See Tohoku with the JR East Welcome Rail Pass 2020

Hey you with the non-Japanese passport! Have you ever wanted to travel around Japan but thought taking the shinkansen was too expensive? Have you ever cursed the fact that only tourists can buy the JR Rail Pass? Well, you’re in luck because JR East wants to welcome you to Tohoku with the recently released JR East Welcome Rail Pass 2020 (only available for foreign passport holders).

How to Buy the Welcome Rail Pass 2020

To purchase your very own JR East Welcome Rail Pass 2020, visit your nearest JR East Travel Service Center (see below). There should be a line specifically allocated for those buying the pass indicated somewhere within the center.

What you need to bring:

1. ¥12,000 or your debit/credit card
2. Your passport
3. Your zairyū card (Residence Card)
4. The intended dates of your travel (must be three consecutive days)
5. Your preferred departure time, if you want reserved seats (reserved seats are free with this pass; you can also schedule this at the station on the day of departure before you board the shinkansen)

Keep in mind that the pass can only be used by the foreign passport holder who purchased it, hence the reason why you need to present your passport. Furthermore, you can only use the Welcome Rail Pass for three consecutive days. This means that if you start using it on a Friday (even if it’s Friday night), you can only use it until Sunday night. The start and end dates will be indicated on the pass as a reminder.

If your travel plans change, you can reschedule your trip once or get a refund of your Welcome Rail Pass by bringing it to any JR East Travel Service Center. In both cases, the pass must be unused and still valid (i.e. before the date of use).

Since the Welcome Rail Pass is intended for foreign passport holders, the salesperson at the designated line in the Travel Service Center should be able to accommodate English-speaking travelers. However, once you travel to a different area, booking a reserved seat for your return trip will likely require some Japanese. We’ve provided some key phrases for you in the glossary below.

JR East Travel Service Center Locations

• Akita
• Hamamatsucho
• Haneda Airport Terminal 3
• Ikebukuro
• Matsumoto
• Morioka
• Nagano
• Narita Airport Terminals 1, 2, & 3
• Niigata
• Sendai
• Shibuya
• Shinagawa
• Shinjuku
• Tokyo
• Ueno
• Yokohama

While you can buy more than one pass, you can only use one at a time. In any case, you cannot purchase tickets with overlapping dates.

How to Use the Welcome Rail Pass 2020

The JR East Welcome Rail Pass 2020 is valid on all JR trains as far west as Nagano/Matsumoto and as far north as Aomori.

Other forms of transport included are:

• JR East’s Bus Rapid Transit
• Aoimori Railway
• Iwate Galaxy Railway (IGR)
• Sanriku Railway
• Echigo Tokimeki Railway (from Myoko Kogen to Naoetsu)
• Shinano Railway

Since the pass is a paper ticket, you’ll need to enter through gates with slots for tickets (these are almost always the yellow gates inside JR stations). Otherwise, show your ticket to the staff member at the window by the gate.

To get a reserved seat ticket, bring your Welcome Rail Pass to a JR East Travel Service Center, JR Ticket Office (midori no madoguchi), or Travel Service Center (View Plaza).

You will need to tell the attendant your preferred travel time, destination, and whether you will be traveling one-way or roundtrip.

Now that you know all you need to know about this pass, hopefully the rest of your travel plans will fall into place with ease. Happy travels!

Need help with figuring out living in Tokyo? Our Tokyo 101 guides take the stress out of navigating life in Japan.

Glossary

For more information, you can visit the page for the JR East Welcome Rail Pass 2020 here.

Featured image by Zhipeng Ya on Unsplash