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Avoiding Price Increase

ExcelNeko
ExcelNeko
almost 2 years ago
2 answers

Hi all,

I find myself a little overwhelmed with information regarding order, exchange and activations dates to avoid the price increase.

I’ll start by saying I’ve only ever bought the JR Pass via the official site and don’t have any experience with exchange vouchers.

Myself and 11yr old child will be visiting Japan from 10 December to 23 January 2024 with the aim to purchase two sets of 21 day passes (for convenience as well as distance travelling).

Pass 1 - December 11 to January 1 this shouldn’t be too much of an issue as long as I buy the voucher by mid September.

Pass 2 - January 2 to January 23 is the pass I’m having difficulty with, it’s my understanding I can make a purchase 90 days prior as well as 30 days from exchanging/activating the pass.

Would this mean I can purchase the second set late September, exchange the voucher mid December for an activation date for January 2?

Further to the above, I read that child passes can be bought as long at the child is 11 years old when the exchange voucher is purchased. My child will turn 12 in November, so well after any purchases, would it be an issue in purchasing child passes for them? Or will I need to buy the adult pass?

Thank you for your time :)

avatar
Daniel-san
19147 posts
almost 2 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

"January 2 to January 23 is the pass I’m having difficulty with, it’s my understanding I can make a purchase 90 days prior as well as 30 days from exchanging/activating the pass."

Here it is important to understand that you can activate/exchange the pass within 3 months after issue date. Once you then make the exchange in Japan, you can select up to 30 days as starting date for your pass. Say you would buy the pass on Sept 25th, then you can exchange the pass by Dec 24th. When you activate the pass on the 24th, then and there is where you select your starting date, that can be 30 days later. For example, Jan 20th. In short, yes, this would work for you.

For child passes, the issue date is leading. E.g. He/She needs to be below the age of 12 when the passes are issued.

Kind regards,
Daniel

Hope this helps,
Daniel

ExcelNeko
ExcelNeko
2 posts
almost 2 years ago

Absolute legend Daniel, thanks so much for your response and all of your responses to a lot of individuals seeking help.


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