Hi there! Okay, so I'm going to make this quick.
What is a commuters pass?
I'm writing this piece under the assumption that you know how expensive the transportation costs here in Japan. For tourist, there's what they call JR Pass which could save you tons of money when traveling around different parts of the country. Commuters Pass on the other hand, are for residents basically commuting everyday. It is a lot more cheaper and you can save on your transportation expenses if your daily route involves a single direction day-to-day (meaning from point A to point B). The highlight of which is you can take unlimited rides (for a specific period of time).
So there are three options you can choose from such as a commuters pass valid for 1 month, 3 months or 6 months.
How to get a Commuters Pass in Japan?
I will be highlighting the instruction per screen view on the machine you can find in front of the train station. Major train stations like Shinjuku, Tokyo and Shibuya have English-based translation so I guess you don't have to worry about such. In my case, I got in Shinjuku mainly and there are some parts where you have to input your personal information but more of that later.
Here are the step by step instructions:
Step 1: Go to the charging area of the station that you use on a daily basis. Note that you can only make a commuter pass on the exact train station that you want to use meaning Point A to Point B (make sense right?)There are designated charging machines that caters to "Commuters Pass" to which you will see a sign that says exactly that or if not look for this kanji "定期券”(teikiken).
Step 2: You can click on the English option which will make it more easier for you that will look like this one above. Click/Tap on the pink option "Pass".
Step 3: You can choose from these three options. "New Pass" is for the first timers and will ask you to input personal information like your name and birthday. And also if you want to change your route if you have an existing commuter pass please choose "New Pass". "Renewal" is self-explanatory and which is my option because I already have an existing commuter pass route that I want renew from time to time (but not monthly). "Renewal of card" honestly I don't know how this option works because I haven't tried it yet but the details are written as well.
Step 4: The machine will ask you to insert your pasmo/suica card.
Step 5: Usually it will display three options for you to choose from. Please touch the desired button of your choice. Note that the process is the same for "New Pass" option.
Step 6: You can then choose the date you want to activate your pass. It is allowed to activate it on a later date as oppose to the current date that you charged it on the machine. So pick your choice here. (applicable if for example you did it on a no-work weekend and you start commuting/working on weekdays).
Step 7: After that it will ask you to charge money and value to your card on top of your commuters pass value. 500¥ is the lowest rate you can charge. Nevertheless, if you do not want to charge your card, you can click the "No Charge" button which unfortunately is not shown on this photo. But it should be on the lower part of the screen. My apologies.
Step 8: Insert the amount appearing on the screen on the designated money slots and wait for a few seconds for the machine to update your pasmo/suica card. It should take about 5- 10 seconds after you insert the money. The supposed route detail and the validity date of your card will appear on the screen as well for your confirmation. For "new pass" you will be given the options for your choice of Point A to Point B (vice versa) and you just have to click the station name of your choice. There should be an english counterpart/ translation in most stations especially the big ones like Shinjuku, Tokyo, Shibuya etc. (even my station Musashi-Sakai has so no worries).
Step 9: After processing, the machine will spit out your card with the details printed in front of your train card. You can also print the receipt (optional) afterwards.
Step 10: This is how the receipt should look like. I printed mine because in most cases companies need it for inventory/proof because for most jobs, transportation allowance is covered by the employer which is true to my case. (ignore my nasty finger cut too, it's winter and dry hands are the norm).
Happy commuting people!
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