on October 29th.

Japan Blocks Websites Leaking GMO Personal Data

The Japanese government has asked major telecommunications operators to forcibly block access to websites believed to contain personal information stolen in a cyberattack on GMO, it emerged on October 29th, as authorities moved to prevent further exposure of sensitive data online.

Typhoon No. 31 Heads Toward Japan's Remote Islands

Typhoon No. 31 was located near Minamitorishima Island in the Pacific Ocean, as of 3 a.m. on October 30, and was expected to approach the Ogasawara Islands south of Tokyo over the October 31-November 1 weekend while maintaining very strong intensity, bringing a growing risk of dangerously high waves, powerful swells and extremely rough seas.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Landlords Bear Financial Burden of Lonely Deaths

Japan's rapidly aging population is facing a growing crisis of elderly people dying alone at home, with grieving families sometimes unable to see their loved ones before burial and landlords increasingly forced to shoulder substantial cleanup and estate clearance costs when relatives abandon their inheritance.

Prison Inmates Help Preserve Japan's Traditional Crafts

Traditional Japanese crafts are finding an unexpected source of skilled workers in prisons across the country, where inmates are learning painstaking production techniques that build patience and concentration while helping preserve industries struggling with a shortage of craftspeople.

South Korean Man Arrested Over Killing of Japanese Woman Following Stock Crash

A Japanese woman in her 20s was found dead at an apartment complex in Cheonan, central South Korea, on October 29th, prompting police to detain a South Korean man in his 30s on suspicion of murder after he allegedly confessed to killing her because he had decided to commit suicide following stock market losses but could not bring himself to die alone.

Japan's Imperial Family Hosts Autumn Garden Party

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako hosted the annual autumn garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo on October 29, welcoming approximately 1,400 guests, including actor Kotaro Yoshida and novelist Miyuki Miyabe, while female members of the Imperial Family attended in traditional Japanese attire.

Rescuers Save Paraglider Who Stopped Breathing

A 59-year-old water sports rental shop owner in Omachi, Nagano Prefecture, has received a letter of appreciation from police after rescuing a paraglider who plunged into a lake on September 21, pulling the unconscious man from the water and performing CPR after discovering he was no longer breathing.

Couple's Gardening Hobby Turns Out to Be Cannabis Cultivation

A married couple in Aira, Kagoshima Prefecture, have been arrested after police discovered cannabis plants growing in pots on the terrace of their home during a search connected to a separate investigation, authorities said on October 28th.

Elderly Woman Drives Along Railway Tracks, Ends in Tragedy

A woman in her 80s was killed after her car entered railway tracks on the Odakyu Enoshima Line in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, shortly before 10:30 p.m. on October 27, with security camera footage showing the vehicle traveling along the tracks, passing an oncoming train and stopping with its hazard lights flashing before being struck from behind by another train.

Teen Hospitalized After Electric Shock From Basketball Hoop

A teenage male was rushed to a hospital after suffering an electric shock while putting away a motorized basketball hoop at a gymnasium in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, in an accident believed to have been caused by an incompatible extension cord, according to a report on October 27th.

< 2 3 4 5 >