I have received many inquiries about Tokyo to Kyoto or Osaka one way trip. I always recommend to use a regular ticket for this one way long distance train ride, such as from Tokyo to Kyoto, from Osaka to Tokyo. Because this one way trip is not enough to get the worth of JR Pass 7-day. I have written the post about the fare calculation before.
But I think this post was not enough to explain the fare rule. JR single ticket rule is very complicated for the tourists from oversea. But you do not need to know everything. If you understand some basic rules, single ticket is more useful and it gives you a trip at more affordable rate.
In this post, I will show you some basic rules of the regular ticket for the long distance train ride and how to use and purchase it.
How to purchase it
Simply you can purchase it at the station. If you make a short distance trip in the city or city to just outside city, you can purchase a ticket at the vending machine.
e.g.
Ueno to Tokyo (inside city)
Tokyo to Yokohama (city to just outside place)
Osaka to Universal City (inside city)
Osaka to Kyoto (city to outside place)
If you make a long distance trip, you still can buy a ticket at the vending machine. But the ticket window may be easier to purchase a long distance ticket for the foreign travelers. Especially if you intend to make a stopover on the way, you have to buy a ticket at the ticket window. Because you have to explain your trip plan.
If you want to take a limited express train, you have to purchase a limited express surcharge ticket too. Even if you want to take a non reserved seat on a limited express train, you have to purchase it. You can purchase both a reserved and a non reserved ticket for a limited express (the Shinkansen as well) at “Midori no Madoguchi”. Midori no Madoguchi is the name of JR reservation ticket window. You can purchase a base fare ticket at Midori no Madoguchi too. Please get the detail about reservation at the post below.
In the case of purchasing both base fare ticket and limited express surcharge ticket, you can purchase it in advance. An express surcharge ticket is on sale one month prior to a departure date.
e.g.
Tokyo to Kyoto travel on Dec 1
You can purchase the tickets after Nov 1.
You also can purchase the tickets at any JR stations if you buy both base fare and limited express surcharge at same time. For example, if you start to travel from Tokyo station, you can purchase it at Narita airport station on the day of arrival.
Base fare ticket can be purchased at any JR stations where station staff is on duty. There are many station without station staffs in remote area. In major cities and major stations, there are station staff. Even if you take a train at the station without station staff, you can purchase it from the conductor in the train.
How to get a fare
You can use Hyperdia to get the fare quite easily.
As you see above capture image of Hyperdia, you can get base fare and seat fare (includes surcharge). In this image, total fare is the following:
Base fare – 9560 yen
Shinkansen Nozomi (Tokyo – Shin-Osaka) – 5740 yen (reserved seat)
Ltd Exp Haruka (Shin-Osaka – Kansai airport) – 820 yen (reserved seat)
Total – 16120 yen
*The above image was captured in 2013. The fare was raised in April l, 2014 because of consumer tax was increased to 8% from 5%. The actual fare is different from the fare in the image above.
The price of Japan Rail Pass 7 days ordinary is 28300 yen. (New price is 29110 yen.) Total single fare is more than 10000 yen cheaper than 7 days pass price. This is the reason why I recommend to use single fare for Tokyo – Osaka one way transfer.
Validity
Please see the above capture image of Hyperdia again. You also can find a distance at Hyperdia. This is a key to use single ticket. Actually long distance ticket can be used in multiple days.
| Distance | Valid days |
|---|---|
| 101 – 200 km | 2 days |
| 201 – 400 km | 3 days |
| 401 – 600 km | 4 days |
| 601 – 800 km | 5 days |
| 801 – 1000 km | 6 days |
- From 1001 km and up, add 1 day every 200 km.
- If you travel more than 101 km but it is in Tokyo or Osaka zone only, ticket valid in one day only.
So in above capture image, distance is 613.4km. This ticket valid in 5 days.
Stopover
You can stopover as many as you want. Of course you cannot go back. Once you start to travel, you have to go forward. You have to care only one thing. When you depart/arrive to travel at the following areas, you cannot stopover in same areas.
