Japain Rail Pass

minniemouse · (#1 (**permalink**))

Hi guys!
I'm Italian and I'm a new user. This is my first post in this forum

At the first..sorry for my bad English...

I would like to go to Japan next Summer (in August).

I have planned my itinerary but I post it after.

I have a question about Japan Rail Pass.

Which is the difference between Ordinary and Green ? I don't understand..

In both cases Can I reserve my seat?

Many thanks for your help!

bye

LearnAmazingJapanese · (#2 (**permalink**))

It looks like the main difference between ordinary and Green is the accommodation.

Green cars are "first class" - more legroom/ less seats, that sort of thing.

If I'm not mistaken, there's no difference in what trains you can ride, which to me would be more important, since the Nozomi class bullet train is faster (i.e. fewer stops) than the Hikari or Kodama class trains.

HTH.

PS. Reservations - I think you can reserve regardless of what type of rail pass you have, with the exception that you can't reserve a Green car seat w/out the Green rail pass, and you have to pay more if you want to ride the Nozomi class bullet train.

minniemouse · (#3 (**permalink**))

OK! Now it's clearly!

Aboour "ordinary" ticket..where I can do my reservation? By internet or by office in Japan

Many thanks for your kindness

Have a great weekend

masaegu · (#4 (**permalink**))

"Seat reservations can be made without additional payment.To make a reservation, go to any Travel Service Center or a Reservation Office (Midori-no-madoguchi) at a JR station, or to the sales office of a JR-associated travel agency. There, show your PASS, and obtain your reserved-seat ticket before boarding."

JAPAN RAIL PASS << Information in 7 languages!

minniemouse · (#5 (**permalink**))

Thanksssssssssssssssss!!!!

Isthe seat reservation ok the same or one day in advance?

Legat0 · (#6 (**permalink**))

it says one day in advance, but in my experience just 5min before the train leaves is okay. They never said anything about that.

minniemouse · (#7 (**permalink**))

Your answers are great for me!
Thank you!

samurai007 · (#8 (**permalink**))

I don't know if you've heard about them, but you may want to consider a Ju-hachi Kippu instead of a rail pass. It's far less expensive... it was 11,500 yen for 5 all day passes.

The nice thing about the Ju-hachi Kippu is that you don't need to use the tickets consecutively. You can use 1 all day pass, get to where you're going, look around for a few days, and then use another pass to either keep going or return. The Rail pass, on the other hand, is a set number of consecutive days, meaning if you spend a day or 2 looking around in a location, they are wasted from the pass. Also, you can buy the tickets from any train station in Japan, while the Rail Pass can only be bought overseas.

The drawbacks of the Ju-hachi kippu is that you can only ride local trains and a few Express trains if they are the only train that travels that route. You can't ride most other Express trains, or the bullet train. Also, they only sell the tickets during the Japanese holiday seasons, and that season's tickets expire when the season is over, so you'll have to watch the dates on them.

Here's more info on them... Seishun Juhachi Kippu (Seishun 18 Kippu), Japanese Railways Page

I used them all the time, it's far cheaper and more versatile than the Rail Pass, if you have the time to take local trains instead of the bullet trains and express trains.

minniemouse · (#9 (**permalink**))

Hi! samurai, if you see my post "My idea of trip" you can see my itinerary.

I have thought to take a JRP for 14 days and the first three days, I use a single tickets "valid all day".

Is it a good idea?

I have a question: Can I use a JRP for Tokyo metro also and the others metro places?

MMM · (#10 (**permalink**))

I beleive the Japan Rail Pass only works on JR trains.