This coming week a FedEx envelope will arrive containing two vouchers I’ll exchange for Japan Rail (JR) Passes.
In October we’ll fly into Matsuyama MYJ on the island of Shikoku, Japan, at the end of a series of flights from Minneapolis MSP. At Matsuyama’s main train station, we’ll exchange the vouchers for JR passes valid for three weeks of unlimited rail travel across the entire JR network.
For me, the JR Pass represents freedom in travel. It’s great value, costing about the same as the round-trip bullet train from Tokyo to Kagoshima. We don’t have to use it much to get value: days will go by when it will go unused.
Apart from the unlimited long-distance travel, I appreciate the convenience of walking straight to the platform to catch a local train without having to fiddle with a ticket machine.
Spontaneous Travel on a Budget
I know where our upcoming trip to Japan begins and ends, but I only have a flurry of untamed ideas for points in between. Weather, whims, discoveries, and available accommodations will dictate much of the journey.
Spontaneity isn’t always possible. I’ve booked two budget-breaking nights at Benesse Art Site on the island of Naoshima, beautifully set in the Inland Sea. A room for October has been hard to nail down. I checked daily for several weeks, booking and canceling individual nights before piecing together two consecutive nights.
I’ve also booked economical business hotels for the first two nights in Matsuyama, and the last night in Fukuoka, southern Japan. I know we’ll be in Fukuoka that night because we’ll be flying to Seoul the following morning. It’s a Saturday night, and experience tells me basic hotel rooms sell out fast at the weekend.
JR Pass Experiences
I’ve used JR Passes on all my solo trips to Japan over the past six years.
A day might look like this. I check out of the hotel then walk to the train station where I deposit my backpack in a locker. I spend the day exploring, usually hiking. At the end of the afternoon I might choose to spend another day in the town, or I’ll pick up some tasty food at the station, then relax and enjoy dinner on a train that takes me to my next port of call. While on the train, I use an app on my phone to book a hotel room for that night.
I don’t need to think twice about a day trip to a place 200 miles away by bullet train. The fare might be around $200 round-trip with reserved seats, but for me the incremental cost is $0 with a JR Pass.
The pass makes it a no-brainer to move to another part of Japan when the weather is not cooperating. Last year, Typhoon Trami had washed out a local line I was planning to take to a national park. Instead, I hopped on a bullet train so I would have a comfortable seat to plan my next move.
Having my now post-work partner with me for JR Pass adventures is new for us. Together we’ll discover new places and new travel patterns.
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