Eligibility for use
Eligibility for using JAPAN RAIL PASS
JAPAN RAIL PASS is a special ticket that can only be purchased by tourists who visit Japan from overseas!
To purchase JAPAN RAIL PASS, you are required to meet either of the following requirements. Even if you have already purchased a pass online through the online sales service or you have an Exchange Order, if you do not meet the requirements, you will not be permitted to pick up or exchange for a pass. Please confirm the requirements before purchasing a JAPAN RAIL PASS. Also, if you do not meet the eligibility requirements and are unable to exchange for a pass due to a defect in the confirmation documentation (including insufficient explanation or a mistake in the explanation given by the travel agency where the Exchange Order was purchased), JR Group will not provide any compensation for the use of transportation while staying in Japan. Please confirm in advance before leaving your home country so that you have time to prepare the necessary confirmation documents.
Eligibility for use①
POINTYou are a foreign tourist visiting Japan from abroad for sight-seeing, under the entry status of "temporary visitor."
Temporary Visitor entry status, according to Japanese Immigration Law, allows a stay in Japan of 15 days or 90 days for "sight-seeing, etc. "If you apply for a "stay for sight-seeing" when you enter Japan, entry personnel will stamp your passport as "Temporary Visitor," as shown below.
Caution
- ・JAPAN RAIL PASS can be exchanged and used only by persons who have a stamp or sticker stating “Temporary Visitor” in their passport.
- ・When you use an automated gate at the airport, no stamp/sticker will be stamped or put on your passport. Therefore, you need to either use a manned automated gate or ask a clerk to apply a stamp/sticker in your passport. However, a customer who has a "registered user card" under the Trusted Traveler Program will be required to show the card to confirm the "Temporary Visitor" status.
- ・If you purchased a JAPAN RAIL PASS online or have an Exchange Order, you cannot pick up or exchange the JAPAN RAIL PASS unless you have a “Temporary Visitor” visa; if you enter Japan under any other official status, such as “Trainee”, “Entertainer”, or “Reentry Permit”, you cannot pick up or exchange the JAPAN RAIL PASS. According to strict interpretation of the Japanese Immigration Law, “Temporary Visitor” status differs from "short term stay".
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ligibility for use②
POINTJapanese people living abroad who meet the following conditions
Caution ①・②
Customers who do not meet either of the conditions ①, ② above will not be able to purchase an Exchange Order or exchange one for a PASS. In addition, if the documentation customers prepare does not meet the conditions for eligibility, they will not be allowed to purchase an Exchange Order or exchange it for a PASS.
Please confirm that the issued date for both your “Overseas Residential Registration” and your “Certificate of Overseas Residence” is prior to the purchase date of your Exchange Order (and within the last 6 months). (The “Overseas Residential Registration” and “Certificate of Overseas Residence” you presented at the time you purchased your Exchange Order must also be presented when exchanged it for a PASS.)
＜For individuals who possess passports issued by both Japan and another country＞
In accordance with the Japanese Immigration Law, please present your Japanese passport to immigration when entering the country. In this case, your Japanese passport and “documentation verifying your stay in another country for 10 or more consecutive years, such as a certificate issued by a government office overseas” will be required.
As a general rule, Exchange Orders cannot be purchased and JAPAN RAIL PASSES cannot be exchanged for young children who have spent less than 10 years living in another country.
(There are some exceptions. Please confirm the details above.)
