What's the most value you've ever gotten out of a JR pass?

[bluejeans]

I did the figures for my 21 day pass (though I only had 18 days of use) and to buy the all the fares I used without it, would have been approaching 1 million yen.  I probably could have pushed it more but it wasn't a purely railfan vacation.

[katoftw]

Wow. Considering Tokyo to Osaka is 14,000 yen for example. Getting to 1,000,000 seems impossible. How did you do it? You would of had to do 71 or so similar trips in 18 days.

Edited September 23, 2018 by katoftw

[bluejeans]

On 9/24/2018 at 6:57 AM, katoftw said:

Wow. Considering Tokyo to Osaka is 14,000 yen for example. Getting to 1,000,000 seems impossible. How did you do it? You would of had to do 71 or so similar trips in 18 days.

 

I thought it was 20,000 off the top of my head.  It must have been more like 500,000 worth.

[jasona2z]

I purchased a 14 day GREEN pass for my holiday this past May. Below is a calculation from the reserved seat tickets that I kept. 

 

Narita Term 3 - Tokyo Station - Green - 4,560

Tokyo - Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto - Green - 30,060

Sapporo - Asahikawa - Green - 4,810

Sapporo - Hakodate - Green - 12,420

Onumakoen - Hakodate - Green - 2,440

Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto - Sendai - Green - 23,650

Sendai - Akita - Green - 13,590

Akita - Sendai - Green - 13,590

Sendai - Utsunomiya - Green - 10,990

Utsunomiya - Sendai - Green - 10,999

Sendai - Tokyo - Green14,790

Shinjuku - Matsumoto - Green - 9,470

Matsumoto - Shinjuku - Green - 9,470

Tokyo - Nagano - Green - 10,770

Nagano - Tokyo - Green - 10,770

Tokyo - Kyoto - Green - 18,380

Kyoto - Tokyo - Green - 18,380

 

For a total of ¥219,139. This is only calculating the reserved seat trips, and as such does not include the countless "walk on" journeys with my JR pass on many other local lines across the 14 day pass period.

Edited September 26, 2018 by jasona2z

[lesliegibson]

How much did you pay for the pass?

[katoftw]

I got roughly 130,000-140,000 yen worth of travels from my 46,XXX yen 14 day pass last trip.

 

Kamata to Omiya x2

Musashi-Kosugi to Otsuki via Tachikawa x2

Tokyo to Kyoto x2

Kyoto to Tofujuki x10-12

Tofujuki to Osaka x2

Osaka loop (anti-clockwise)

Kyoto to Hakata x2

Hakata to Yoshizuka x10-12

Yoshizuka to Kidonanzion-mae

Kidonanzion-mae to Hakata

Hakata to Kagoshima-Chuo x4

 

Plus smaller forgettable trips

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2018 by katoftw

[984smurf]

My family used 7-day Rail Passes last year... I believed my family used 4-5 times the value of the pass within the 7 days. 

 

It costed around 30000 Yen? We used up to about 130 000-140 000 Yen.

Edited September 27, 2018 by 984smurf
Grammar

[lesliegibson]

Good deals, 

We have had similar deals over the years. They really are great value,

Thank you for reponses.

[Steve4031]

This was my trip from June 2019 on a 7 day green pass.  

 

6/25/18 Mon.

 

 

 

 

 

Depart  出発

 

NARITA AIRPORT TERMINAL 1 08:50

 

LTD. EXP NARITA EXPRESS 6

Arrive到着

 

SHINAGAWA 10:02 a.m.

窓座右側にしてください

 

 

Depart  出発

 

SHINAGAWA 10:10

 

 

 

 

SHINKANSEN HIKARI  467

 

 

Arrive到着

 

SHIZUOKA 

11:04

 

窓座右側にしてください

 

Depart  出発

 

SHIZUOKA 11:41

 

(Wide View) Fujikawa 5

 

Arrive到着

 

Kofu

14:02

 

窓座右側にしてください

 

Depart  出発

 

Kovu 14:09

 

 

LTD. EXP SUPER AZUSA 18

 

Arrive到着

 

Shinjuku  15:33

 

窓座右側にしてください

 

Depart

 

 

Arrive

 

 

6/26/18 Tue

 

 

 

 

 

Depart  出発

 

Tokyo 9:36 a.m. track No.22

SHINKANSEN HAYABUSA 11

Arrive到着

 

Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto 1:58 p.m. 

窓座右側にしてください

 

Depart  出発

 

Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto 14:11

LTD. EXP SUPER HOKUTO 13

 

Arrive到着

 

Sapporo 5:41 p.m.

 

窓座右側にしてください

 

6/27/18 Wed.

