Navigating Japan in a Post-JR Pass Era: Why You (Probably) Need a Regional Pass and How to Buy One

The JR Pass is dead. Will it affect your next trip to Japan? What are the alternatives? This video will demonstrate why the JR Pass is not going to be missed and how you could use the regional JR passes to enjoy your trip even more.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:34 Death of the Japan Rail Pass
01:01 Why it(probably) won't matter
02:34 Alternatives to the Japan Rail Pass
03:32 How to pick a regional JR Pass for your trip

[@luxoflax]

Thanks for posting such fun and high-quality content that's also genuinely useful.

[@stuartstripling3495]

Your videos quite literally make me lol !!! So entertaining and full of spot on , accuracy . Congrats 👏 🎉

[@stuartstripling3495]

Just to add. I'm buying the JR West Kansi Hiroshima 5 day area pass based purely on your calculations in this video.

[@Will_Zhao]

I hope everything goes well for your trip! 😘@@stuartstripling3495

[@stuartstripling3495]

Just home. Had a blast. The 5 day Kasai pass was excellent... Even got onto the Hello Kitty Shinkansen from Osaka to Hiroshima!!! Outstanding fun

[@tasingp]

Lol I'm really enjoying your videos, watching all of them one by one from the beginning!

[@2393034]

4real

[@desmon6781]

QUALITY CONTENT KING!

[@nidhiechoudhary209]

I am travelling in April'24. Found this video very helpful, as Shinkasen pass was not helping me much and this video showed me the way out. Thanks Will.

[@Will_Zhao]

Glad it helped!

[@ArrenHidalgo]

I just enjoy watching your videos, as there are memes included, which makes me more engaged with watching your tutorial.

[@glicinhatigre]

Thank you for the video!

[@johnnyzhang5333]

Content king ❤, making my next Japan trip that much easier

[@kkiki5741]

top tier editing as always. got my jr pass before the price hike

[@amirhalgal]

I love your videos and cant wait for you to hit 100k subs

[@Will_Zhao]

Thank you!😊

[@lau2A68]

Thanks again for this video. I’ll be travelling to Fukuoka with my hotel base near the Hakata Station. I’ll be doing day trips daily to Beppu, to Yufuin, Saga, Nagasaki & Kumamoto. After doing the Google map for these destinations (as you mentioned in this video), getting the regional Northern Kyushu Rail Pass is indeed a much cheaper way to go to these places. Thanks

[@dataprojectsviz6081]

Amazing

[@desmon6781]

I'm going to Japan in February 2024 and plan to use the Hokuriku Arch Pass. From KIX to Osaka to Kyoto to Kanazawa to Tokyo. It will be worth it.

[@mneonew87]

Regional JR passes are also only worth it for the most niche itineraries, because they are only valid for 5 or 7 consecutive days. In the past, the regional passes could be used non-consecutively. In the end, JR just keeps passes to say they have them, but they don’t want anybody to buy them.

[@Will_Zhao]

I think the regional passes are good for what they are, still offering significate saving potentials. The national pass on the other hand, is officially irrelevant.

[@afrizaldwiputranto6724]

I think jr pass nation wide still worthy if we travel with multiple jr region combine west east central etc. If we have all region pass still more expensive than 1 nation wide pass

[@Will_Zhao]

Only in extreme cases. Most adjacent regions have cross-region passes that let you to travel two regions with only one pass, mentioned at 03:03.

[@Gohgo]

lol nice video thanks for the tips!!!

[@joyjoy534]

I plan to spend 30 days in Japan travelling from Yamagata Prefecture to Hiroshima Prefecture during the sakura season. Since I would be staying at different cities from 2 to 5 days, I find the JR Pass no longer provides much saving, the only reason to get the JR Pass would be for convenient. This is making my planning harder, no easier.

[@Will_Zhao]

I've made it very clear that JR Passes are never a must buy for any trip and they are generally for people moving quite frequently from place to place. So it's no surprise that you don't need one, but I don't think there's misinformation coming from my video either. No Area Pass that I know go beyong 7 days, not to say a 30-day trip. Lucky you to have a such long holiday though.

[@joyjoy534]

@@Will_Zhao You missed my point, with the 70% increase in price, the only value for JR Pass is convenience. Spending time to research and get all the regional passes is a real hassle for a 30day trip. I used to just get the JR Pass regardless of how I planned the trip. Now, I have to figure out the cost of each route using JR fare calculator to see if I am getting ripoff buying the Pass.

[@jaymeez]

How about a roundtrip from Tokyo (Shinjuku) to Osaka (Dotonbuti)?

[@Will_Zhao]

Doesn't work.

[@ollie2074]

are there any passes that would pay off if I wanted to explore a region either side of spending a week at a ski resort.

[@nmustafah945]

where can i find this cat against the scenic backdrop at 1:14? 🤭

[@Will_Zhao]

That would be Onomichi, amazing place!

[@83drika]

What if i wanna go from tokyo to kyoto?

[@Will_Zhao]

Check out the Hokuriku Arch Pass

[@doel89]

how does it make sense? if the cost of the pass is more expensive then the ride you are going to use

[@Will_Zhao]

I don't think i've said that in the video. To be clear, only buy a pass if it's cheaper than the tickets. If you are referring to the idea that the JR Pass pre-price adjustment costs more or less the same as a Osaka-Tokyo round trip, it's just a benchmark that people often used. It's not saying that you would save money if you buy the pass only for the round trip and nothing else.

[@doel89]

@Will_Zhao usually a 2 week trip would be inbetween osaka and tokyo. 16 days i had went osaka, nara , nagoya, kyoto, kawafujiko (the special train), tokyo. I started in tokyo and took bullet train twice.. which covers alittle more than jr pass.. alot of private lines are not covered by the national jr pass. Like going to odaiba from tokyo

[@tensa7132]

How to make a train video hilarious:

[@Will_Zhao]

CATS

[@Raja_rama]

Content is good but the comic scenes are irritating.