Terms and Conditions
To ensure that you can exchanging your JR Pass exchange order (hereinafter “voucher”) without having trouble at the counter, please carefully read the following important guidelines.
Foreign tourists
(specifically U.S. passport holders visiting Japan from abroad for sight-seeing under the entry status of ” temporary visitor) Please turn in the voucher with your passport.
[ CAUTION ]
Even if you visit Japan with an Exchange Order to be turned in for a JR Pass , the exchange cannot be made unless you have “Temporary Visitor” status; if you enter Japan under any other official status, such as “Trainee,” “Entertainer,” or “Reentry Permit,” you cannot exchange the voucher for a JR Pass. Please note that according to strict interpretation of the Japanese Immigration Law, “Temporary Visitor” status differs from other types of stay that are also only for short time periods.
Japanese passport holder
(who lives outside of Japan) Please turn in one of the following 3 documents along with passport and voucher.
1. Copy of your Overseas Residential Registration issued by the embassy or legation (consulate) of Japan in the foreign country where you live.
The copy must show that you live in the country at least 10 years or longer. If a single copy of your Overseas Residential Registration verifies that any family members living with you in the country have stayed for 10 consecutive years or more, such a document is valid for those family members. For children under 12 years of age whose stay in the country is less than 10 years at the time of purchase of voucher, if a single copy of the Overseas Residential Registration verifies that they live together with the applicant whose stay in the country is 10 consecutive years or more, and if they also use the JR Pass together with that applicant, their eligibility requirements are satisfied. In the case of a copy of an Overseas Residential Registration issued solely for a child under 12 years of age, if the child’s stay in the country is less than 10 years, they do not meet the eligibility requirements.
2. Certificate of Overseas Residence issued by the embassy or legation (consulate) of Japan in the foreign country where you live.
The certificate must show that you live in your address (or place of temporary residence) at least 10 years or longer.
This Certificate of Overseas Residence does not verify the eligibility requirements of family members living with you, including children under 12 years of age whose stay in the country is less than 10 years.
3. Permanent Resident Card issued by your country of residence (Special case limited to the USA, Canada, and Brazil)
The name (Last Name and First Name) and date of birth must be the same as those in your passport. The date recorded in Resident Since must be at least 10 years earlier than the date of purchase of the Exchange Order. US Green Card which does not say “Permanent Resident Card” in the front of the card (issued prior to 1998), those cards does not show beginning date of residency, therefor you need to prepare either a copy of Oversea Residential Registration or a Certificate of Overseas Residence. You can purchase a voucher and exchange it for a JR Pass only if you meet the above conditions for a Permanent Resident Card. If you cannot meet the above conditions, please present a copy of your Overseas Residential Registration or a Certificate of Overseas Residence as written proof. * Written proof must be obtained prior to purchasing voucher (and within the last 6months).
For multiple citizenship (including child) in Japan and other countries
In accordance to Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, an alien is defined as “a person who does not have Japanese nationality”. Those who possess dual citizenship must go through immigration as a Japanese national by law.
Those with dual citizenship will be processed as Japanese nationals upon re-entry (not entry), and cannot go through immigration with foreign passports at this time.
Therefore, in order to qualify for the use of JR Pass, everyone (including minors) must present a copy of Oversea Residential Registration and/or Certificate of Oversea Residence, both issued by the embassy or legation of Japan, along with your Japanese Passport and voucher.
Please be aware that without these documents, you are not eligible to use the JR Pass.
[ Other Conditions and Information ]
1. Your Voucher must be turned in for a JAPAN RAIL PASS within three months of the date the Order was issued. (for example, an Exchange Order issued on April 15 would have to be turned in by July 14) (You may select the beginning date of use within 1 month from the exchange.)
2. JR Pass exchange offices and Travel Service Centers’ service hours are subject to change or discontinuation without notice. Please check JR Pass website for updated information. www.japanrailpass.net/en/exchange.html
3. A voucher that has not been turned in for a JR Pass can be returned to IACE office, within one year of the date of issue for a refund. In such case a 10% cancellation fee will be subtracted from the refund. A voucher cannot be refunded if lost, stolen, damaged, or otherwise rendered unusable. IACE will not be responsible for lost, stolen, damaged, or otherwise rendered unusable voucher.
