JR East Pass

The JR East Pass is a rail pass for exclusive use by foreigners in Japan, providing unlimited travel on JR trains (including shinkansen and limited express trains) and local JR buses in the Greater Tokyo area, Tohoku Region, Nagano and Niigata on five or ten consecutive days.

Below is a simplified map of train and bus lines that can be used with the pass:

Validity

1. Unlimited use of trains in the service area of JR East, which includes the Kanto (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures) and Tohoku (Fukushima, Miyagi, Yamagata, Akita, Iwate and Aomori prefectures) regions and parts of Shizuoka, Yamanashi, Nagano and Niigata prefectures.
2. You can use ordinary seats on all types of JR East trains, including shinkansen (except Tokaido Shinkansen, which is operated by JR Central), limited express trains and local trains (except some "liner" trains). The Hokuriku Shinkansen is covered as far as Joetsumyoko.
3. Seat reservations can be made for free (see details below).
4. The following non-JR train lines are also covered by the JR East Pass:
   • Limited express trains between Shinjuku and Tobu-Nikko and Kinugawa Onsen and local trains between Tobu-Nikko, Shimo-Imaichi and Kinugawa Onsen
   • All trains along the Sanriku Railway along the Sanriku Coast
   • All trains along the Iwate Ginga Railway and Aoimori Railway between Morioka and Aomori
   • All trains between Sendai and Sendai Airport
   • All trains along the Hokuhoku Line between Echigo-Yuzawa and Naoetsu
   • All trains between Naoetsu and Arai on the Echigo Tokimeki Railway
   • Tokyo Monorail between central Tokyo and Haneda Airport
5. There are a small number of JR trains, which partially run on the tracks of different railway companies. When riding along a non-JR owned section, pass holders will have to pay the fare for the non-JR section on board of the train or at the station.
6. Unlimited use of local JR buses (but not highway buses) in the coverage area. Some of the more useful lines for tourists are:
   • Buses from Aomori and Hachinohe to Lake Towada
   • BRT buses along the Sanriku Coast
   • Buses from Morioka to the Ryusendo Cave
   • Buses from Nasu-Shiobara Station to Shiobara Onsen
   • Buses from Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station to Kusatsu Onsen
   • Buses from Nasu-Shiobara Station to Shiobara Onsen
   • Buses from Utsunomiya to Twin Ring Motegi
   • Buses from Chino Station and Ina to Takato Castle (seasonal)
   • Buses from Sakudaira Station to Takamine Kogen
   • Buses from Tateyama to around the southern tip of the Boso Peninsula
   • Buses between Yokokawa Station and Karuizawa
7. The pass is valid on five or ten consecutive calendar days (midnight to midnight).
8. The pass can be purchased and used only by holders of non-Japanese passports, including foreign residents of Japan.

Points of sale

The JR East Pass can be purchased online through various websites, through selected travel agents outside of Japan and at major railway stations and airports in the area covered. If purchasing the pass outside of Japan or via the internet, the actual pass has to be picked up at a ticket office of a major station in the area covered before use.

Note that the pass is also sold at the official JR East website. An advantage of purchasing through the official website is that you can pick up your pass also at ticket machines that are equipped with passport readers. Purchasing passes inside Japan is also possible at these passport reader-equipped ticket machines.

Seat reservations

Free seat reservations can be made at seat reservation ticket machines and at JR ticket offices. It is also possible to make online seat reservations on the JR East Train Reservation website; however, physical seat reservation tickets have to be picked up at a selected ticket machine or office before use.

Assessment

The JR East Pass can be an excellent value for those doing long distance travel in the regions covered. Alternatively, it can pay off for making multiple daytrips from Tokyo to various destinations in the coverage area. For example, regular tickets for a round trip between Tokyo and Aomori alone already cost about the same as a 5-day pass.