- Sapporo
- Sendai
- Tokyo 23 wards
- Tokyo Yamanote line
- Yokohana
- Nagoya
- Kyoto
- Osaka
- Kobe
- Hiroshima
- Kitakyushu
- Fukuoka
These areas are same as city limit. I show you some examples.
1. Above ticket (Tokyo – Kansai Airport)
You can NOT – Stopover at anywhere in Tokyo 23 wards. For example, after you start to travel from Tokyo, you cannot stopover at Shinagawa.
You can – Stopover at Kyoto, Osaka and anywhere outside of Tokyo 23 wards.
By the way, you can start to travel from anywhere in Tokyo 23 wards.
2. Ticket from Narita airport to Osaka
You can NOT – Stopover at anywhere in Osaka city. For example, you cannot stopover at Shin-Osaka. Once you exit at any stations in Osaka city, your ticket will be expired right away.
You can – Stopover at Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya and anywhere outside of Osaka city.
By the way, when you travel through Tokyo downtown core, ticket will be calculated by the shortest route. For example, most typical route from Narita to Osaka via Tokyo, via Tokyo station and Shinagawa station. But if you want to go to Osaka via Akihabara and Shinjuku, you can take this route and stopover.
But in case of using limited express, you have to purchase limited express surcharge ticket for each segments.
ex) Tokyo – Osaka trip, stopover at Nagoya.
You have to purchase two Shinkansen tickets, Tokyo – Nagoya Shinkansen surcharge ticket and Ngoya – Shin-Osaka surcharge ticket.
Sample ideas
Please see above capture image of Hyperdia again. If you use this ticket, you can do the following itinerary.
Day 1 Tokyo – Kyoto (Stopover at Kyoto)
Day 2 Kyoto (no use single ticket)
Day 3 Kyoto – Osaka (Stopover at Osaka)
Day 4 One day trip to Kobe (purchase another single ticket.)
Day 5 Osaka – Kansai airport
When you arrive in Tokyo, you can use other deals, such as Suica & N’ex. And you have 5 days after you finish to see Tokyo. If you add Suica & N’ex one way ticket, total amount is 19620 yen. It is about 9000 yen cheaper than JR Pass 7 days.
I believe this is the perfect solution for Tokyo – Osaka one way travellers.
Comments
Hi Takeshi
I will be travelling to Hokkaido in Nov/Dec 2015. Here is my itinerary:
New Chitose Airport -> Sapporo (stay 1 day)
Sapporo -> Kutchan (stay 2 days)
Kutchan -> Sapporo (stay 2 days)
Sapporo -> New Chitose Airport (final day)
Please advise the type of JR pass/tickets that I should be getting. Thank you.
Cheers
Sophia
Hi Sophia,
There is no deal available. Hokkaido Rail Pass is too expensive. Individual single ticket is the best choice for you.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hi Takeshi
Thank you for the reply.
Can I buy all the single tickets for my itinerary when I reach New Chitose Airport on the 1st day of arrival?
Can I reserve seats for single tickets?
Cheers
Sophia
Hi Sophia,
You can purchase a ticket. But your travel is short distance only. You can purchase a ticket from New Chitose to Sapporo. But you can purchase other ticket just before you take a train. There is a train that has reserved seat between New Chitose and Sapporo only. But reservation is not required. There are lots of non reserved seat too.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Dear Takeshi,
Thanks for this informative blog! It will be our (me, my husband and son) first time to visit Japan and I was initially planning to buy a 7-day pass. After reading this post, it made me think again so I wanted to ask your opinion. We are arriving from Kansai airport and departing from Narita. Our route is as follows: 29 Dec – 1 Jan Osaka — 2 Jan Kyoto – Nara – Kyoto — 3 Jan Kyoto — 4-9 Jan Tokyo (with Hakone and Karuizawa). Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Kristine
Hi Kristine,
You can use 7 days JR Pass but you have to make a trip to Karuizawa within 7 days coverage period. If you cannot make it, JR pass will not be paid off. Round trip to Karuizawa is required to pay off 7 days pass.
