Japan Rail East (JR East) is selling the “Kyun Pass” ticket.
What Can We Do with This Ticket?
We can get on any Shinkansen bullet train or express in the JR East district twice a day (no limit for free seats). For instance, you can get on a Shinkansen in the morning at Tokyo Station and get to Shin-Aomori Station in about 3 hours; after spending some time there, you can return home on a Shinkansen again for no more than 10,000 yen. If you were to buy regular tickets, it would come to 35,000yen for a round trip!! Wow, lucky you, and that’s on top of the benefits of weak yen (I envy you)!!
“Kyun Pass” URL: https://www.jreast.co.jp/tickets/info.aspx?GoodsCd=2890
Available Days
Weekdays
Price
10,000 yen across the board (child discount not available)
Valid Duration
1 day
Sales Period
January 14, 2024 – February 29, 2024
Caution: You have to make a reservation AT LEAST 14 days in advance ONLINE. You can’t purchase this ticket at the “Midori-no-Madoguchi（みどりの窓口）” office, the JR office counter with the green signboard
Service Period
February 14, 2024 – March 14, 2024
Tips
The north bound service terminates at Shin-Aomori Station. If you want to cross the Tsugaru Strait to reach Hokkaido, you need to purchase an additional ticket. From Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, the Hokkaido-side Shinkansen station, it costs about 7,000yen, by the way.
Background (my guess)
Japanese people (me included) believe that the Tohoku area is freezing, dim, and less-than-stellar for a trip destination in winter; to fill vacant seats, JR East has initiated this campaign ahead of spring. “Kyun” of “Kyun Pass” is an onomatopoeia for a heart skipping a beat and issued largely by young people. JR East is aiming at clearing out the gloomy connotations attached to Tohoku, by using that phrase.
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