There are a lot of posts out there talking about traveling to Japan as a tourist and making use of all the tourist passes like the Japan Rail Pass, but I think there are not as many talking about travel as foreign residents (aka working in Japan or study abroad).
As many people know, traveling can be ridiculously expensive despite how close everything is. I know many tourists who come to Japan (before cvd) could use the Japan Rail Pass, which essentially is the best deal for travel around Japan. It lets you use all the Shinkansen and JR local trains for one fixed price. But foreign residents cannot use this specific pass!
But I have been researching about discount travel passes and I have come across some regional passes that are available to foreign residents. If you look online, you can find which passes are available for foreign residents. For example, the JR Kyushu Pass is available this summer.
There is also the Seishun 18 pass (you don’t have to be 18) and it is offered 3 times a year (spring, summer, and winter breaks) for everyone.
You can use the JR local trains unlimitedly for 5 days (doesn’t work for Shinkansen or limited express trains). But the nice thing is it seems the 5 days do not have to be consecutive, so you can choose specific days to use it. I think it is great for long day trips.
Word of Advice for Travel
If you want to travel locally like between prefectures on day trips, it is good to note that your IC card (SUICA, ICOCA, TOICA, etc.) may not necessarily be accepted in a different prefecture or even a far away place in the same prefecture. In theory, IC cards should work on all JR lines and even many buses, but in reality, there are always exceptions. For example, if you ride a one-man trains (which are the tiny two-car trains), often they don’t accept IC cards after a certain point. You have to show the train conductor your ticket usually. That is why is might be better to purchase a single-use ticket from point A to point B. It might be a little frightening at first when you get it wrong, but do not fear. If you mess up with IC cards, usually you can pay at the station when you get off (usually in cash).
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