JR EAST PASS: five or ten days, coverage and collection

Aomori · 青森; Sendai · 仙台; Nagano · 長野; Niigata · 新潟.

Compare the five- and ten-day options using the dates of your longer train journeys. If travel days are spaced apart, the days between them still count towards the validity period.

You must hold a passport issued by a country other than Japan. JR’s official conditions do not require Temporary Visitor status for this pass. Show your own original passport when buying or collecting it and carry it while travelling. You cannot lend the pass to another person.

Official prices are JPY 35,000 for adults and JPY 17,500 for children for five days, or JPY 50,000 and JPY 25,000 respectively for ten days. Adults are aged 12 or above; children are aged 6–11 on the purchase date. Check your travel agency’s selling price separately.

A child under six does not need a pass if they do not require a reserved seat. If booking a separate seat for the child, check the child-pass conditions.

Validity is five or ten consecutive days from your chosen start date. You cannot skip days when you do not travel. The validity period cannot be changed after issue, so check the start date before collecting the pass.

An electronic exchange voucher from an overseas travel agency is different from the actual pass. After arriving in Japan, show it with your own original passport at an authorised collection point. If you bought directly through JR’s reservation website, use a collection point supporting that purchase channel.

The pass covers JR East’s specified area, Tokyo Monorail, Aoimori Railway, Iwate Galaxy Railway (IGR), Sanriku Railway, Sendai Airport Transit and Hokuetsu Express. Echigo Tokimeki Railway is included only between Naoetsu (直江津) and Arai (新井). For a through limited express between JR and Tobu Railway, either the departure or arrival station must be a JR station.

JR buses within the valid area are included, except highway buses and some local routes. Check the official bus coverage map separately before adding a bus connection to your itinerary.

At Haneda Airport (羽田空港), the Terminal 2 Tourist Information Center exchanges agency vouchers only, from 06:00 to 22:00. The Terminal 3 JR EAST Travel Service Center handles agency vouchers and direct JR purchases from 06:45 to 20:00. Passport-reader machines in Terminal 3 collect direct JR purchases only. All times are Japan local time.

Obtain a reserved-seat ticket from a JR East reserved-seat machine, ticket counter or Travel Service Center before boarding. The pass alone does not secure a seat. On trains with non-reserved seating, you can use those seats with the pass alone.

Sign in to JR-EAST Train Reservation and select your pass under seat reservations. For a travel-agency purchase, select the option for a pass bought outside the website. Search your departure and arrival stations and travel date, choose the train and seat, then check the collection place and date. Search connecting trains separately.

For passes bought outside JR’s reservation website, online seat bookings open at 10:00 one month before travel and close at 23:50 two days before travel. Collect the seat tickets by 21:00 on the previous day or the reservation is cancelled automatically. For a pass bought directly through JR’s website, the deadline is six minutes before departure. These are Japan local times; requests are unavailable during maintenance periods.

A confirmation email is not a boarding ticket. Have your actual pass and collection code or other required reservation details ready to collect the seat ticket. Collection methods differ for seats booked through JR’s website and elsewhere; follow the official instructions for your reservation.

For an unexchanged travel-agency voucher, contact the seller about cancellation. An issued pass that is unused and within its validity period is subject to JR’s official 10% refund fee. After use starts, no extension or refund is available, including because of cancelled or delayed services. Lost or stolen passes are not reissued.