Everyone loves a bargain and whether you live in Japan or are planning a visit it’s always good to look for Japan Travel Specials and ways to save a few Yen.

Japan Rail, better know as JR to locals, offers a selection of special tickets that will do just that!  Some promotions are seasonal but all will save you some dollars if you plan well.

Selected money saving train passes currently offered by JR East:

Yokohama-Minatomirai Pass – Explore Yokohama on the JR EAST Negishi Line and the Minatomirai Line for Y500 (adults) and Y250 (children).  Good for multiple trips and a coupon book as available at the time of purchase.

Kamakura/Enoshima Excursion Ticket – unlimited travel within the Kamakura/Enoshima area over two days for Y1,970 (adults) and Y1,000 (children).  Good for travel starting from any station on the Yamanote Line in central Tokyo.

Holiday Pass (Holidei Pass) – a great ticket for tourists that offers travel throughout greater Tokyo including Yokohama, Kamakura (Daibutsu – great Buddha of Kamamura pictured below), Saitama and Chiba. The cost of a one day pass is Y2,300 (adults) and Y1,150 (children) and is effective on Saturdays, Sundays, Public Holidays and during the Summer/Winter holiday season.

Seishun18 (Seishun ju – hachi kippu) – this ticket allows you to go almost anywhere in Japan, from Hokkaido (Lake Masyuko pictured below left) to Kyushu, on the JR rail system.  This five day pass can be used in a number of ways but has limitations that are more than offset by it’s low price of Y11,500 (no child fare).  Note that this ticket cannot be used on the shinkansen (bullet train) so it is not a quick way to get around the country.

Saturday / Sunday Ticket(Do-Nichi Kippu) – This ticket offers weekend travel from Tokyo to Sendai, Yamagata, Niigata and Nagano (Tsugaike Ski Resort picture above right) areas at a cost of Y18,000 (adults 19+), Y9,000 (ages 12-18) and Y3,000 (ages 6-11).

For those coming from outside Japan with plans to travel extensively about the country consider purchasing a Japan Rail Pass that range in price from Y37,800 for seven days to Y79,600 for twenty-one days for adults.

Make sure you do the math when purchasing these tickets – sometimes it is more cost effective to purchase individual tickets depending on your itinerary. Use Hyperdia or one of the other tools identified in How to Take the Train in Japan to estimate your train travel budget in Japan.  Also, take a moment to read Budgeting Your Time in Japan to get a grasp on how much time it takes to move about the country and even across Tokyo.

Details, travel restrictions and rules for the tickets identified above and others can be found on the JR-East Special Tickets page.

Image Credit:  Flickr, [Minato Mirai] The Failure In Blue, fujisan enoshima wind-surf, Daibutsu, 摩周湖 (摩周湖第一展望台) Masyuko lake (Hokkaido, Japan) & Tsugaike

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