Delivery options, preferably electronic (other than Fedex)

Hi there!

The JR required a physical voucher in order to activate the JR Pass. Sorry about the bad news but this is currently the only way available. We can however ship your order to an address in Japan (such as your Hotel or a friends house) given that you place the order while you are outside of Japan. Shipping to Japan generally takes 3 working days, in case you order it on Friday, then it will arrive in Japan on Thursday.

Here is a list of local re-sellers world wide, possibly you could buy one locally and have it the same day.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

If I took delivery at the hotel, I would have to buy a train ticket to get there. Which would largely remove the need for the Japan Rail Pass... In addition, it would arrive in Japan after I had returned to the USA...

Very strange that a modern country like Japan cannot handle electronic exchange orders--I don't understand the need for physical tickets, which were dispensed with in air travel nearly 10 years ago...