Starting this October, the famous JR national pass that allows free travel in most commonly used trains and busses throughout Japan will be sold for a much higher price than in the past decade or so.
The price rise for the 7 day pass from JPY 29,650 to JPY 50,000 (69% increase)
The 14 day pass goes from JPY 47,250 to JPY 80,000 (69% increase)
The 21 day pass rises from JPY 60,450 to JPY 100,000 (65% increase).
There will be similar increases for the 'green car' passes
In addition, purchasing the pass outside of Japan will cost the same as if you purchased it in Japan and the Mizuhu and Nozomi trains, which currently aren't included in the pass will become free to use
Will the JR Pass still be worth it?
For JPY 50,000, the JR Pass is much harder to justify in 7 days.
The price of a regular return ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto with a reserved ticket is currently about JPY 28,000 so at the current price it’s not difficult to justify the JPY 29,650 pass for anyone considering this journey.
However, at a price point of JPY 50,000, you'd need to stuff your 7 days itinerary with many more trips to surpass the JPY 50,000 investment.
Although it's still possible to save some money with the national pass, there are many local and regional passes such as the Hokuriku arch pass which can reduce the cost of transportation substantially.
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