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Comment by quartesixte | Hacker News Reader

Buying individual legs for a two week trip usually came out to be the same for most people anyways. The JR Pass rarely made sense (especially with the restrictions on riding the fastest bullet trains) and now the price reflects that.

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I recall the 7 day JR Pass used to break even if you were going to do Tokyo -> Kyoto/Osaka and later back to Tokyo over a trip, maybe with an extra trip basically anywhere that could be a day trip. (e.g. Osaka to Hiroshima and back, or Tokyo to Sendai, or...) Now with the increased price you need even more trips to be worth it, which can be challenging in just 7 days. I don't think the restriction on not being able to use the fastest bullet trains is that big of a deal for most tourists.

Yeah this is basically what I was thinking of. The classic trip was Tokyo to Osaka, Kyoto and back and with the JR Pass that would have strongly incentivized you to go beyond Osaka to like Hiroshima and other places because at that point it was free.

Now it will cost more to go to Hiroshima+ and so less people will do that.

Are you thinking of the faster bullet trains between Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka? Part of the reason for the price increase has been said to specifically discourage tourists from using the pass for riding that route, as it was already very congested.

I don't really see the logic behind that myself. Tourists will still travel between those two cities. They will just travel less to other places that they don't prioritise as much.

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