JRSuicaN'EX/Seishun18/3day pass
 

Hoping a JR expert may be able to clarify aspects of these tickets...

Suica &N'EX - are these only available at Narita until 8pm when JR shop closes? Any other way of getting them if plane is arriving after 8pm?

Seishun18 - can these be purchased at any station or only large stations. Are there any Lines they work particularly well on or expect very slow travel with these

3 day pass - site says overseas sales to November 20...does this mean they must be purchased before going to Japan for use in December? Or can you buy them once in Japan up to end of December when offer closes?

Thanks!

The only one I have experience with is the Seishun 18. It is available at decent sized JR stations, and it works for local trains. No shinkansen, not even the faster, nicer regular trains. 1 person can travel all day for each stamp put on the ticket. So 5 people could all share 1 ticket, if it were stamped with the same date 5 times. Or 1 person could use it for 5 days, which don't need to be consecutive. You can use it for 1 day, spend several days there looking around, and then use it again for a day to travel further on or back home. Most passes require consecutive days, so this is a nice feature. The ticket is only sold during holidays though, and is valid for that holiday break. You must use it up by the end of that vacation period. So if you buy an 18 kippu for winter break, you need to use it up by the end or else any remaining days are wasted. Here's more info and the dates when they are sold and valid: Seishun Juhachi Kippu (Seishun 18 Kippu)

SUICA and 18 kippu can be bought in any JR station

but 18 kippu is already over the next one will be in autumn i think .. only used with the regular trains

Well, not any JR station. Out in the countryside where I lived, there were JR stations that weren't even manned... they just had a ticket vending machine and a drop box to put used tickets in. Then there were some that were slightly larger, and had 1 guy working there in a tiny room, and that's all. I was told that I needed to go to a decent-sized station with an actual ticket booth to buy an 18 kippu. I always bought mine at Hashimoto station, which had 5 tracks through it and usually at least 2 or 3 people working there, with an actual ticket counter. Small by big city standards, but by far the largest station around for miles in the countryside.

Thank you both for clarifying the 18 kippu. Does anyone understand when the JR East 3 day special pass needs to be purchased? Is it by November?