Nepal, Sept. 7 -- For years, there was one golden rule for travelers heading to Japan: get the Japan Rail Pass. It was a no-brainer, a budget-savvy hack shared across travel blogs and guidebooks alike. After all, the price for unlimited, nationwide travel on JR trains was roughly the same as a roundtrip ticket between Tokyo and Osaka, so just about any tourist venturing beyond the capital could save money.
But that once-reliable advice is now outdated. In 2023, JR raised the price of the pass by about 70 percent. While they added some perks, including discounts at shops and tourist attractions, the new prices make it a much less attractive option for most visitors. What was once the ultimate travel tool has become a costly convenience, an...