The ticket exchange process is easy because now many officers can speak English. One card can be used everywhere. Even though it takes a little effort to travel to use the JR Pass, it's convenient and saves a lot of money on transportation of course. For Kansai-Osaka, Kyoto-Kansai transportation, we got the extra Haruka Hello Kitty train & we really liked it. The JR pass is highly recommended for foreign tourists like us🤗