JR TOKYO WIDE PASS: Best Pass for 3 Days Itinerary with Riding Shinkansen at LOWEST COST

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Features of the JR TOKYO Wide Pass

If you have traveled to Tokyo several times, the first few times you just visited some major areas in Tokyo, such as Ueno, Asakusa, Akihabara, etc., which are mainly urban experience attractions. Have you ever thought that when you come to Tokyo next time, you can buy a JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass, and then arrange a itinerary that mainly focuses on the attractions in the suburbs of Tokyo?

For example, if you take the Shinkansen train to Nikko, Karuizawa, Echigo Yuzawa and other areas, you can get the experience of the natural suburbs outside Tokyo city, and you can go to the ski resort to ski in winter. And as long as you buy a JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass, you can take the Shinkansen trains connecting these areas from Tokyo an unlimited number of times. For some travelers with a small travel budget, this is a rare opportunity to visit different regions.

In addition, you can also use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass to take designated JR trains to Lake Kawaguchi and Mount Fuji, and seize the opportunity to experience the scenery of Mount Fuji up close. Or go to Kamakura and Enoshima to experience the scenery of the coast of Shonan in Tokyo. There are also Omiya Station and Utsunomiya Station, the two main Shinkansen train interchange stations. There are also many shops and dumpling shops nearby, which are worth visiting.

To put it simply, if you also like to take JR trains in Japan to different attractions, and you have never taken a JR Shinkansen train, the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass is a discount ticket that you must not miss .

Range of use of the JR TOKYO Wide Pass

Which trains can the JR TOKYO Wide Pass pass be used for? Are all Shinkansen trains free to ride?

If you are also using the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass for the first time, you may have the same question, and you will be very worried about taking other train routes by mistake and need to make up for the required fare. Generally speaking, you can refer to the information provided by JR East Japan, and use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass to take most of the designated trains and depart from the following stations:

• JR East Lines
• Tokyo Monorail Line Entire Line
• All Izukyu Lines
• All Izukyu Lines
• All lines of Shangshin Electric Railway
• Saitama New Urban Transportation (Omiya～Railway Museum)
• All lines of Tokyo Rinkai High-speed Railway
• Ordinary car reserved seats on "Nikko", "Kinugawa", and "SPACIA Kinugawa"
• Local trains (including express trains) between Tobu Railway Shimo-Imaichi-Tobu Nikko and Kinugawa Onsen

Of course, it is impossible for you to go to every station in the picture in just a few days, so those stations and railways included in the above picture are not very important to you. Because as long as you regard the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass as a discounted ticket to a specific scenic spot, then you can arrange an itinerary plan that suits you.

Simply put, you can use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass to take the Shinkansen train to several very popular attractions, includingEchigo Yuzawa, GALA Yuzawa, Utsunomiya, and Karuizawa can also depart from Tokyo to the two hot spring areas of Nikko and Lake Kawaguchi at the same time.

In addition, if you plan to use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass on the first day of your arrival in Tokyo, you can also use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass to take the Tokyo Monorail connecting Haneda Airport-Tokyo, and connecting Narita Airport-Tokyo Narita Express. More importantly, during the validity period of the JR Tokyo Wide Pass, you can take all JR train routes in Tokyo at will. Even if you need to take the Shinkansen train from your hotel in Shinjuku to Ueno Station, there will be absolutely no trouble question.

Basically, as long as you have a JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass in hand, you don’t need to pay any extra fares. It is definitely a practical ticket to help save your transportation budget.

Of course, JR East Japan has not stipulated how to use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass, nor does it mean that you must take the Shinkansen train after purchasing the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass. However, since the price of the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass is not cheap, and only overseas tourists can buy it. If you can enjoy the discounts provided by these JR railway companies, of course, you must take good care of it and carefully plan a itinerary that can make use of the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass.

Recommended itinerary planning for the JR TOKYO Wide Pass

So far, the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass is priced at ¥10180. After October 1, 2023, the JR Tokyo Wide Pass will be changed to ¥15,000 yen.

The JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass can take multiple Shinkansen trains and sightseeing trains. Basically, it is not impossible to go to all scenic spots in just a few days. However, since each JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass is actually only valid for 3 days, and some of the scenic spots take a whole day to visit, it is necessary to use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass in the shortest possible time. The most scenic spots are actually not easy at all.

