Everything You Need to Know for Riding Trains in Japan

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The four main islands of Japan, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, are connected by an extensive rail network. One of the best rail systems in the world, famously punctual. However, to a first-timer, with the nearly 30,000 km of track (18,600 miles, need help converting from metric?) riding trains in Japan can be a bit daunting. And with that, there are a lot of pros and cons to be had.  

Once you get a few rides under your belt, you’re sure to love to riding trains in Japan!

This post was update in August 2019.

What are the different train operators?

Around 70 % of which is Japan’s National rail system, “The JR Lines” (JR stands for Japan Railway), of which is further split into JR Hokkaido, East (Tohoku and Kanto areas), Central, West (Kansai and Chugoku Area), Shikoku and Kyushu regional networks. The rest is made up of 16 major regional private rail companies, many smaller local trains and additionally subway systems in the larger metropolitan areas.

How much is riding trains in Japan?

While super convenient, trains are not always the cheapest means of travel especially with the addition of budget airlines. However, if seeing this beautiful country is your goal, there’s really no greater way than to take the train.

Fare (運賃, unchin) for the trains is determined by the route and any train app will give you the rate required when you are researching your trip.  A quick few stops could be just over 100 yen whereas a long–distance trip on the shinkansen could be 10,000 and up.

A plus for foreigners on a tourist visa is the use of the JR rail passes, whether all access or the less expensive regional options where you will have a set rate for the amount of days you’ve purchased.

Disclosure: Kristenabroad.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and other affiliate programs. For some links to products or services in this article, I may earn a small commission by you using my link.  The price for you is not affected.

Child Tickets

There are discounts depending on the age of the child. Children fare (小児運賃, shouni-unchin) for 6 to 12 year-olds is half of adult fare and children under 6 are free with an adult.

The Difference in Seat Classes

In addition to your fare cost, you will also potentially have a cost associated with your seat depending on what you choose. You will see seat fees on Limited Express “liner” trains as well as the shinkansen.

自由席 (jiyuu seki) Unreserved Seat

Pretty self-explanatory, these are free for all seats. Literally in Japanese it means “freedom seat”. For me, a little too stressful during peak travel times. With trains coming every 10 minutes on some routes, they also allow you to hop on any train.

指定席 (shitei seki) Reserved Seat

With reserved seats, you will have to choose the exact train you want to be on. If for some reason you miss your train, you can use this ticket in the unreserved car.  Some trains like the Hayabusa only have reserved seats.

グリーン車 (guri-n sha) Green Car Seat

Ah, the green car. The “first–class” of trains as it were. Wider, nicer seats and more frequent train carts!

Gran Class Seat

These are newer and basically equate to “International First Class” seats and are even fancier than the green car. Gran Class cars have their own attendant and come with bento lunch boxes and unlimited drinks (including beer, sparkling wine, sake, Japanese whiskey, and more).

Japanese Lesson for Different Fare Types

• Fare ticket (乗車券, joushaken)
• Express fee (急行料金, kyuukou ryoukin) 
• Limited express fee (特急料金, tokkyuu ryoukin) 
• Non-reserved limited express fee (自由席特急料金 ,jiyuuseki tokkyuu ryoukin) 
• Reserved seat fee (指定席料金, shiteiseki ryoukin) 
• Green fee (グリーン料金, gurin ryoukin) 
• Shinkansen Special Express Ticket(新幹線特急券, shinkansen tokkyuuken)

Train Ride Categories

While many JR lines, such as the Yamanote Line in Tokyo operate strictly as a “local” train, meaning they stop at every station, there are many train lines that have different designations. Most notably for my colleagues and I, the Keikyu Line in Kanazawa has four different categories.

Some train routes have even more nuances than that! For a quick overview, the ones you will see the most are the following, ranging from slowest to fastest.

