12. Buying your Japan Rail Pass

Well the time has come the walrus said
to speak of other things,
and go and buy your JR Pass
and see what travel brings....
................ No seriously, I am within the three month period now, so time to buy my JR Pass (it's quite exciting isn't it? I mean it's actually starting to happen!)

Anyway, the question I am pondering is this - does it matter which website you buy it from? Do you go for the cheapest? Is one site more reliable than another? One site I found was $15 cheaper but for title it's either Mr, Miss or Mrs - no Ms. Seeing as I have made it to my advanced age, I am certainly not a Miss, I am no longer a Mrs, and I sure as hell don't want to be called "Miss" again!

For the benefit of travelling around Japan, does it matter a great deal or not? Another site seemed alrgiht until I read the bit that said if the voucher when being sent got lost in the mail, then stiff shite, you're up you know what creek without a paddle. Hmm, great. I won't be going with that one.

If you're going to be doing a lot of travelling over long distances, it pays to get the JR Pass, it pays for itself before the end. I calculated it would cost me around $900 were I to buy each ticket separately but, getting the pass I save about $400 - that's a lot of money.

Update
I started this post yesterday, came back today to finish writing it and also to book the JR Pass. The website that had the pass $15.00 cheaper doesn't have it $15.00 cheaper anymore. When I went to their website today, the price had risen and although still cheaper, the difference was only $8.00 so I ended up going with the other mob. Yes, I know I paid $8 more and eight bucks is eight bucks and feelings about how a website is run shouldn't come into it, but I did think them sneaky with their free book with your booking (you have to book a minimum of two passes) and for $13.00 you can speak to them any time in Japan if you need help. To me, that's a bit of a con, you can speak to the JR people at train stations for any help you need and you don't need to pay $13.00 for the privilege of doing so.

I used JTB Travel and decided to have the voucher/pass delivered. The cost was $560. Now, all I have to do is wait.

Today's quote: The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes ~ Marcel Proust