Everything you need to know about the JR East Nagano Niigata Area Rail Pass
What is the JR East Nagano Niigata Area Rail Pass?
The JR East Nagano Niigata Area Rail Pass offers foreign tourists unlimited travel on JR trains within the Shin’etsu region (Nagano and Niigata prefectures) and a large part of the nearby Kanto and Hokuriku regions.
This includes shinkansen, limited express trains and local trains, as well as JR buses and several private railways.
How much does it cost?
- 5-day pass:
- Adult: 27,000 yen
- Child: 13,500 yen
Child passes are only available for those between 6 and 11 years old.
Where can it be used?
- Unlimited use of JR trains in the Shin-etsu Region (Nagano and Niigata Prefectures) as well as JR lines in Tokyo and Shizuoka, Yamanashi, Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki and Chiba Prefectures as indicated by the “unlimited ride area”.
- Includes Shinkansen, limited express trains, and local trains.
- The following lines are included:
- JR EAST
- Tokyo Monorail
- Izu Kyuko Line
- Hokuetsu Express
- Reserved seats on certain express trains running between JR EAST and Tobu Railway lines.
- Limited express, rapid, and ordinary trains on the Echigo TOKImeki Railway (between Naoetsu and Arai).
- Limited express, rapid, and ordinary trains on the IR Ishikawa Railway (between Kanazawa and Tsubata).
- Limited express, rapid, and ordinary trains on the Ainokaze Toyama Railway (between Toyama and Takaoka).
Important information
- May require a separate fare for travel on non-JR lines within the pass area.
- Valid for five consecutive calendar days (midnight to midnight) from the date of your choice.
- Exclusively for foreign visitors to Japan (on temporary visitor status).
- Not valid for Japanese residents.
- The age of a child is defined as the age on the date of purchase. A passport or other such document is required to prove a child’s age.
- Children under 6 years old who do not require seat reservations do not need a pass.
- A separate fee is applicable if you wish to use the Green Car or GranClass.
- Youth fares (including student discount) are not offered for this pass.
- You can only use one JR East Nagano Niigata Area Rail Pass at a time while travelling in Japan. (You cannot purchase two of the same type of pass if their validity periods overlap)
Where to buy
- Purchase through online or offline travel agents outside of Japan.
- Available at major railway stations and airports within the pass area. If purchased outside Japan or online, collect the physical pass at a JR East Travel Service Center in the pass area.
- Available for purchase on the official JR East website. Pickup options include passport reader-equipped ticket machines.
- Can also be purchased at passport reader-equipped ticket machines within Japan.
For a full list of JR East Travel Service Centers, or for ticket machines locations for collection of passes booked via the official JR East website, the JR East website has a full list of locations and facilities.
How to reserve seats
Free seat reservations available at:
- Seat reservation ticket machines.
- JR ticket offices.
- JR East Train Reservation website (collect physical tickets at a ticket machine or ticket office).
How to use
Insert only your rail pass into the automatic ticket gate.
Make sure to pick up your rail pass after passing through the gate. The rail pass cannot be reissued even if it is lost or stolen etc.
Value
The pass offers value for those making multiple long-distance journeys within the Shin-etsu region and surrounding areas.
It is not good value for those seeking to make one or two short journeys within the pass area, however it can be cost saving if you plan to make multiple journeys within the timeframe and predominantly use the Shinkansen or Limited Express trains to do so.
Combining multiple Shinkansen and Limited Express journeys with daily use on local lines and buses would likely give good value for the ticket price and in many cases exceed the cost of the pass.
An example itinerary might consist of a journey with reserved seats starting from Narita Airport Terminal 1 to Tokyo Station on the Narita Express, continuing with a round trip on the Joetsu Shinkansen between Tokyo and Niigata (with a stop in Takasaki on the return), followed by a round trip on the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Takasaki and Nagano (with a stop in Tokyo on the return), and concluding with a Narita Express trip from Tokyo Station back to Narita Airport Terminal 1.
This example itinerary would cost around ¥38,000 for an adult if all tickets were purchased separately but will be covered in full by this pass.