• Local (普通, ふつう, futsuu)
• Rapid (快速, かいそく, kaisoku)
• Express (急行, きゅうこう, kyuukou)
• Limited Express (特急, とっきゅう, tokkyuu)
• Shinkansen (新幹線, しんかんせん, shinkansen) or Bullet Train as it’s known sometimes in English 

The one that can be confusing is Limited Express as some lines use that to designate their fastest service, where others that translates as a “Liner”, i.e. you need a separate ticket to board! Not a fun fact when you are attempting to make a quick transfer.

Where and How to Buy Train Tickets in Japan

The train stations! You have a choice between an automated ticket machine or going to a teller. The automated machines generally have an option in English. Look for the language button in the upper right-hand corner.

From there, you have the option of IC Card or Paper Tickets (Liners/Shinkansen will always have paper tickets as you will need the seat and car number!).

IC Cards (ＩＣカード)

Integrated Chip cards (IC Card) or Smart Cards are the best way to “buy” train tickets. Along with my house key and phone, I never leave home without my Pasmo.  With a 500 yen deposit (that is refundable if you turn the card back in), you never have to worry about figuring out the fare costs.

In 2013 all of the ten major IC Card Brands were made compatible with each other so you no longer have to worry about having different cards for different regions. What are the ten?

• Suica
• Pasmo
• Icoca
• Pitapa
• Toica
• Manaca
• Kitaca
• Sugoca
• Nimoca
• Haykaken

I will not, however, guarantee that you won’t WANT more than one because some of the designs are super cute!

Warning: There are areas outside of IC Card use in rural areas of Japan so beware of this. If you happen to come across this, you will need to explain the situation once you get back into “IC Card Land” as I like to call it and have your card reset at that point. Normally just stating the station start and end names will suffice to the station attendants.

There are areas outside of IC Card use in rural areas of Japan so beware of this. If you happen to come across this, you will need to explain the situation once you get back into “IC Card Land” as I like to call it and have your card reset at that point. Normally just stating the station start and end names will suffice to the station attendants.

In some areas, you end up saving a few yennies (our joking name for one yen coins) by using your IC card but in the grand scheme of things, the price is the same.

You can also use them at vending machines and can also be linked to a green car ticket on the JR Lines!

Paper Tickets at the Automated Machines

There are definitely some areas of Japan that you will need paper tickets to be able to ride the train.  Additionally, there is a thing called ワンマン運転 (wan man un ten, one man driver) that we’ll address in a little bit.

First, there will be a map usually directly above the machines where you will need to find your destination and the corresponding fare. The two different prices are the difference between adult and child fares.

1. Check if there is an English in upper right-hand corner of the machine if you can’t read Japanese.  Sometimes the screens will automatically be at the “fare” screen and you can just press the corresponding fee but sometimes if the machine is also for IC card refilling, you will need to get to the paper ticket section.
2. On the side, there is generally buttons for the number of people you want to buy tickets for. The default is one, so if you are traveling alone, you can skip this step.
3. Press the button that shows the amount for your ticket.
4. Insert the money into the vending machine. They generally accept 10, 50, 100 and 500 yen and bills of 1000, 5000 and 10000 yen.
5. Collect the ticket(s) and change.

Station names only in Japanese? Don’t fret, just get the cheapest ticket and pay the difference at a fare adjustment machine at the destination station. Fare adjustment machines are near all exit gates.

Purchasing Limited Express or Shinkansen Tickets

The Limited Express and Shinkansen ticket machines are separate from the normal fare tickets. There will be an option to switch to English in the upper corner. From there you will follow the prompts on the screen to pick what train you will travel on, the date of travel, time of day, how many people and choose seats (if you are getting reserved seats or that’s the only option).  If you have a foreign credit card, most likely it will NOT work in the machine. If you would like to use a credit card, you can do so at the teller window.

Purchase a ticket at a ticket counter

It depends on where you are if the ticket counter attendees will speak English or not so it is helpful to have your train of choice pulled up on Hyperdia to show them the information you want if you are uncomfortable with your Japanese abilities.

Purchasing Green Car Tickets

If you are on the JR Line, sometimes it is fun to ride the green car of the “local” trains. It is much cheaper to buy them on the platform than onboard (though that is an option). It will depend on how far you are going what the cost will be. Less than or greater than 50 km. Look for signs saying green car tickets and this machine. You will need to be using your IC card.

Useful Japanese Phrases for Buying Tickets

• 片道 (かたみち, kata michi), One way (trip)
• 往復 (おうふく, ou fuku), Round Trip 
• 窓側の席 (まどがわのせき, mado gawa no seki), Window Seat
• 通路側の席 (つうろがわのせき, tsuro gawa no seki), Aisle Seat
• _____ まで一枚お願いします ( _____ までいちまいおねがいします, made ichimai onegaishimasu), One ticket to _____, please.
• 次の電車お願いします (つぎのでんしゃおねがいします, Tsugi no densha onegaishimasu), Next train please.

Reserved vs. Unreserved, Which is better?

Looking to save money, an unreserved picture is the way to go. Reserved tickets can add up cost-wise.  Most shinkansen have 3 or so cars of unreserved seats (unless you are taking the Hayabusa north) but it may be hard to get seats together if you are traveling in a group. 

One reason I personally don’t like them is it can be stressful and if you are on a long-distance trip, you probably don’t want to be standing for hours at a time.

Reserved gives you a little less stress on the seat department but it adds some additional in that you are locked into a given time.  It is definitely my preferred method as I’d rather not be worried about not getting a seat at all as I tend to travel longer distances.

How To Use Train Tickets in Japan

If you have gone the IC Card Route, you will need to “ping” through the gate at the station – make sure you are going to the correct service provider though! You will be charged money if you accidentally go through the gates without continuing on to a different station.

Pro Tip: One caveat to this is something not many of my Japanese friends knew until I told them. Exploring and need to use a public toilet and can’t seem to find one in town (seriously, I get surprised how many of them I see!) you can talk to the gate attendees and they will let you in and out of the station to use the toilet without having to be charged a fee.

If you have a paper ticket (whether singular or multiple because it’s an express train) use the ticket machine gateways and make sure you grab your ticket on the opposite side.

Limited express ticket? You may have to show the conductor onboard the train (sometimes they have machines telling them which tickets are already purchased and they won’t ask you). You need to insert BOTH tickets into the machine.  There will be signs showing two pieces of paper to remind you.

Regardless, you will need your ticket at your destination to get out of the station (you will do the reverse on arrival).

ワンマン運転（ワンマンうんてん）One Man Drivers

The best way to think of these is that it is a bus on rail tracks. Not a bad comparison when some of them are single car trains, though you can see them with upwards of three in some areas. The driver is the conductor is the platform safety checks.

Why do they have this? Well, to cut down on costs. Rural areas don’t get a lot of traffic and there really isn’t a reason to have someone just sitting at the station waiting for a train to come every few hours.

There are times (like going to Hitachino Brewery from Mito station in Ibaraki Prefecture) when it is possible to get into the station with your IC Card but then have to get on a one man train. How do you know it’s a one man? There will be an announcement, in Japanese, on board which doesn’t really help you if you don’t understand the language.

The other option is there will be a white or green sign on the train stating, “ワンマン”. Also Japanese but now you know what to look for! Another tip-off is if it is a very small train.

If it’s the first stop, you generally will just board.  If it’s not, it’s like a bus in which you will need to pull a paper tab when getting onboard that will list your boarding station number. Look at the board at the front for how much you will owe.  You will either pay the conductor directly or put it into a machine. It is very rare when they take IC Cards but some do.

Accidentally miss all that? The doors generally won’t open in the cars so you will know to walk to the front.

Speaking of doors

In colder climates (and some warmer ones), you will need to press the botton near the door to open the door to exit or enter the train.

Best Train Apps for Japan

Hyperdia

Hands down, Hyperdia is my go-to app for train routes in Japan. If you have an android, you can download it.  If you have an iPhone (at least last I checked, I’m a droid person) you will need to go to their website on your browser. 

Having issue inputting one of the station names? Sometimes in English it doesn’t always follow the same convention with “-“ or simple a space between names (or the Romanization might be different than you expect).  If that’s the case, type the first part of the word and it will give you all the options that contain that beginning.

Jorudan

Jorudan is another option that I learned about later, slightly different interface so check out which you like better.  

Google Maps

Google Maps has gotten 100 times better in the nearly 6 years I’ve been living in Japan and wasn’t even an option when I first started to come to Japan in 2006 but it still has a long way to go. It will take you on some ridiculous out of the way routes and have you transfer 4 times just to save 2 minutes travel time (when you could have taken one transfer).

That being said, one thing is does come in handy for is finding your destination station (or closest if you’ve been wandering around) name. You can then use that information into one of the aforementioned superior options.

Printable Maps

If you want to go old school, there are print outs of routes you can get (definitely how I rolled for the first 6 months living here), plus, they are handy if your phone runs out of juice. A couple for those living around Tokyo area:

• Tokyo Metro map
• Yokohama Metro map 
• Keikyu Line (my local line)
• JR East (Japan Railways)

Planning Your Journey

Need help coming up with an itinerary and don’t see something specific on my site? Feel free to use the “Contact” option above.

Non-Train Travel in Japan

While Japan does have an extensive train network, other forms of public transportation aren’t too shabby either. You’ll find buses in most major cities, and some more remote areas in rural Japan are accessible only by bus.

Don’t want to deal with the rain getting from the train to your hotel for instance? There are taxi stands at nearly all train stations, even in some remote areas. They are on the expensive side though.

Train etiquette

There are a lot of nuances of etiquette to consider while in Japan. Generally speaking, if you are aware of your surroundings, most will come naturally to you. To give you a quick overview so you know what to expect, here are some things to consider.

Queuing for the Train

The country of Japan loves queuing! I joke that I want to just get a group of friends to line up somewhere and see who joins us. Queuing for the train is no different. Most busier stations will have the exact spot noted for you with signs either on the tracks, the bulkheads or on the floor.

Make sure you are always standing behind the yellow safety line!

Does the station have safety gates? Line up on either side of the opening.

One thing to note is that some lines have different numbers of doors depending on the type of train. You may be in the three door line when there is only two doors, so when in doubt (they normally announce on the PA), line up at the 2 door spot.

Let passengers disembark

Speaking of queuing, let everyone off the train before you barrel on!

Same goes if you are onboard

If you are by the door and it is super crowded on the train, it is polite to go ahead and step off the train. Get either in the front or go to the back of the existing queue. This allows for a quicker transition at the stations.

Sitting etiquette

There will be areas on most train cars for “priority” seting. Whereas it seems like in some areas of the world, you flat out don’t sit there if you don’t fit one of the criteria, that’s not how Japan works.

You are more than welcome to utilize a seat but if someone needing it comes (elderly, disabled, pregnant, people with small children), please relenquish it.

Also don’t take up more than one seat, there are generally indications on where people will seat. If you have bags, either put them in the overhead, on your lap, or on the floor immediately in front of you so others can utilize them as well.

What to do with bags while standing

Don’t be that foreigner with the giant backpacking pack that leaves it on their back. Either wear bags on your front, put them between your feet, or in the overhead if available.

Turn your phone to silent and refrain from talking on the phone

Direct quote of the announcement you will hear constantly onboard! It’s rude, don’t do it. If you absolutely must take a call, be as quiet as possible or if you are on a shinkansen or liner, move to the ends of the cars.

With that, you will also notice that people either don’t talk at all or just talk softly to their seatmates. Being noisy is generally frowned on.

Disclosure: Kristenabroad.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and other affiliate programs. For some links to products or services in this article, I may earn a small commission by you using my link.  The price for you is not affected.

Essential Things for Travelling by Train

On long haul train rides, one of the benefits is that you can use your time wisely. Some things I always have with me and you might want to consider are these:

Kindle

I am a huge fan of a paper book, I love the smell! But the more I travel around the world and become more minimalist, my Kindle is definitely something that never leaves my bag. It’s just so convenient to have thousands of books with me.

Wanikani

Yes, this is an app, but more and more trains are getting WiFi and if you’ve gotten a SIM or have Google Fi, of course you are open to data! Wanikani is the best kanji learning program and I tend to use it most while traveling on a train. In a constant quest for being fluent in Japanese, it’s a must.

2-in-1 or Tablet Computer

My 12″ Samsung Galaxy 2-in-1 computer was literally the best purchase I’ve ever made. I always have it on me so that I can be working on blog posts whenever the moment presents itself. It’s compact, light (they also have a 10″ version) and has a great touch screen interface.

A few cons of riding trains in Japan

While I generally can’t stop singing the praises about Japanese train system, there are a few downsides to riding trains in Japan.

Overcrowding

Especially with the upcoming Olympics, there is a huge problem in major cities with overcrowding on the trains. The mere fact that they have to employee 押し屋 (oshiya, the official word for “train pushers”) can be a bit overwhelming for some people. (Or some consider it a part of the Japan experience).

One way to combat this is to get out and see the lesser-known areas of Japan!  And look to travel at off-peak hours.

Delays

While Japan is one of the most punctual systems in the world, there can be delays. Where else do you get apologies for leaving early? Train delayed? Make sure you get your train delay certificate to give to the boss.

What causes delays? From high winds or rains causing issues, to bears (yes, bears, and other animals getting in the way of the trains), to the “personal accidents” (人身事故, jinshin jiko).

Sadly, that generally means that someone has thrown themselves in front of the train but can also mean that someone has slipped or even that they didn’t “mind the gap” that is sometimes between the train and the platform.

If there are major delays, it is possible that they will set up alternative routes.

Chikan

One sad fact about riding trains in Japan, either in the stations on the escalators or on the trains themselves is the problem of chikan, or perverts. Things like groping and secret cameras (or blatantly obvious cameras). While it’s gotten better, it does help to be vigilant.

Ladies, if you are feeling uncomfortable, in peak hours there are generally women only cars near the front of the car!

Need Help?

If you are ever lost or in doubt while riding trains in Japan, simply find the nearest station attendant and ask for help — unlike in many countries, they’ll actually be happy to assist!

Japanese You May Hear While Riding Trains in Japan

• 上り電車 (のぼりでんしゃ, nobori–densha) uptown train
• 下り電車 (くだりでんしゃ, kudari–densha) downtown train　
• 行き (ゆき, yuki) headed to　
• 方面 (ほうめん, houmen) direction　
• 始発 (しはつ, shihatsu) first train of the day
• 終電 (しゅうでん, shuuden) last train of the day
• 終点(しゅうてん, shuuten) last stop　
• 各駅停車 (かくえきていしゃ, kakueki teisha), Train that stops at every station
• まもなく、一番線に東京方面行きがまいります。 危ないですから黄色い線までお下がりください (Mamonaku ichiban sen ni, Tokyo yuki ga mairimasu. Abunai desu kara kiiroi sen made osagari kudasai)
• 出口は 左/右 側です (Deguchi wa hidari/migi gawa desu) Exit on the left/right side
• ドアが閉まります (Doa ga shimarimasu ) Doors closing
• ドアが開きます（Doa ga hirakimasu) Doors opening
• 電車がまいります(Densha ga mairimasu) or 電車がきます (Densha ga kimasu)

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