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    Japan Rail Pass | JR Pass Guide & Updates 2023 : What You NEED To Know!



    The Japan Rail Pass WILL CHANGE : Updated JR Pass Guide You NEED To SEE!

    Unfortunately, it looks like the Japan Rail Pass long streak of being Japan’s most cost effective way to travel could be coming to an end. With the MASSIVE price increases, will this pass still be worth it? In this video, we will cover how much you need to use this pass for it to be worth it, and other alternatives to consider should you decide to not buy the Japan Rail Pass anymore.

    Buy your JR Pass HERE: https://click.jrpass.com/aff_c?offer_id=19&aff_id=1299

    JRpass.com comprehensive guide: https://www.jrpass.com/blog/expert-guide-to-regional-japan-rail-passes
    JR EAST: https://jreast.travel/jreastpass/
    JR WEST: https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/

    DISCORD: https://discord.gg/MDVXzGCBZT

    THATCH PROFILE (SEE ALL MY SAVED SPOTS PUBLICLY):
    https://share.thatch.co/Fsfs
    —————————————————————————————————————————
    1) Japan Rail Pass Will Change
    2) Essential Japan Guide
    3) Japan Travel
    —————————————————————————————————————————
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    #japan #japanvlog #tokyo #japantravel #japan2023 #tourism #japanopen #japanopen2023
    0:00 – 0:49 Intro
    0:49 – 1:52 JR Pass News In Depth
    1:52 – 2:42 Why the price increase?
    2:42 – 4:35 Is the JR Pass Still Worth It??
    4:35 – 6:00 Alternatives to the JR Pass

    20 Comments

    3. Japan Lover on

      been to japan 7 times with the last time just last month for cherry blossoms. with detailed planning i never had to purchase jr pass but used the regional passes instead like nagano niigata pass (twice). my upcoming trip i intend to use the tohoku pass.

      seeing the comments here, i may consider the japan explorer pass using JAL to aomori instead and forgo the jr pass.

    6. Harriet B on

      Thanks for the update. I wonder if you can buy a JR Pass now with the old price and be able to use them beyond October. My trip is in beginning of October so I HOPEπŸ™πŸΌit doesn’t affect itπŸ˜‚

    9. Letham on

      Hi great video! First time going to Japan with wife and kids. What would you suggest us getting? We are only going to Tokyo & Osaka. Would it be the Region Pass? Or is there another kind?

    10. VGuy on

      Ouch, that's a little over $150 increase across the board as of today's exchange rate. It's worth mentioning that the JR pass doesn't cover most inner city lines, since they're mostly managed by local municipalities, so in order to get the most out of the pass, you'd have to travel quite a bit as Harb stated.

      This comes with a major downside that is possibly overlooked: time. To get your money's worth, you'd have to travel to several cities; a perk in-of itself to be sure, but time is a precious resource, so committing so much of it to simple movement is a detriment, unless that's how you plan your visit. More than ever travelers will need to plan their itineraries in minuscule detail. IMO I think with so many financial factors in play, 2 stand out as for this move:

      1) Cash in on visiting tourists.
      2) Boost alternative methods of travel: overnight busses, local flights, etc.

      I for one had already decided to forego purchasing the pass as it wouldn't pay for itself during my visit, but in a future visit, who knows. We'll have to wait and see.

      Cheers!

    11. T C on

      After reading several posts about the matter on YouTube from other creators, an operator from JR Hokkaido said one reason they wanted to raise the price was to reduce the crowding on the Tokaido shinkansen.

      As we all know, the majority of tourists visiting mainly go on the "golden route" which is Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka/Nara and back to Tokyo. The Hikari train only runs twice an hour and are jammed full of tourists. If JR allows Nozomi and Mizuho, this would definitely reduce congestion and encourage traveling further down to Hiroshima and Kyushu region.

      However, I think a 69% price increase is a bit steep. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the price increase. I'm all for it especially with the weak yen and current economic conditions. But, if one of the main reasons for this drastic price hike is to reduce congestion on the Tokaido route, they can easily control access to the line to certain hours with folks using the JR Pass.

      I wouldn't mind something like a 25%-30% price hike and implementing traveling restrictions on the Tokaido line for anyone traveling with the JR Pass during the hours of first train (and this includes all trains Nozoimi, Hikari, Kodama) until say noon/1pm/2pm, etc or call it heavy traffic hours or business hours. This also encourages using the pass on other routes (Tohoku, Hokkaido, Sanyo, Joetsu, etc) as those lines don't even come near the heavy traffic of the Tokaido line.

      As for the green pass increase, it's 100% not worth it for any duration. At the current rate, the green car was somewhat worth it but now the drastic increase makes it 100% unattractive. I would consider a green pass if they installed Gran Class on every shinkansen line and required an added fee lol

    12. Dr Link on

      on our lsat trip we flew in to osaka that saved us the first leg of the trip and at the the same time we saved around $100 flying in to osaka, so this is an awsome option if you plan your trip will allow you to save time and money, we did not buy the pass beacuse we did not want to rush our time and what we saved on the flight on our last shinkansen nagoya to tokyo we went on the green car to see and experince that part of out trip.

    16. Andy Tsaichu on

      Let's hope that JR East doesn't follow suit! However, I think sooner or later it will, especially if inflation and energy price is behind the price hike, and if overall Shinkansen ticket will eventually go up. ☹

    17. L Man Gaming on

      The greatest fears are coming true. Japan is becoming a country that just won't be worth visiting in the future. I'm honestly shocked that Japan wants to kill their tourism sector only a year after everything reopened.

      I fully believe this has to do with the social economic impact of the struggles Japan is facing. The low population and fear of not increasing their birth rates is making Japan slowly but surely become reclusive. I can only hope this great nation figures out it's problems so people can experience this country in all it's glory.

      I can't believe Im saying this, but this might be the last good year to travel to Japan.

      Simply put, Japan has changed.

    20. Carolina Bautista on

      I have a quick question, I recently purchased a jr pass through Klook and it says on the date and place of issue is in Hong Kong but I am located in the USA, will this cause a error when I exchange my pass in person?

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