4. Use of a JR Pass is strictly limited to the signer (hereafter “you”) only.
5. When using your Pass, you can either pass through the automatic ticket gate or present it to an attendant at a manned ticket gate. At the manned ticket gate, the attendant will apply a stamp to your Pass. When passing through the manned ticket gate, always present your Pass to the attendant so that the period of validity is clearly visible.
6. While using JR Pass, you must carry your passport and be prepared to present it to a station attendant or car conductor if requested.
7. The JR Pass is not valid for any seats, reserved or non-reserved, on “NOZOMI” and “MIZUHO” trains on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen lines. You may use “HIKARI”, “SAKURA”, “KODAMA”, and “TSUBAME” on these lines. To board on the “Nozomi” and “Mizuho” Shinkansen services, you must pay in full for the basic fare and the limited express charge.
8. When using JR Pass to travel on JR Group transport services that extend through lines operated by companies other than JR Rail, JR Miyajima Ferry, JR Bus (excluding some routes such as expressway bus lines), and the Tokyo Monorail, you must pay separately for the fare and other charges of the distance traveled on such sections. However, no separate fare or charges are required when such travel passes through the following segments without stopover.
(1) The Aoimori Railway between Hachinohe and Aomori, Aomori and Noheji, or Hachinohe and Noheji. (Valid only for use on ordinary trains)
(2) The IR Ishikawa Railway between Kanazawa and Tsubata. (Excluding travel on trains other than JR lines extending beyond that segment)
(3) The Ainokaze Toyama Railway between Toyama and Takaoka. (Valid only for use on ordinary trains) (Excluding travel on trains other than JR lines extending beyond that segment) You must purchase a Liner ticket in addition to the Pass to use “Ainokaze Liner.”
9. If you have a Green- or Ordinary-type JR Pass and you want to use the GranClass car on the Tohoku Shinkansen, you must pay the Gran Class surcharge and the associated limited express charge.
10. If you have a Green- or Ordinary-type JR Pass and want to travel on a train that requires a numbered ticket or liner ticket (supplementary ticket guarantees passengers a seat on board), a charge is payable to obtain these tickets.
11. If you have a Green- or Ordinary-type JR Pass and wish to travel in a private compartment on a Shinkansen or a limited express train, you will be required to pay the limited express charge for the private compartment, as well as the Green Car charge if the private compartment is a Green Car accommodation. An extra charge is also required if you wish to travel in a sleeping car, a DX Green Car accommodation.
12. If you ride in a Green Car using an ordinary car pass, you will be required to pay the Green Car charge, as well as the limited or regular express service charge. (No extra charge applies when using a Green Car JR Pass.)
13. If you use non-reserved seating, or if you travel in an ordinary car using a Green Car pass, no refund shall be paid for passenger fare or other charges.
14. If you travel overnight on the last day your pass is valid, the basic fare will be covered as far as you travel, including train changes, until you first exit a station. However, surcharges are only covered for the train on which you were riding past midnight on the final day your pass was valid.
15. Once you have started using JR Pass, the validity period cannot be extended, nor will any refund be issued, even if trains and other qualifying transportation services are suspended or delayed for any reason. Moreover, the JR Group will not bear additional costs due to changes in your route, such as alternative transportation costs or accommodation charges.
16. Reservations can only be made after exchanging your voucher for a Japan Rail Pass at a designated train station. Please note that it is not possible to reserve seats in advance before exchanging the voucher for a JR Pass.
17. In addition to the terms and conditions set forth above, when using JR Pass you must obey the JR Group’s regulations, terms and conditions, and the laws of Japan.
18. The official terms and conditions of JR Pass are written in Japanese, and the text of the Japanese version shall be given priority of interpretation in the event of questions regarding transportation conditions that may arise regarding conditions written in other languages.