You can use Hakone Free Pass for trip to Hakone. It’s much better than JR Pass.
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/freepass/hakone/
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Dear Takeshi-san
Thank you for your informative website and help so far! Just to make sure I understand correctly, to go from Tokyo to Kyoto to Osaka to Kansai Airport, I should just purchase a single ticket at Tokyo station on the day that I depart for Kyoto to Kansai Airport directly and I can make the stopovers at Kyoto, Osaka within 5 days? Or should I purchase a separate ticket at the different stations? Is it the same?
When I purchase the ticket at Tokyo Station, do I need to tell the staff that I am making stopovers at Kyoto and Osaka and when?
Can I choose the timings for the stopovers or does it have to be fixed when I purchase the ticket at Tokyo Station?
Appreciate your clarifications, thank you so much!
Kacey
Hi Kacey san,
You can use one long trip ticket for Tokyo to Kansai airport. It’s cheaper than purchasing a ticket one by one. You can make a stopover as many as you want. You don’t need to tell when you purchase it.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Dear Takeshi,
Can I kindly seek your advice on the following iternary and if hte JR 7 day pass is preferred:
Day 1 – Reach Narita Airport. Transfer to Tokyo
Day 2 to 4 – Tokyo
Day 5 – transfer to Kyoto
Day 6 – Kyoto. Possible day trip to Osaka.
Day 7 – Leave kyoto to Tokyo
Day 8 – Tokyo to Narita airport
Would the JR pass be feasible? My only concern is that I may miss a day at either end, since it lasts for 7 days and I am there for 8. The impact is I may have to fork out extra money for trnasfer to Narita Aiport.
Could you kindly advise? Thank You!
Hi Vinz,
I recommend you to use JR pass for the last 7 days of your trip. Because there are some deals from Narita to downtown Tokyo but not many for to the airport. Please see the link below to find the deal from Narita to Tokyo.
https://jprail.com/sample-itineraries/airport-access/narita/the-list-of-deals-for-access-to-downtown-tokyo-from-narita-airport.html
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Dear Takeshi san,
I have been reading your posts. Thanks for the clarifications. I understand now.
Regards
Elaine
No problem, Elaine san.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Dear Takeshi san,
Can you explain why I need to pay ¥10,210 in a single ticket from New Chitose Airport to Hakodate with a pass at Sapporo? While single tickets to New Chitose Airport to Sapporo and from Sapporo to Hakodate costs ¥1,070 and ¥8,830 respectively?
I will be staying in Sapporo for 2 nights before going to Hakodate so I thought of buying a single fare ticket from New Chitose Airport on arrival to Hakodate with an intended stopover at Sapporo.
Can you explain which is more economical for me?
Thank you for your attention.
Regards
Elaine
Hi Elaine san,
If you use one single ticket, you cannot go back on same route. If you make a trip of New Chitose – Sapporo – Hakodate, you will take same route between Sapporo and Minami-Chitose. Minami-Chitose is one station away from New Chitose. So you cannot use one single fare ticket. You have to have New Chitose – Sapporo and Sapporo – Hakodate.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hello and thank you for providing this helpful service.
I am trying to plan my trip for late Oct. early Nov. and plan to take the train from Tokyo to Kyoto, then do some short trips to Kochi,
Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima. Is the JR pass the best choice for this kind of travel or is it better to buy individual tickets. What is the least crowded day to travel?
Thank you,
Martha
Hi Martha,
You can use JR pass. If you use the pass from Tokyo to Kyoto and round trip to Hiroshima, total cost is almost same as 7 days pass. if you take train to Kochi and get back to Osaka or Tokyo, 14 days pass can be used too.
