How to Make the Most of Your JR Tokyo Wide Pass: A Comprehensive Guide

Headed to Tokyo? Want to explore the bustling metropolitan along with the surrounding Kanto area? Here’s a money-saving hack you’ll thank us for: get the JR Tokyo Wide Pass!

The JR Pass Tokyo or JR Tokyo Wide Pass is a must-have for Japan-bound travellers who want a bang for their buck. It’s a discounted pass that provides unlimited rides for three days on Tokyo trains and the surrounding Kanto area. 

You can use it for the local, rapid, express, limited express and shinkansen trains within the area, giving you heaps of transportation options. The pass makes visiting top tourist destinations like Mt. Fuji, hot spring resorts like Karuizawa and Izu, and snow resorts like GALA Yuzawa, easy peasy!  You can avail of it if you have a foreign passport, regardless of your visa or residence status.

Is this Tokyo train pass worth it?

This pass is highly recommended if you want to travel around Tokyo but also have day trips to nearby areas like Lake Kawaguchiko (Mt. Fuji) and the city of Nikko. It’s also handy if you plan on visiting Karuizawa, Kusatsu, Izu, or other famous hot spring resorts and want to travel to destinations around Tokyo, like Shinjuku, Akihabara, and Kamakura!

If you plan well, you can use it to save hundreds of dollars on fares for Tokyo trains, especially compared to buying tickets for each trip! You can also use it for the Narita Express for free, especially if you’re going to and from Narita Airport. 

The easiest, most convenient way to buy the JR Tokyo Wide Pass is through Klook. You’ll get an instant confirmation in your email after booking and paying.

You’ll receive your QR code in your email (take note that you’ll be given one QR code per booking and not per unit or ticket). You can redeem your ticket at the JR Ueno station (via WAmazing vending machine inside JR EAST Travel Service Center). To redeem,  just scan your QR code and passport. After that, you can hop on the Tokyo train of your choice!

To ensure that your train trips  are hassle-free, make sure to bring your actual  passport,  not just photocopies or your driver’s licence

If you’ve reserved a seat  you can go to a JR EAST Travel Service Centre or a Ticket Office (Midori-no-madoguchi) at any major JR East stations before boarding and present this pass to get your   (free) reserved-seat ticket.

You can book your JR Tokyo Wide Passes  a month before you use them, but you can’t purchase a pass more than a month in advance. 

While the pass can be used for most shinkansen lines, it’s not valid on the Tokaido Shinkansen (not operated by JR East).

Best things to do in Tokyo

Now that you know the secret to quickly getting around the city through Tokyo’s trains, it’s time to know where to go. Here’s another money-saving hack: you can visit 2-5 of Tokyo’s top attractions with the Klook Pass Tokyo!

Save up to 48% with one pass instead of buying multiple tickets per attraction! Access attractions like: 

Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea are sibling theme parks that make up the Tokyo Disney Resort! Tokyo Disneyland is the original, classic park similar to its global counterparts and is the first Disney theme park in Asia. DisneySea, on the other hand, is a one-of-a-kind among Disney theme parks worldwide, with its more nautical theme featuring reimagined famous harbours of the world.

Experience a new way of appreciating art at teamLab Planets Toyosu Tokyo! Use all of your senses to get a feel of its body-immersive art installations. Feel free to touch the installations at the Moss Garden of Resonating Microcosm, walk up a flowing waterfall barefoot on Waterfall of Light Particles at the Top of an Incline, or be in awe of the flora above you at the Floating Flower Garden!

SHIBUYA SKY Observation Deck

Get a 360-degree panoramic view of Shibuya, Tokyo and surrounding areas on the SHIBUYA SKY Observation Deck! Standing at 229m over Shibuya (a special ward of Tokyo), you’ll get views of famous spots such as Mt. Fuji, Tokyo Skytree, Roppongi Hills, and more. You can even relax in the Cloud Hammock area and watch the clouds float above you on the highest point in the Shibuya district

Now that you know the major money-saving hack for Tokyo trains and getting around the country’s capital and the nearby Kanto area, it’s time to plan your trip to Japan! Which destinations are you keen on going to? Want a budget hack for travelling across the country? Check out our guide on everything you need to know about the Japan Rail Pass:

Find out why the Japan Rail Pass is worth it, as well as other handy perks: