Steve M

Others have already answered with the correct practical advice, but I wanted to add some clarification because I think it will help in this case. First of all, the pass itself is never mailed. Instead, you can only purchase the Exchange Order overseas, and then you exchange that for the actual pass once you arrive in Japan. Second, you ask about whether "they" would mail the EO to your address in Canada. There really is no "they" in this case. Unlike regular train tickets in Japan, you cannot purchase the JR Pass Exchange Order directly from JR. Instead, you have to purchase it through an authorized seller in the country of purchase (which is usually where you live, although you could purchase it in person in a country nearby to Japan if you happen to be there on your way to Japan), which is usually just a travel agent. You are subject to whatever purchase rules your chosen authorized seller has in place. And policies vary.

Also, as to the particular form of the EO, this also varies. Some agencies manually write or type them on forms that were printed especially for this purpose, and endorse the form with a stamp/impression of some sort. In other cases, they just print out on regular ARC airline paper ticket stock, with a JL ticket number and a dummy city pair that indicates what type and duration of pass it is.

Also, some sellers are particular in wanting to see the passport of each passenger and photocopy them, while others just as for the passengers name and take your word for it.