JR East releases first-ever rail pass for international residents in Japan

I prefer to drive whenever possible but this deal looks good. May have to start training it around the country. You can send John Daub packing, though.

I have a wife and kids who are all japanese, and my joy is travelling with my family, so not going to use this

This looks quite good. Although my wife is Japanese, it could still save us a bit of money if combined with a Go To deal.

I wish they would make it permanent, but I'll take what I can get. My wife is Japanese, so she would have to pay full price. Still, I haven't seen my children since last December, and I desperately want to see them. This is just what I need. Whether they come up here (Iwate), or I go down there (Kanto), I don't care. I just want to see my children live and in person again.

@Aly

I of course don't know your situation, but my children have two passports, Japanese and US. Based on this article, if your children have a foreign passport, they could probably use that.

Actually, the title and content of this article is misleading - the Tokyo Wide pass (also three days from JREast) has been around for a very long time and can be very useful. As a resident of Tokyo I have made use of the TWP several times over the last decade.

has been around for a very long time 

Yes, forever. There are such seasonal offers for all big regional areas and anybody can use. Whenever my relatives visited, I found passes like that, so I could go with them and Japanese/Zainichi friends could join too.

Why don't they just offer it to everyone including Japanese?

12,000 yen! That is an absolute bargain, hats off to them. You could finish work in Tokyo and be in Aomori for beers by 9pm, ski all weekend and Shink home on Sunday.

I'm hoping that they'd wind the clock back to 2010 and try out the 1000 yen unlimited expressway fee again, that was a brilliant scheme.

I of course don't know your situation, but my children have two passports, Japanese and US. Based on this article, if your children have a foreign passport, they could probably use that.

Thanks for that! Yes my children only have a Japanese passport, so it doesn't work for us

Hope you get time to spend with your kids.

This is the greatest bargain ever by JR East. I travel to Japan twice every year in Apr/May & Sep/Oct to ride the Shinkansen to the north at a maximum 320 km/h with an impeccable safety record. Enjoy the Tohoku & Akita Shinkansens.

A special feature of this pass is the reach. It covers all of Tohoku and down to Atami and Izu. I hope a lot of people will take the opportunity to go snowboard or spend time in a snowy wonderland reading or drinking hot cocoa. Since a lot of us are not able to visit home countries yet, this might be a good way to explore more of Japan.

I have a wife and kids who are all japanese, and my joy is travelling with my family, so not going to use this

Your wife I understand, but why in the world don't your kids have your passport? I would never leave my kids with Japanese citizenship as their only option. (hint, adult dual-citizenship, while still not officially allowed is quite easy to maintain if one knows how the system works).