Changes to Japan rail pass make it fall out of favour with travellers

Unlimited ride ticket has lost all the charm that made it so great.

Japan Railways Group has a number of special rail passes to make train travel cheaper, easier, and by extension, more fun, but one of the most popular, the Seishun 18 Ticket, underwent a number of changes to its terms and conditions recently that made it fall out of favour with travellers.

While the availability periods haven’t changed — the ticket still coincides with school holiday periods and can be used in spring, from 1 March to 10 April, summer, from 20 July to 10 September, and winter, from 10 December to 10 January — the way it can be used has changed significantly. Previously, the ticket, which gives you unlimited rides on local and rapid JR trains and BRT highway buses across Japan, with some ferries included, could be used over any five days within each seasonal period, but now, the ticket can only be used over five consecutive days.

One of the big draws of the ticket was the freedom to use it at your lesiure during the season, so restricting people to five consecutive days of travel takes a lot of the shine off the pass. The word “seishun” translates to “youth“, and although there are no age restrictions for the pass, its a word that evokes a sense of youthful adventure and unbridled freedom, and these new restrictions put a dampener on that.

Previously, Masanuki liked to use the pass to explore new routes and destinations on weekends, but like many full-time workers he doesn’t have the luxury of taking five days off so it’s now of little use to him. While there is an argument to be made that the new restrictions still allow the country’s actual youth to take advantage of the pass during school holidays, with so many working adults using the pass, sales are likely to take a big nosedive.

Then there’s another big change — whereas the pass could previously be used by more than one person, with each person counted as a day of free travel out of the five days, now, only the sole owner of the ticket can use it as it’s non-transferable.

According to the previous terms, two people could enjoy a round-trip journey to a far-off destination between them, which would count as four days of the ticket, and still have a day of unlimited travel for one left over. The two people travelling could be a young couple on a tight budget or a parent and child on a bonding trip, giving a wider segment of society better access to cheap travel, but now these travellers will have to either spend more by purchasing two passes or be forced to rethink their options. Or, perhaps more likely, not travel at all.

To lessen the impact of this inconvenience, Japan Rail has introduced a new three-day pass as part of the new changes, so customers can now choose between five days of travel for the unchanged price of 12,050 yen (US$80), or three days for 10,000 yen.

However, that doesn’t really help things from Masanuki’s point of view, as that still means most travellers with either have to take a day off work to use the three-day pass, or use it on a long weekend, when the trains are already more crowded than usual.

▼ The new three-day pass option…

▼ …and the five-day pass, alongside an option to add a one-way trip on the Hokkaido Shinkansen for an additional 4,500 yen.

The new terms themselves are an inconvenience, as there’s quite a bit to get your head around. This sign outlines the changes mentioned above, as well as the fact that the three-day pass cannot be changed into a five-day one, and, most importantly…

▼ …you can now insert the ticket into the turnstiles.

Previously, ticket holders had to present the ticket to staff at the turnstiles, where they would receive a stamp and be allowed through. Now, that system has stopped, and though Japan Rail says this will alleviate congestion at the gates and free up staff for other duties, passengers are lamenting another loss presented by this change.

Previously, the stamps, as seen above, acted as mementos of a journey, giving you a physical reminder of where you went and when, but now, the ticket remains bland, lifeless and devoid of character.

▼ The price you pay for convenience.

Seeing a stamp for Tokyo Station and then Kokura in Fukuoka right next to it is not only a pretty sight on a non-Shinkansen rail ticket but a source of pride as the 19-hour-and-nine minute journey is an epic one.

While some people say they appreciate the convenience of being able to move swiftly through the gates, others don’t see it as a major benefit, saying it doesn’t outweigh the cons. Previously, we could’ve spent a week in Fukuoka before moving on to our next destination, essentially stretching out the trip to stay in several major sites over the five-week validity period of the ticket. However, that style of slow travel is no longer an option, as the ticket has to be used in either three or five consecutive days, depending on the pass you purchase.

▼ Goodbye, sense of youthful, unbridled adventure.

In fact, thousands of people have signed petitions since the changes came into effect in winter 2024, calling for a return to the previous pass’ terms and conditions. However, while this won’t appear to affect any change right now, we have our fingers crossed that the inevitable dip in sales might cause the rail operators to rethink the system, so we can use the pass to travel from Tokyo to Tohoku on the cheap again, and even go as far as Korea by ferry.

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