Positive experience Has a wide range of JR passes available on that website which are all easy to purchase. The passes arrived a few days after I ordered them as expected and exchanging them in Japan was very straightforward.

Resisted giving full refund for pass delivered too late The website said had enough time to deliver the pass before travelling, but I paid extra for next day delivery. It did not come for a week, by which time I had already departed for Japan. The company then tried to only give a partial refund. They eventually agreed after multiple messages to pay full refund and postal costs, but then in the end refused to pay for the registered mail to return the pass (which they insisted we use if wanted any money back at all). Very disappointing.

The JR Pass is exceptionally not worth… The JR Pass is exceptionally not worth it. Besides not actually being much (if at all) of a savings, the process to get it is asinine, inefficient and overly complicated. Good luck trying to pick it up in Japan, too - be prepared for lines that are 2 hours or longer, worse when they are short staffed (which they often are). There are multiple JR offices/counters at each train station and each offer partial services but will mostly just send you somewhere else for what you actually need. If you ever do finally get through to the correct counter, don’t expect any help from their rude staff. Dealing with JR Pass was the absolute worst part of our experience in Japan and I highly encourage you to avoid it at all costs.

Scam Middleman This is a scam. At best they are an unnecessary middle man that makes getting a pass more expensive, more time consuming, and less convenient. Passes can be purchased online directly from JR and then picked up at any vending machine with a passport reader. Purchasing through jrpass.com means you pay a higher price, you pay to have a voucher mailed to you, then, once in Japan, you must go to a specific kind of JR office (of which there are relatively few), you must wait in an often long line to exchange your “voucher” for an actual pass. Don’t fall for it. Don’t waste your time or your money.

Order with confidence! Hard to tell which service in UK is legit as the official Japanrailpass.net site doesn’t provide weblinks for official 3rd party global resellers and the reviews for the usual Google sites seem to vary A LOT! Decided to go with JRPASS.COM *only* because they had an active forum. Ordered the passes (in London) and received the jrpass within 2 days! Slightly more expensive, but when you are parting with over £400 for a rail pass, an extra £10 was worth it. Definitely recommend if you are new to this.