A privilege only available to foreign visitors is the JR rail pass; passes are offered for 7-, 14-, and 21-day periods. These passes were once very popular as they allow unlimited travel on the JR network of bullet, rapid-service, and local trains. They have since declined in sales with price hikes. They are as follows:

7-day ($357)

14-day ($571)

21-day ($714)

Passes are purchased from outside Japan (*I ordered a pass once online and it shipped to my address from a French address) and upon arriving in Japan, you will need to take your exchange order to a specific exchange office (decided at purchase) (*I selected Ikebukuro Station over the overly complicated stations) which will provide you with and activate your pass. Once activated, your in-country travel will need to happen in consecutive days within 7, 14, or 21 days. The current price is steep but if you do a lot of cross-prefectural travel, it actually helps with savings. For reference, these are fares for one-way bullet train travel:

Tokyo to Nagoya: Ordinary (reserved) (11100 yen/$76.54) Green Car (14760 yen/$102.05)

Tokyo to Kyoto: Ordinary (reserved) (11760 yen/$79.94) Green Car (15400 yen/$104.69)

Tokyo to Shin-Osaka Ordinary (reserved) (14250 yen/$100.13) Green Car (19340 yen/$133.46)