Stijn
Semi convenient at a steep premium
The Japanese rail system is already confusing due to being split across so many companies, and because most of them don’t advertise on Google, this service steps in as a convenient one‑stop shop always on top in your search results. While it is easy to buy nearly all train tickets in one place, the convenience comes with a steep markup—about 20% more than booking directly on JR’s website—plus an additional “foreign” tax, even though we are Japan residents. There’s no option to add an IC card, and “free cancellation” isn’t actually offered, not even within 30 minutes of booking a trip 22 days in advance. On top of that, they send unsolicited emails pushing additional eSIM purchases, which feels quite unpleasant. Everything technically worked and we received our QR codes immediately, but I would much rather book directly through JR. In this case, doing so would have saved us ¥14,000 on just four tickets.