 

 

 

 

 

Depart  出発

 

SAPPORO(JR)

10:13

 

Airport 95  for OTARU

 

Arrive到着

 

OTARU

10:45

 

窓座右側にしてください

 

Depart  出発

 

OTARU 

10:53

JR Hakodate Line  for KUTCHAN

 

Arrive到着

 

KUTCHAN

12:10

 

窓座右側にしてください

 

Depart  出発

 

KUTCHAN 12:35

 

 

R Hakodate Line  for OSHAMAMBE

 

Arrive到着

 

OSHAMAMBE 

14:07

 

窓座右側にしてください

 

Depart  出発

 

OSHAMAMBE 14:34

 

 

LTD. EXP SUPER HOKUTO 12

 

Arrive到着

 

SHIN-HAKODATE-HOKUTO 15:49

 

 

窓座右側にしてください

 

Depart  出発

 

SHIN-HAKODATE-HOKUTO  16:17

 

 

SHINKANSEN HAYABUSA 34

 

Arrive到着

 

TOKYO

20:32

窓座右側にしてください

 

6/28/18. Thursday

 

 

 

 

 

Depart  出発

 

Shinjuku 10 a.m.

Odakyu Ltd. Exp. Super Hakone 13

 

Arrive到着

 

HAKONE-YUMOTO 11:24

窓座右側にしてください

 

Depart  出発

 

HAKONE-YUMOTO 11:36

Hakone Tozan Railway

Arrive到着

 

GORA 12:19

窓座右側にしてください

 

Depart  出発

 

Gora 12:32

Hokane Tozan  Cable Car

Arrive到着

 

Sounzan 12:42

 

Depart  出発

 

Sounzan 13:00

Hakone Ropeway

Arrive到着

 

Togendai-ko 13:24 p.m.

 

Depart  出発

Togendai-ko 13:50

Hakone sightseeing cruise

Arrive到着

Motohakone-ko 15:00

 

 

Depart  出発

Motohakone-ko 15:40

 

Hakone sightseeing cruise

Arrive到着

Togendai-ko 16:30

 

[VentureForth]

On ‎9‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 4:34 AM, jasona2z said:

I purchased a 14 day GREEN pass for my holiday this past May. Below is a calculation from the reserved seat tickets that I kept. 

 

Narita Term 3 - Tokyo Station - Green - 4,560

Tokyo - Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto - Green - 30,060 

Sapporo - Asahikawa - Green - 4,810

Sapporo - Hakodate - Green - 12,420 

Onumakoen - Hakodate - Green - 2,440

Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto - Sendai - Green - 23,650

Sendai - Akita - Green - 13,590

Akita - Sendai - Green - 13,590

Sendai - Utsunomiya - Green - 10,990

Utsunomiya - Sendai - Green - 10,999

Sendai - Tokyo - Green14,790

Shinjuku - Matsumoto - Green - 9,470

Matsumoto - Shinjuku - Green - 9,470

Tokyo - Nagano - Green - 10,770

Nagano - Tokyo - Green - 10,770

Tokyo - Kyoto - Green - 18,380

Kyoto - Tokyo - Green - 18,380

 

For a total of ¥219,139. This is only calculating the reserved seat trips, and as such does not include the countless "walk on" journeys with my JR pass on many other local lines across the 14 day pass period.

 

For the ¥62,950 price for a 14-day Green Price, you did AWESOME!

[VentureForth]

Let's step this up a notch.  I've seen folks who have used the Seishun 18 Ticket to the max.  There are a couple of neat examples on YouTube of folks maximizing it.  How about in this group?

[jasona2z]

Now, I don't want to bring down the mood...

But short of creating a new thread called 'Whats the least value you've ever gotten out of a JR pass?' I purchased a 14 day GREEN pass for my holiday that was cut short, The pass is still valid [until the 31st].... Below is a calculation from the reserved seat tickets.

 

Sendai - Shin-Aomori - 15,080

Shin-Aomori - Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto - 9,990(

Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto - Shin-Aomori - 9,990

Shin-Aomori - Tokyo - 22,380

Tokyo - Narita Airport Terminal 2-3 - 4,640

 

For a total of ¥62,080. This is only calculating the reserved seat trips, and as such does not include the very few "walk on" local trips in a 3 day period staying in Kanda.

 

So, based on the purchase price of $836.00 (AUD) on the 24th of January... I made it over the value of the pass, only just. 

[cteno4]

Hey that’s great you got to break even on the pass even with a truncated trip!

 

jeff

[yakumo381]

The greatest value to me of the JR Pass, in conjunction with their comprehensive timetable and actually running to time, is simply being able to get on and jump off trains virtually at random without having to care about the cost or of getting tickets. Particularity on non-Shinkansen Lines when spotting something interesting out of the window as you go past then be able to quickly get off at the next station and take the next train back. 

[Sr.Horn]

Not a JR Pass but... During my exchange studies in Busan I went to Japan two times. Once for a long weekend in Kansai in October 2013. I purchased a 3 days Kansai Thru Pass (5.000¥) used from the first train of the morning in an intensive trip there. I estimate that I actually spent 30.000¥. Not bad!

