7 Day JR Pass Validity

Hi!

If I activate my JR Pass on November 29 @ 6AM. Can I still use it until 11:59PM of December 5?

What do you mean by "activate"? Many people use that term in reference to rail passes, but it makes no sense at all...

I am a Japanese and resident of Japan so I have never used Japan Rail Pass and don't know the actual procedure. I guess you first exchange the pass at a JR counter and after that the staff may ask you "when do you start using the pass?".

http://japanrailpass.net/about_jrp.html
引き換え時に、パスの利用を開始する日を決めてください。

In English
http://japanrailpass.net/en/about_jrp.html
At that time, you have to specify the date that you want to start using the PASS.

So the correct wording is "start using" I guess (Firas, is it OK?). Back to the OP's question, if you "start using" the pass at 6:00 of 29th Nov, the pass will be valid until the end of 5th Dec. If you take a train running through midnight you can ride it until the destination, like morning of 6th. This is not so usual, but if you take Sunrise Izumo for example, you can take the train until the end.

What do you mean by "activate"? Many people use that term in reference to rail passes, but it makes no sense at all...

For those of us that use the JR pass it makes plenty of sense. When you turn in your exchange order you give a start date for the pass (i.e. the date the pass becomes active).

Nov 29 Day 1
Nov 30 Day 2
Dec 1 Day 3
Dec 2 Day 4
Dec 3 Day 5
Dec 4 Day 6
Dec 5 Day 7

The JR Pass is still on a calendar day based system, from 0001 on day 1 to 2359 on day 7 (unless you're still on a train, for most cases)

Maybe Frias does not know there is actually an activation procedure.
Yes, people exchange the Exchange Voucher" for the pass.
Then the pass is "activated" on first use - the stamp the station master affixes on first use. However, that activation is not necessarily related to the first day of use (you could have a pass usable on the 1st of April but actually use it for the first time on 2nd April - then it becomes active, but it does not change the expiry date.

The phrase "to activate a Japan Rail Pass" is ambiguous.

Officially there is no step to "activate" a Japan Rail Pass.
(The six JR regional companies, who are the issuer of Japan Rail Pass, does not say "activate" or "activation" on the official website.)

You are required to specify the day when you would start to use your Japan Rail Pass.
This step is, so to say, to preset the first day for the validity.
Your Japan Rail Pass should be valid from that specified day,
regardless of whether you actually start to use it on that day or not,
or of when in that day you start to use it.

A Japan Rail Pass cannot be processed by a machine,
so it is not automatically validated at the timing when you start to use it.