If you also want to effectively use the value of using the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass, you can refer to the following recommended itinerary planning.

The Shinkansen itinerary that saves the most fares

For some passengers who have been to Tokyo several times but have never taken the Shinkansen train, the high train fare is the main reason for them to give up taking the Shinkansen.

For example, for a trip to Karuizawa for sightseeing, the round-trip fare for a Shinkansen train connecting Tokyo Station to Karuizawa Station already costs about ¥12,000 yen. Or departing to the ski resort in Yuzawa, connecting the Shinkansen train between Tokyo Station and Karuizawa Station, the round-trip fare needs more than ¥13,000 yen.

Even if you plan to go to Nikko to visit Toshogu Shrine for a day trip, you will need to spend about ¥12,000 on the transportation fee. For a trip with a small travel budget, it is definitely a very heavy transportation expense.

However, as long as you purchase a JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass, you can depart to Karuizawa, Echigo Yuzawa, and Nikko within 3 days at the same time. These 3 scenic spots can only be reached by paying high transportation fees, and you only need to pay For a cost of around ¥10,000 yen, you can get a Shinkansen train ticket worth ¥30,000 yen.

The most important thing is that you don't have to go to these 3 attractions at the same time. You can choose to go only to Nikko and Karuizawa. Basically, your total fare expenditure is the same as buying JR Tokyo Wide Area The cost of the travel pass, and there is one day that you can freely choose to go to any scenic spot you want to go.

Itinerary to stay in a high-end hotel

In addition to arranging several one-day tours within 3 days, you can also consider arranging a night to stay at a high-end accommodation in Lake Kawaguchi, Nikko, Karuizawa, and Echigo Yuzawa to enjoy the natural environment and get the opportunity to experience hot springs.

If you use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Travel Pass to go to Karuizawa on the first day of your itinerary, stay in Hoshino Group's high-end accommodation plan in Karuizawa, and then return to Tokyo on the second day. As long as you go to one more tourist attraction in the suburbs of Tokyo on the third day, for example, if you arrange sightseeing in the Nikko area and Kawaguchiko area, you don’t have to worry about wasting the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass, because you will definitely be able to get back the money spent on JR The cost of the Tokyo Wide Area Pass, but also can save you extra transportation budget.

Make arrangements for skiing in winter

If you plan to arrange your next Tokyo itinerary in winter and want to go to GALA Yuzawa and Karuizawa to experience skiing, the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass is a discount ticket that is very worth buying. Because the Shinkansen connecting Tokyo Station - GALA Yuzawa costs more than ¥10,000 yen, and you can also get discounts for renting skis at GALA Yuzawa, it can be said that it is very easy to get back the cost of the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass.

However, if you plan to arrange a 3-day and 2-night skiing itinerary in the GALA Yuzawa and Karuizawa areas, you need to pay attention to the price increase of the JR Tokyo Wide Pass. Cheaper or more expensive.

Going to the airport with the JR TOKYO Wide Pass

Since the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass is designed to allow you to take the train connecting Tokyo to Haneda Airport and Narita Airport, if you need to take Tokyo Monorail or Narita Express to the airport, and your itinerary can be matched , JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass can help you save the transportation cost of this trip to the airport, allowing you to buy more gifts at the airport for your friends.

JR TOKYO Wide Pass price increase in October 2023

If your goal of JR Tokyo Wide Area Travel Pass is to take Shinkansen trains and sightseeing trains to different attractions, as long as you take 4 one-way long-distance Shinkansen trips, basically the cost of your purchase of JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass is still It will be a little lower than your total fare expenses.

However, when the price of the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass increases, if you plan to simply set off to Karuizawa for a 3-day, 2-night itinerary, you will not take other means of transportation included in the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass. Under the new charges Instead, it is cheaper to buy Shinkansen train tickets separately.

To put it simply, the impact of the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass price increase is greatest for some passengers who plan to arrange a 3-day, 2-night itinerary in the same place. For some passengers who plan to visit 3 different attractions within 3 days, except that they need to prepare a little more budget to buy JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass, basically it will not have much impact.

How to purchase the JR TOKYO Wide Pass and purchase benefits

For travelers who come to Tokyo to travel, the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass can be said to be a special discount ticket for tourists. Because the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass is only available to passengers holding non-Japanese passports and short-term sightseeing trips can be purchased, even non-Japanese working in Tokyo cannot buy it.

