Available anytime, regardless of the season. A one-way ordinary ticket for the JR lines over 101km is great for budget travel throughout Japan. It is valid for 2-day (or more) and unlimited stopovers in one direction are available. The JR shinkansen (bullet trains) and the limited express trains are available for extra charge. It is truly a flexible ticket.
Information (JR ordinary ticket over 100km)
● Ticket Name: 乗車券 (じょうしゃけん / Joshaken).
● Age category: Adult – 12+ (except elementary school student); Half-price for children.
● Where to buy: Major JR Stations (Midori-no-madoguchi), reserved ticket vending machines (指定席券売機), Japan’s major travel agencies.
● Stopovers: Unlimited stopovers in one direction are available. No turning back.
● Valid Period: Valid for at least 2 days.
● Student discount: Students of Japan’s educational institutions designated by JR will receive a 20% discount on fares.
Available: No extra charge
● Local and rapid trains on the JR lines = Non-reserved seat
● BRT (bus rapid transit) on the JR lines
● ☆ JR Sekisho Line “Shin-Yubari – Shintoku” = Limited express train (non-reserved seat)
● ☆ JR Ou Line “Shin-Aomori – Aomori” = Limited express train (non-reserved seat), local and rapid trains (reserved seat = vacant seat)
● ☆ JR Miyazaki Airport Line “Miyazaki – Miyazaki Airport” = Limited express train (non-reserved seat)
● ☆ JR Sasebo Line “Haiki – Sasebo” = Limited express train (non-reserved seat)
☆ = If you board from / to outside the designated section by limited express trains, you need to pay the extra charge for the entire boarding section.
Available: Extra charge
● Limited express (including the shinkansen) trains on the JR lines = + limited express ticket (categories: reserved seat / non-reserved seat / reserved green car seat)
● Green car seat of local and rapid trains on the JR lines = + Green car seat ticket (categories: reserved green car seat / non-reserved green car seat)
● Reserved ordinary seat of local and rapid trains on the JR lines = + Reserved ordinary seat ticket
● Liner trains on the JR lines = + Liner car seat ticket
Valid Period
The varied periods for ordinary tickets over 101 km are as follows.
● Until 200km: 2 days
● Until 400km: 3 days
● Until 600km: 4 days
● Until 800km: 5 days
● Until 1000km: 6 days
● Over 1001km: Add 1 day for every 200 km
→ If the validity period expires while you are on the train, you can continue to use it to your destination station as long as you do not get off.
→ Round-trip tickets are valid for twice as long as one-way tickets.
How to buy an ordinary ticket when the boarding section overlaps
As an example, there are two ways to purchase an ordinary ticket for a trip between Tokyo and Sapporo via Hakodate.
(A) Purchase an ordinary ticket between Tokyo and Sapporo (fare ¥14,850; valid for 8 days) and an ordinary ticket between Shin-Hakodate Hokuto and Hakodate (round-trip fare ¥880) separately.
(B) Purchase an ordinary ticket between Tokyo and Hakodate (fare ¥12,100; valid for 6 days) and an ordinary ticket between Hakodate and Sapporo (fare ¥6270; valid for 3 days) separately.
→ If you travel from Tokyo to Sapporo within 8 days, (A) is ¥2640 cheaper than (B). Fares between Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and Hakodate can be purchased or adjusted locally.
Discount
● Round-trip discount: If the one-way ticket is over 601km, the outbound and return fares will be discounted by 10% each.
● Student discount: Students of Japan’s educational institutions designated by JR can receive a 20% discount on one-way fares of over 101km by presenting the “Student Passenger Fare Discount Certificate” issued by the school at the window. In addition, the above round-trip discount can be used in combination (calculated with an additional 2 discount on the round-trip discount fare = 28% discount in total).
