Deal of the week: Super-cheap Shinkansen pass

Wed, 04/25/2012 - 08:51 — Anonymous by Gail NakadaWe all know that train
travel in Japan is super-fast, super-efficient and super-expensive. Equally,
the historically strong yen makes it even more costly for visitors looking to
stretch their travel horizons beyond Tokyo's concrete sprawl. Until now.
Following the March 11 earthquake last year, tourism and travel chiefs are
anxious to lure travelers back to Japan and the latest carrot at the end of
the stick is looking pretty tasty -- it's called the JR East Pass. For only
¥10,000 yen (US$123), Japan Rail (JR) East is offering a three-day unlimited
train pass on any of its lines and routes, including the Shinkansen bullet
train, from Tokyo all the way up to Aomori Prefecture in the far north. The
three days can be within a 10-day window, meaning there's no need to
rush. As a point of reference, a single fare from Tokyo to Aomori typically
costs around ¥16,000. Tourism officials are hoping incoming tourists will
head toward the quake-hit Tohoku region and there's a "Destination
Iwate" campaign on the JR website to encourage just that.read more