JR 7 day pass - Urgent!
 

Hi,

I need to get the voucher for JR 7 day pass and I live in North Carolina and I leave for Japan on tuesday morning at 8:00 am!

I thought it was a question of paying through the internet and I have come to find out I need to receive the vouchers in the mail!

How can I get them given that tonight is Friday 9 pm and I need them in my hands by Monday night? Can the Japan Airlines counter in New York hold them for me?

Any suggestion besides changing my flights?

Thanks

Susana

I would call ANA reservations and ask them to send it to you. I think they can Fedex it overnight, thought it might cost you. 1-800-235-9262 ... good luck!

Don't know if this will help or not but there is a list of every place in the US authorized to sell the vouchers at http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en05.html

We bought ours last week at the JTB office in NY and they issued them on the spot at the office- took about 10 minutes. Maybe one of the companies in New York would be willing to deliver them to the airport?

I agree. Go to the list of US selling agents and phone up. Pay by card. Ask if they'd fedex it overnite.

Hi again,

Thank you for replying. I did contact all the places listed on the JR website with no luck given that it was on a Saturday. Given that I do not live in a metropolitan area I was considering getting the vouchers delivered to the Fedex site near the airport to pick them up before I boarded my conmuter flight.

WELL, went to buy a hat to a local outfitter store and told the clerk about my heartache over the JR pass and she told me about the STA travel outlet in campus. Went there and got the JR 7 day voucher (which looks like an airline boarding pass)... happy end of the story. Check the site: www.statravel.com. They are open Monday through Saturday and are mostly located on college campuses. They offer travel insurance, etc.

Conclusions: 1) Somebody should tell Japan Rail to enhance the list of "authorized dealers" since they only mention the dealers in big cities.
2) We should tell other fellow travelers to get the voucher at least 10 days before departure if they do not live in a big city. 3) I need to be more mindful of these "little" details since not everything is a "click" away.

Hope my big scare will help others.

Susana

I called ANA today, Saturday, via the 800 number I gave you before...they are open on the weekends from 8-5 pacific I think. They are shipping it standard Fedex and it will be here Wednesday, they had an overnight option that would have gotten it here Monday too. I am NOT flying ANA, so you don't have to be a customer! Just to let others know! Glad you got your's though...have fun...

Hi again,

1) When I called the ANA office in LA on Friday close to 9pm EST, the woman told me that the voucher could not get printed and mailed until Monday am. Since I was (am!) leaving on Tuesday at 8 am she told me to call back on Monday to see if they could guarantee delivery.

2) JAL only sells the JR rail pass to customers on US outbound JAL flights. The fact that I was returning on a JAL flight did not matter to them. They do sell the JR rail pass at their ticket counters which make it easy for their customers to buy right before departure.
3) The ANA person in Honolulu who I reached on Friday evening around 9 pm EST, told me she couldn't do it because of the currency exchange difference with the mainland! Go figure.
4) Frankly, why should we have to pay for the fedex charges for a service that can be delivered by any travel agency with the ability to print tickets? I just paid $261.43 for a 7 day ordinary rail pass. No additional charges.

Hope a Japan Rail executive gets to read this thread.

Susana

Susana: Have been reading about your problems and feel your pain. Thanks very much for posting this. It has been enlightening and I have moved up my "get JR Rail Pass" reminder on the "to do" calendar for my upcoming trip. Good luck, hop ethe rest of the trip goes smoothly.

Hmm...yes I hope they read it, too. They should make it more convenient. Have fun!