 

You can read and look the photos in Skyscrapercity post https://www.skyscrapercity.com/threads/horn-in-japan-short-trip-to-kansai.1728852/#post-114196601

 

Enjoy!

[kuro68000]

It's been so long since I used a JR pass, always just use Suica... Are they still paper passes that you have to show to the station staff at the gate? I always felt a bit embarrassed bothering them with that!

 

If it was an electronic pass you could use the normal gate and also read it back with a phone app to see exactly how much you "spent" and have a nice log of your journeys.

[Kanpai Keith]

In 2019 we paid £415 each for 21 day pass. We pre booked a number of intercity journeys for when we were changing areas and ad-hoc for sightseeing and events.

 

The real “value” was knowing it was there, all paid for before we flew out.

 

luckily we had pre booked seats on the Shinkansen out of Nagano the day before Hagibis hit.  Trains were very crowded.

 

 

[disturbman]

For me,  the real value was to be able to change my plans as needed. When I arrived in Japan on April 1st, 2010 it was still snowing pretty hard in the north. My initial plan was to spend time railfanning and traveling around Hokkaido. But the wind and the temperatures in Tokyo and Matsumoto were already barely acceptable. Instead, I decided to head South to Kyushu, Shikoku and Osaka after I had used my initial hotel reservations. The pass was complete freedom - of not freezing to death due to a very cold and long winter.

[railsquid]

On one trip I was planning to visit Kanazawa, arrived late in the evening and when I woke up early the next morning it was raining and obviously going to stay like that all day, so I checked the TV weather, saw it was nice and sunny in Shikoku, and by early afternoon I was in the sunshine and had made the acquaintance of the Anpanman train (it just happened to turn up). Most of my trips back then I'd spend a week or so just travelling around and seeing where I ended up.

[disturbman]

And that’s how you ended up married, and with a half-Japanese half-squid offspring.

[railsquid]

3 minutes ago, disturbman said:

And that’s how you ended up married, and with a half-Japanese half-squid offspring.

 

Hah, if only it were that simple.

[cteno4]

My first trip to japan in 84 I has 4.5 weeks free and spent most just wandering from a day to a week at once. I had only about 3 days warning that I was going to the conference (those were the days you could get a passport in 2 hours!), so I had no planning at all done when I hit japan! But turned out to be great. After a week in kyoto at the scientific conference (they got us vip access to everything in kyoto so that was great!) I got a super discounted 7 day trip thru Kyushu at the conference (they had a tourism consultant digging up great stuff for us and took pity on grad students and even gave us a pile of extra cash they had to travel with. so I had a week then to come up with things I wanted to see so went back to kyoto and used it as my home base. Great old 3 sisters ryokan was wonderful as they would let me store luggage as I disappeared for a few days. I even popped up to Tokyo to play for the day as the spirit moved me and no plan for the day to see a couple specific things (I had done a 4 day visit there early in the trip) and back in the evening with nice train rides on either end! One day I decided to just see how far north I could get from kyoto, take a couple hours walk g around and back to kyoto in the same day. One day I just tried to see how many different shinkansens I could ride, wasn’t a Japanese Railfan at all then (just love trains in general), just amazed how many there were and so easy to jump on and off and all free with the railpass! Again 3 week rail pass made all the foolishness possible and I had no grand trip plans, just having fun!
 

jeff

[ijontichy]

I don't know what the total cost would have been, but in Nov 2017, with a 21-day JR pass, I travelled a total distance of 10,188 km, in Shikoku, Chugoku and Kyushu. Meanwhile, in Nov 2018, I travelled a total distance of 11,724km in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto and Chubu, also with 21-day JR pass. Mostly I just did day trips from major cities, and it was a very flexible way of travelling. If the weather was too poor for hiking here...

 

https://goo.gl/maps/CqdnKTTPtZBC5eDK6

 

...I could just go visit here...

 

https://goo.gl/maps/7bmMRX3cdb13VTWF6

 

...and thanks to the Shinkansen and local express trains I could cover quite a distance in a few hours.

[TestudoToTetsudo]

In 2009 I calculated that the "street value" of the train tickets I rode included in my $300 USD-or-so 7-day Japan Rail Pass approached $2,000 USD.

Something similar when I went back last time in 2015.

 

For my trip coming up in a couple weeks, I bought a 14-day pass for 52,960 yen.  The dollar value of just the travel on (or connecting to/from) planned intercity Shinkansen rides for this trip is 172,490 yen, but the total will undoubtedly be closer to 200,000 yen since I haven't counted the daily local trips around Tokyo and Kyoto, and any impromptu Shinkansen joyrides (e.g. riding 2 or 3 stops to try out a N700S then immediately returning to Tokyo, or taking the kids out to Odawara to see the Shinkansen at speed, etc.).

 

I like to say I am the reason they are raising rates later this year...