There are 3 ways to purchase the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass. They are purchased at the designated JR customer service center after arriving in Tokyo, or by using the JR official websiteeki-net Book the JR TOKYO Wide Pass before departure. Finally, there is another way to buy JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass, which is to use Klook's ticketing platformPre-order the JR TOKYO Wide Pass.

Basically, the prices of the three ticket purchase methods are the same, and there is no need to worry about different sales channels having different prices like JR West Japan.

So you can decide which kind of JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass to use according to the progress of your planned itinerary.

If you have decided to arrange 3 days to take different Shinkansen trains, you can use Klook Pre-order the JR TOKYO Wide PassAnd get extra discounts and bonus points. However, if you haven't decided on which day you need to use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Travel Pass, you can also arrange to buy it at Narita Airport or Haneda Airport on the day you arrive in Tokyo, but it may cost Allow a little more time to line up for tickets.

Points to note when using the JR TOKYO Wide Pass

Although the JR Tokyo Wide Pass allows you to take the main JR trains in the Tokyo area and go to different attractions, there are some places that need special attention during use.

Trains not covered by the JR TOKYO Wide Pass

If you plan to take the Tokaido Shinkansen with the JR Tokyo Wide Pass, for example, if you depart from Tokyo to Shinagawa or Shin-Yokohama, I believe you will be disappointed. Although the JR Tokaido Shinkansen appears to be a route belonging to the JR railway system, it is actually managed by JR Tokai, not owned by JR East Japan, which issues the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass. So even if you buy the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass, you cannot take the Tokaido Shinkansen.

In addition, the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass can only take trains within the JR system in Tokyo, such as the Yamanote Line, Chuo Line, Nanboku Line, Tozai Line and so on. When taking other means of transportation, such as Tokyo Toei Subway, Tokyo Metro, etc., additional tickets are required. When planning your itinerary and accommodation plan, you can consider someHotels near JR stations, will be more convenient.

Book reserved seat tickets in advance

As long as you arrange to use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass on weekdays, even if you go directly into the non-reserved seat car, you will definitely be able to find an empty seat to sit down. However, if you plan to use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass during holidays or special festivals, you must reserve a reserved seat ticket in advance, so as to avoid having to stay in the car station until the end.

It is free to use the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass to reserve reserved seat tickets, so as long as you decide which Shinkansen train you need to take for your daily itinerary, you can make an appointment at the JR ticket center in some large stations in Tokyo ticket. It doesn't matter whether you use the automatic ticket vending machine or wait in line to ask the staff to reserve a seat for you.

However, if you are not familiar with the station names in Tokyo, we still recommend that you spend a little time queuing up to reserve reserved seat tickets. Day ticket, very convenient.

Effects of the JR TOKYO Wide Pass Price Increase

As I said just now, if you only use the JR Tokyo Wide Pass to take 2 one-way Shinkansen trains, the price increase of the JR Tokyo Wide Pass will have a great impact on you, because you need to recalculate the Shinkansen train ride Compared with the JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass, the fare is more worth buying. However, if your itinerary will take Shinkansen trains more than 4 times, you can still buy the JR Tokyo Wide Area Tour directly without hesitation, so that you can save more than ¥5,000 in the transportation budget.

In addition, if you want to use a more favorable way to buy JR Tokyo Wide Area Pass, you can get a discount of more than 5% as long as you book through Klook, and there will be additional discount codes and point discounts that appear from time to time. If you have already decided on your next itinerary to Tokyo, this way of purchasing tickets is very worth considering.

Click on the link to receive the ticket discount: Pre-order the JR TOKYO Wide Pass

Pictures / Information: JR East Official

Summarize

If you have been to Tokyo several times, I believe you will no longer be satisfied with the urban attractions in Tokyo, but start to consider arranging some trips to the suburbs of Tokyo. It cannot be denied that the areas of Nikko, Hakone, Echigo Yuzawa, Karuizawa, and Lake Kawaguchi are some places worth visiting every winter to seize the opportunity to enjoy hot springs and experience snow scenery.

However, there are many options for attractions and accommodation in the suburbs of Tokyo, and there are different characteristics in different seasons. Therefore, we have concentrated the tourist information of these areas inTokyo Travel Informationclassification, andTokyo Suburbs Travel InformationAmong the categories, you can plan a holiday itinerary that best suits you.

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