Cheapest Place to Buy a JR Rail Pass That Can Be Added To A Mobile App or Smartphone Wallet?

egodrip on 13/09/2019 - 14:00

Hi,

I’m heading to Japan with my partner on the 22nd of December. Although our bullet train costs (one-way and single purchase) add up to a little less than $450AUD, we wanted to buy the JR Rail Pass for the convenience of not having to buy individual tickets at different stations and to be able to use the other public lines the pass gives access to.

Given I’m looking for convenience, has anybody done research on the cheapest place to buy a JR Rail Pass in Australia? And as to whether various vendors offer more accessible versions of the pass, for example, a mobile app for the pass or a digital copy that can be added to Apple Wallet?

Would appreciate all suggestions as I’ve read a lot of conflicting answers about the reliability of various vendors etc.

Thanks!

Travel

Comments

  • SydStrand on 13/09/2019 - 14:14
    +1

    The JR Pass is a little cardboard card that gets physically stamped and checked at each station. No digital copy as far as I'm aware.

    Shop around for JR Pass, but they will be minimial wiggle room. They're all just resellers.

    • egodrip on 13/09/2019 - 15:31

      Alright, thanks for that.

  • thewinchester on 13/09/2019 - 14:21
    +1

    On the apps front, the JR Rail Pass is a physical product and must be carried by the user at all times. There’s no loading it to mobile wallets.

    However, don’t expect to be delayed or need to queue because you’re using a physical product. Japan’s rail systems are efficient, and you can expect all barriers to be staffed, and be proficient enough in English (or have the resources needed) to get you on your way quickly.

    • egodrip on 13/09/2019 - 15:31

      Thanks for letting me know.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/09/2019 - 14:46
    +3

    we wanted to buy the JR Rail Pass for the convenience of not having to buy individual tickets at different stations

    It's worth noting that if you want reserved tickets (which are free with the pass, except for green car) for the shinkansen, you still have to line up to reserve your tickets. You can only however reserve up to 3 (I think) in advanced.

    Alternatively, instead of buying a JR pass, you can use an IC card like suica/pasmo (equivalent to a Myki/gocard) on some shinkansens - see https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_003.html

    Furthermore, the JR pass doesn't cover most subways in the cities, as well as most non-JR lines. An IC card will allow you to seamless hop on/off almost all trains and subway lines. No tickets are required, you just have to top it up every now and then. You can also use these cards to pay for goods at convenience stores (located everywhere), and some vending machines and larger non-street stores.

    I know JTB Australia is an official vendor of the JR pass in Australia, and there may be others.

    If you've not saving much money, it's also worth considering smartex which lets you reserve shinkansen tickets on your phone. I've never used it before, but I would probably use it next time I go there.

    • egodrip on 13/09/2019 - 15:31

      Thanks so much this is really helpful!

    • rake on 13/09/2019 - 15:52

      In October 2018, I remember booking about 14 tickets in advance. Was not told abuot a limit of 3. When is that from?

      • raptormesh on 13/09/2019 - 15:58

        There is no limit, but due to many tourists booking and not turning up they are thinking about limiting it in some way.

        • rake on 13/09/2019 - 16:06

          Ok. They should start charging fines for no show. Only way to prevent it.

          Our 14 tickets were booked from a quieter station (hakodate) with no queue behind us. May be that could be the case too?

          • raptormesh on 13/09/2019 - 16:13

            @rake: Nah, I've booked a dozen before at Tokyo but yeah they are a bit wary now.

          • Dumax on 13/09/2019 - 16:13

            @rake: When I was there recently I believe that the limit was on how many people could reserve seating at the same time (e.g. tour groups)

            • rake on 13/09/2019 - 16:19

              @Dumax: Damn. I miss shinkansens

      • [Deactivated] on 13/09/2019 - 19:03

        When you do reservations, they stamp your JR pass. From memory it had three slots.

        • rake on 13/09/2019 - 22:18

          There were more slots than three last year. But some of them stamped. Some didn't.

  • raptormesh on 13/09/2019 - 15:57

    From the cost stated I reckon you're travelling from Tokyo to Hiroshima? You can get around Tokyo with just your JR pass using the Yamanote circle line and the Chuo east-west line. If you're landing at NRT the JR pass also works with the Narita Express to the city.

    As mentioned the pass is a physical card that you show to the station officer at every barricade. Consequently, if you lose it you're SOL just a head's up. One tip is to put it on a lanyard if you're worried about dropping it.

  • jsediv on 13/09/2019 - 17:54

    Get a JR Pass for the time you want to use the Bullet Trains and purchase a Suica card for travelling around Tokyo
    You can get them from most train stations at the ticket machines. Just load some Yen onto it and use it to tag on and off the gates.
    The train are really cheap over there. Usually only $1-2 per trip depending where you go

    • jimbobaus on 14/09/2019 - 18:13

      Be careful. They just launched a tourist IC card and it’s terrible.
      You can’t refund unused funds or the card deposit and it expires after one month.

      Be sure to get the regular card not the tourist one.

  • ThatKiwiFella on 13/09/2019 - 18:15

    Going from last year, Klook did a sale for Black Friday which included the JR Rail Pass being discounted. They also discounted them during the last Click Frenzy event, so it’s possible they may do the same for the next event

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join