JR EAST PASS: 5 or 10 days, routes, prices and seat reservations

Aomori / Sendai / Nagano / Niigata

Compare the five-day and ten-day options around the dates of your long-distance journeys. If your travel days are spread out, unused days between them still count towards the validity period.

Add up the normal fares and seat charges for your planned covered journeys, then compare that total with JPY 35,000 for five days or JPY 50,000 for ten days. The pass may suit several long-distance journeys within its area; a short itinerary or mainly local travel may cost less with individual tickets. Include separate tickets for any excluded line in your budget.

Holders of passports issued by countries other than Japan can use this pass. JR’s official conditions do not require Temporary Visitor status. Present your own original passport when purchasing or collecting, and carry it while travelling. The pass cannot be lent to someone else.

Official prices are JPY 35,000 adult and JPY 17,500 child for five days, or JPY 50,000 adult and JPY 25,000 child for ten days. Adults are aged 12 or over; children are aged 6–11 on the purchase date. Check a travel agency’s actual selling price on its purchase page.

A child under six does not need a pass if you do not reserve a seat for them. If you want a separate reserved seat for the child, check the child-pass conditions.

The pass is valid for five or ten consecutive days from your chosen start date. You cannot skip unused dates. Check the start date before collection, because the validity period cannot be changed after issue.

An electronic exchange order from an overseas agency is not the actual pass. After arriving in Japan, show the order and your own original passport at a designated location to collect the pass. If you buy directly through JR’s reservation website, use a location that supports that purchase method.

The designated JR East area, Tokyo Monorail, Aoimori Railway, IGR Iwate Galaxy Railway, Sanriku Railway, Sendai Airport Access Line and Hokuetsu Express are covered. On Echigo Tokimeki Railway, only Naoetsu · 直江津–Arai · 新井 is included. For a through JR–Tobu limited express, either the departure or arrival station must be a JR station.

Tobu local and rapid services are covered from Shimo-imaichi · 下今市 to Tobu-nikko · 東武日光 and Kinugawa-onsen · 鬼怒川温泉. Between Kurihashi · 栗橋 and Shimo-imaichi, only eligible through limited expresses are covered; the pass does not cover ordinary local trains on that section. The JR–Tobu limited-express benefit requires at least one end of the journey to be a JR station.

JR buses within the valid area are included, but highway buses and some local routes are excluded. Check the official bus coverage map separately when your itinerary includes a bus connection.

At Haneda Airport · 羽田空港 Terminal 2, the Tourist Information Center accepts agency exchange orders only, from 06:00 to 22:00. At Terminal 3, the JR EAST Travel Service Center handles agency exchange orders and direct JR purchases from 06:45 to 20:00. The passport-reading machine in Terminal 3 collects direct JR purchases only. All times are Japan time.

Obtain a reserved-seat ticket before boarding at a JR East reserved-seat machine, ticket counter or travel service center. The pass itself does not secure a seat. On a train with unreserved seating, you can use an unreserved seat with the pass.

Sign in to JR-EAST Train Reservation and select the pass for your reserved-seat booking. If you bought through an agency, choose the option for a pass purchased outside that website. Search for your departure and arrival stations and date, select the train and seat, then check the collection location and date. Search separately for each connecting train.

For a pass bought outside JR-EAST Train Reservation, online seat reservations open at 10:00 Japan time one month before travel and close at 23:50 two days before travel. Collect the reserved-seat ticket by 21:00 on the day before travel or the booking is automatically cancelled. For a pass bought directly on JR’s website, the booking deadline is six minutes before departure instead. The service is unavailable during maintenance periods.

A booking-confirmation email alone is not valid for boarding. Bring the actual pass and the required collection code or reservation details to collect the reserved-seat ticket. Collection differs between seats booked on JR’s website and seats reserved elsewhere; follow the official instructions for your booking.

If an agency exchange order has not yet been exchanged, ask the selling agency about cancellation. An issued, unused pass can be refunded at the point of purchase within its validity period, with 10% of the JPY purchase price deducted. If you have obtained a reserved-seat ticket, cancel any unused reservation before that train departs: the pass cannot be refunded after its scheduled departure. Once pass use begins, it cannot be extended or refunded, including for service cancellations or delays. Lost or stolen passes are not reissued.

Before collecting a pass bought directly through JR-EAST Train Reservation, you can cancel online without a fee until 23:50 Japan time on the day before its start date. A fee applies from that deadline until 23:50 on the final valid day, and the refund must still be requested online. After collection, the unused-pass rules above apply. Agency-order cancellation follows the agency’s own terms.