It’s not a peak season. Weekday is slower than weekend
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hi Takeshi,
thank you for your guide. At first I also want to buy JR 7 Days Pass but I found out that it is quite expensive since I would only visit 2 cities in Japan, which is Osaka and Kyoto. On 17th I will arrive at Kansai and go directly to Kyoto, hanging around Kyoto for 3 days then go to Osaka for another 3 Days. I stay near Inadera station.
I have reserved the Icoca & Haruka package for 3030 Yen include 1 ticket from Kansai to Kyoto and 1500 e-money.
While from Kyoto to Osaka, i planned to take the JR line.
Do you think that it would still better form me to get the JR pass, or it would be cheaper to take another pass?
thank you in advance for your kind advice.
Hi Emilia,
JR Pass does not fit your plan as you think.
I have sample itinerary that is very similar to your plan. I believe it will help you to think about the deals for your trip.
https://jprail.com/sample-itineraries/7days/visit-kyoto-osaka-nara-and-kobe-for-5-to-7-days-sample-itinerary.html
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Takeshi-san,
This is perfect!!! It really fit my itinerary plan. I have booked one way ICOCA, hopefully I can change it to round trip as per your advise in this trip.
Thank you and thanks for all the valuable information you provide here. God Bless..!!
No problem, Emilia.
Enjoy your trip!
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
Hi Takeshi,
Thank you so much for your post. It’s very informative. However, I’m a little bit confused about JR’s rules, and was hoping you could help clarify some things for me.
My boyfriend and I are planning a trip to Japan in October. Originally we wanted to get the JR 7 day pass, but after reading your post about the stopovers, I was wondering if there is a better option.
This is our itinerary:
Tokyo (3 days) -> Yokohama (day trip) -> Kyoto (3 days) -> Osaka (2 days) -> Hiroshima (2 days) -> Tokyo (2 days) -> Hakone (1 day) -> Tokyo (2 days)
We were considering getting the 7 day rail pass for the Yokohama to Hiroshima days, but we also would rather get a Shinkansen Nozomi ticket for the trip between Hiroshima back to Tokyo (since it’s the only direct way back). When we calculated the cost of individual trips between the cities (without the pass), it was more expensive.
Could you please explain how the stop-overs would work in our case? Are we able to get off the train in between Tokyo and Hiroshima (at Yokohama, Osaka, and Kyoto) just by purchasing one ticket (e.g. nozomi)? Are there additional charges when we get back on the train after a stopover? Which one would you recommend?
Thank you so much!
Karin
Hi Karin,
As you think, Nozomi is only train that take you to Tokyo directly. But even if you use single ticket with stopover rule, total fare is way more expensive than JR Pass 7 days.
Even if you have round trip between Tokyo and Hiroshima without any stopovers, the cost is about 36000 yen. (base fare with long distance 10% discount + Shinkansen surcharge) But if you make a stopover at Kyoto and Osaka, you have to pay Shinkansen surcharge for each segments. The cost is higher than 36000 yen.
Are you okay to pay 10000 yen more to get just one direct transfer? I think 7 days JR pass is much more attractive deal for you even though you have to transfer at either Okayama or Shin-Osaka.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com
hi takeshi
I am coming to osaka on 17/10 for two days
then to kyoto for 4 days then for nagoya for one day then to takayama for one day then back to nagoya to take to hakone for two days then go to tokyo for three days then leaving by narita airport on 30/10
i was planning to buy jr passes but after i read thr questions and ur answers i dont know if it is the best choice for me
i would like ur opinion and many thanks in advance
Hi Hisham,
Total fare from Kansai airport to Takayama via Kyoto and Nagoya, and from Takayama to Tokyo via Odawara (nearest JR station to Hakone) is very closed to 7 days JR pass price. So if you can complete from Kansai airport to Tokyo via Kyoto, Nagoya, Takayama and Hakone in 7 days, 7 days pass will work. 14 days pass is obviously too expensive your trip.
If you want to have flexibility of JR pass, try to get Odawara in 7 days from Kansai. Otherwise single fare is much cheaper than 7 days pass.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JPRail.com