Hello, I will be visiting Japan in March for the first time and I need to buy a 7 day Japan Rail Pass. I am confused when I should activate this? I arrive in Japan on 29/03/25 and will be travelling from Haneda airport into Tokyo. I will be in Tokyo until 01/04/25 when I will then travel to Kyoto and want to travel from there to Osaka, Nara and Hiroshima. I will then return to Tokyo on 05/04/25 until 07/04/25. So my question is, as I can only buy the pass for 7 days, is it better for me to buy it to start as soon as I arrive on 29/03/25 to use around Tokyo and to get me from the airport or is it better to buy it to start on 30 or 31/03/25 so that I can use it for the other cities in Japan?
Miss Gaynor Evans

Hi there,
You have two options for activating your 7-day JR Pass:
- Option 1: Activate on the 29th of March, covering your travel from the 29th of March to the 4th of April.
- Option 2: Activate on the 1st of April, covering your travel from the 1st of April to the 7th of April.
The Nationwide JR Pass covers Haneda Airport and JR lines within Tokyo. The best activation date depends on how much you plan to use the JR Pass for local travel within Tokyo. If you will be using JR lines extensively upon arrival, activating it at the airport might be a good idea.
For more information on activating your JR Pass at Haneda Airport, please see our blog post Activating the JR Pass at Haneda Airport.
I hope this helps!
Kind Regards,
Mariko
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