shinkansen tkt discounts...

[bryanc]

sorry to come to this very late but i see that shinkansen tickets offer discounts for early purchase..
i have never done this but would like to use it for travelling btw tohoku and tokyo at new years..

what are the rules on this-do you have to have suica to get the discount?
over holiday period do they offer discounts?is it a month before?

thanks

[TokyoBoglehead]

sorry to come to this very late but i see that shinkansen tickets offer discounts for early purchase..
i have never done this but would like to use it for travelling btw tohoku and tokyo at new years..

what are the rules on this-do you have to have suica to get the discount?
over holiday period do they offer discounts?is it a month before?

thanks

Make sure you have a JR points card and use Ekinet.

You can book up to a month in advance. Check for campaigns.

I would also recommend a view/jr/Suica credit card. Only 500yen a year.

[bryanc]

thanks-what is good about the credit card?

is a jr points card just the suica card?

sorry for the newbie questions but was trying to apply for it together with the mynumber bonus pts which i havent applied for yet-is there a way to do this?

[zeroshiki]

To avoid using Ekinet and all the other JR ecosystem stuff, you can get it from SmartEx which is an app on your phone. You can get Shinkansen discounts for buying tickets 21 days in advance from it.

[TokyoBoglehead]

thanks-what is good about the credit card?

is a jr points card just the suica card?

sorry for the newbie questions but was trying to apply for it together with the mynumber bonus pts which i havent applied for yet-is there a way to do this?

No, it is a points card. The credit card actually has the suica built in, it auto-recharges too.

The card gives you more points.

Everyone who visits JR stations should have a JR card for the discounts. It is easier just to have all 3 in 1 with the credit card.

Points -> https://www.jrepoint.jp/
Card-> https://kakaku.com/card/item.asp?id=040001

[JimNasium]

Don’t forget about the discount ticket booths outside of stations.

[bryanc]

mind officially boggled-didnt know any of this.shame on me
many thanks indeed...

just about the my number thing-is there a way to link getting the my number bonus points to doing this ?

[TokyoBoglehead]

mind officially boggled-didnt know any of this.shame on me
many thanks indeed...

just about the my number thing-is there a way to link getting the my number bonus points to doing this ?

Yes - https://www.jrepoint.jp/information/suica_mynapoint2/

Though if you use PayPay I would recommend them. They will get the points to you in 2-3 days.

[bryanc]

i see,thanks... have paypay but dont really use it so was wondering whether worth putting 2man in to get the bonus 2man(dont you have to put the 2man in first to get another 2man)

the thinking was that if i put it in the train one i could definitely use it...but seems bonus points take ages to arrive

[eyeswideshut]

If you have a foreign passport you can buy the Tohoku Pass (5 consecutive days unlimited JR East travel incl Shink) for 20,000. So cheaper than a return trip from Tokyo to Aomori. Not available for Japanese citizens though. https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/pass/eastpass_t.html