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GUIDE

How to use the Japan Rail Pass: eligibility, validity and activation

JAPAN RAIL PASS is a rail ticket offered jointly by the six JR Group companies that lets a traveller ride JR trains across Japan as many times as they want. [1] It is sold on the official JAPAN RAIL PASS website, and a pass bought there is collected at a reserved-seat ticket machine with a passport reader, while an Exchange Order is swapped for the pass at a staffed counter. [1] [5]

Facts checked: 18 October 2026

Key takeaways

  • The pass is a single ticket issued jointly by the six JR Group companies and is presented as a convenient way to travel the whole country by train. [1]
  • It gives unlimited rides on JR trains nationwide, including Shinkansen bullet trains and limited express trains. [1]
  • Reserved seats can be booked in advance only when the pass is bought on the official website. [1]
  • NOZOMI and MIZUHO services on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen need a separately purchased special ticket, which pass holders can buy. [1]
  • Where you can collect or exchange a pass depends on how it was bought. [5]

What the pass covers

JR lines in Japan total more than 19,000 km, and the pass is marketed as a way to reach tourist sites from Hokkaido to Kyushu. [1] On the network, holders can ride JR trains as many times as they want, including Shinkansen bullet trains and limited express trains. [1]

The fastest Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen services are handled differently: holders can also buy a special ticket that allows use of NOZOMI and MIZUHO trains, and up to 12 NOZOMI trains run between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka each hour. [1] One rail link is outside the pass entirely: there is no JR station at Central Japan International Airport, so the pass cannot be used for transport between that airport and the nearest JR stations. [5]

Buying, collecting and exchanging

Passes are bought through the official JAPAN RAIL PASS Reservation site, and the operator's own walkthrough covers three steps in order: buying the pass online, reserving seats, and receiving the pass. [1] Collection points are listed station by station with service hours. [5]

Online purchases. A pass bought online can be picked up only at reserved-seat ticket vending machines fitted with a passport reader, and the operator warns that depending on circumstances a traveller may not be able to receive the pass there, in which case the nearest ticket counter that offers collection should be used. [5] Those machines are listed separately from staffed counters because they do not handle the exchange of an Exchange Order for a pass. [5]

Exchange Orders. An Exchange Order is exchanged for the pass at ticket counters and travel service centres, and the location table marks which sites handle collection of online purchases and which handle exchange. [5] Individual offices have their own opening hours, some admit credit card payment only — among them the TAKANAWA GATEWAY Travel Service Center and the JR Information Center at Nagoya — and some Travel Service Centers close over the year-end and New Year holiday period. [5] The operator notes that pick-up and exchange locations and service hours may be changed or closed without notice, with the published list dated as of March 2023. [5]

Seats and reservations

Reserved seats can be booked before travel only by travellers who bought the pass on the official website. [1] Holders can book reserved seats themselves rather than queueing at a ticket office, and the official site publishes separate instructions for booking a reserved seat online and collecting the ticket, and for booking at a reserved-seat ticket machine. [1]

Exceptions and limits

  • NOZOMI and MIZUHO. Use of these Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen services is tied to a separately purchased special ticket available to pass holders, not to the pass alone. [1]
  • Airport rail links. The pass cannot be used between Central Japan International Airport and the nearest JR stations, because that airport has no JR station. [5]
  • Machine collection. Only passport-reading reserved-seat ticket machines issue online purchases, they do not exchange Exchange Orders, and collection there can fail depending on circumstances. [5]
  • Counter conditions. Hours vary by office, some counters accept credit cards only, some Travel Service Centers close over the year-end and New Year period, and locations and hours can change or close without notice. [5]
  • Scope. This page covers the national Japan Rail Pass only; regional JR passes and non-JR private railways are outside its scope.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. The national JAPAN RAIL PASS sold through the official site is covered here; regional JR passes, non-JR private railways and the eligibility, validity-period and price pages are not covered.

  1. JAPAN RAIL PASS official website, checked 18 October 2026
  2. JAPAN RAIL PASS pick-up and exchange locations, checked 18 October 2026