RAIL PASSES
There are several JR passes available for travel by train within Japan, East Japan or Hokkaido. Long-distance journey will save your money and time to buy tickets. When you purchase or use a pass for foreigners, you must carry your passport at the ticket office or on the train.
Japan Rail Pass
The most useful and flexible rail pass in Japan for foreign tourists, pass holders unlimited travel on almost JR trains and local JR buses. Usually no need to pay the reservation-seat fares. More info www.japanrailpass.net.
| DURATION | GREEN | ORDINARY |
|---|---|---|
| 7-day | ¥39,600 | ¥29,650 |
| 14-day | ¥64,120 | ¥47,250 |
| 21-day | ¥83,390 | ¥60,450 |
Hokkaido Rail Pass
Valid on all trains (except the Hokkaido Shinkansen) and local buses within JR Hokkaido. More info www2.jrhokkaido.co.jp.
| DURATION | ORDINARY |
|---|---|
| 3-day | ¥17,400 |
| Flexible 4-day | ¥23,480 |
| 5-day | ¥23,480 |
| 7-day | ¥25,710 |
Seishun 18 Kippu
青春18きっぷ / ¥12,050
The most popular seasonal rail pass with Japanese tourists, Seishun 18 is 5 flexible days of unlimited travel on local and rapid trains. It can be shared up to 5 people.
The non-reserved seats of the limited express trains between between Shin-Yubari and Shintoku on the JR Sekisho Line are not need supplement, as well as Aomori and Shin-Aomori on the JR Ou Line.
Additional tickets are required for the following trains and seats:
- Hokkaido Shinkansen between Oku-Tsugaru-Imabetsu and Kikonai, and the South Hokkaido Railway between Kikonai and Goryokaku by the Hokkaido Shinkansen Seishun 18 Kippu option ticket (北海道新幹線青春18きっぷオフション券: ¥2490 / sells at the ticket windows)
- Reserved-seats ticket (shitei-seki-ken: 指定席券)
- Non-reserved Green Car ticket (普通列車グリーン券)
| SEASON | SALES | VALID |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 春 | 20 Feb – 31 Mar | 1 Mar – 10 Apr |
| Summer 夏 | 1 Jul – 31 Aug | 20 Jul – 10 Sep |
| Winter 冬 | 1 Dec – 31 Dec | 10 Dec – 10 Jan |
Hokkaido & East Japan (Higashi-Nihon) Pass
北海道&東日本パス / Adult ¥11,330 / Child ¥5560
This seasonal pass is valid on 7 consecutive days of unlimited travel on local and rapid trains within JR Hokkaido and JR East Japan (plus third-sector railways between Aomori and Morioka etc.).
The non-reserved seats of the limited express trains between Shin-Yubari and Shintoku on the JR Sekisho Line are not need supplement, as well as Aomori and Shin-Aomori on the JR Ou Line.
Additional tickets are required for the following trains and seats:
- Hokkaido Shinkansen between Shin-Aomori and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto (only the lowest non-reserved ticket: 立席特急券 / Risseki Tokkyu-ken)
- Reserved-seats ticket (shitei-seki-ken: 指定席券)
- Non-reserved Green Car ticket (普通列車グリーン券)
| SEASON | SALES | VALID |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 春 | 20 Feb – 16 Apr | 1 Mar – 22 Apr |
| Summer 夏 | 20 Jun – 24 Sep | 1 Jul – 30 Sep |
| Winter 冬 | 1 Dec – 4 Jan | 10 Dec – 10 Jan |
BUY RAIL TICKETS
Distances & Fares
Ordinary tickets (普通乗車券: futsu josha-ken) for journeys up to 100km are valid for 1-day and can’t stopovers. One-way ordinary tickets over 101km (¥2420) are valid for 2-day (or more) and can freely stopovers. IC cards are available for use in Sapporo Area.
Children’s fares are the age of 12 and under (half of the adult fares – round down more than 10 yen).
A supplement is payable on the reserved-seats, Green Car (first class including Gran Class), shinkansen and limited express trains.
Ticket Offices & Seat Reservation
Long-distance tickets and rail passes are selling at the midori-no-madoguchi (ticket windows) in the JR stations. Tickets are also available at the travel agencies such as JTB. Most ticket windows accept credit cards.
Tickets can be purchased begin one month before departure date. Train terminals offer reservation ticket machines (shitei-seki kenbaiki).
On-line booking options are not bad idea, but basically you need to receive tickets at the station ticket window before boarding.
On the Train
When you catch a train from unstaffed station, take a numbered ticket (整理券: seiri-ken) or ask for train staff. Get off the single operator (ワンマン: one-man) train at the unstaffed station, pay the fare with your numbered ticket (or show your pass) to the driver. There is a change machine at the front of the train that accepts ¥1000 notes.
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