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A departure board above a busy railway platform as a train pulls in

1 story

Transportation

Trains, ferries, buses and the passes that are worth buying — with the arithmetic shown.

A traveller tapping an IC card on the reader of an automatic ticket gate in a Japanese station

Transportation

Japan · Asia

Japan Rail Pass or Individual Tickets? Do the Arithmetic First

A route-by-route breakdown of when the Japan Rail Pass pays for itself in 2026, when a regional pass beats it, and the Nozomi surcharge that catches people out.

August 7, 20269 min read