For non JR pass travellers. Guide to use JR single ticket, basic rules, validity and stopover

Fare table
2013.07.04
This is not a regular JR ticket but a typical JR train ticket looks like this.

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.

Guide to plan your trip. Fare Calculation
This post explains you the information about the fare calculation of the trains in Japan.
jprail.com
2010.08.29

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.

How to reserve a seat of Japan Railway trains at the station and online
Japanese train seat reservation is a bit tricky. The online reservation is very limited and you have to book it in most cases. This post explains you how to manage the booking.
jprail.com
2009.12.30

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.

Hyperdia perfect guide, train timetable and route search engine
If you want to build your itinerary by yourself, Hyperdia will help you a lot. This site is transportation search engine. You can search the timetables and routes of all trains, flights and airport shuttle bus. But this site is a bit tricky and too many functions and options to you. This guide will help you to find the way to use this site.
jprail.com
2013.11.26
Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.

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.

DistanceValid days
101 – 200 km2 days
201 – 400 km3 days
401 – 600 km4 days
601 – 800 km5 days
801 – 1000 km6 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

  1. Liana says:
    March 20, 2016 at 12:12 am

    Hi Takeshi San,

    This is my first time going to Japan on 6-14 Apr. I find your blog is very useful. Below is my itinerary:
    6 -10 Apr : Tokyo
    10 – 13 Apr : Kyoto (plan to go to Osaka for day trip & back to Kyoto)
    14 Apr : Kansai airport

    Could you kindly advise whether I can buy direct ticket on 10 Apr from Tokyo to Kansai airport and make a stopover in Kyoto for 5 days. Then go to Kansai airport on 14 Apr using the same ticket.

    If can, during a stopover, do I pass through the auto ticket gate and will my tickets be returned or kept by the machine

    Please advise

    Thanks
    Liana

  2. Cory says:
    March 18, 2016 at 5:10 am

    Hi Takeshi!

    Will I be able to use my JR rail pass on Shinkansen bullet train for a roundtrip from Tokyo to Kyoto? Do I have to reserve our seats prior to departure? Or if I don’t have a JR rail pass, what are my other options to get to Kyoto? Because right now i’m still debating if I should get a 7 day rail pass since we are only going to be in Japan for 4 days. We just want to see Tokyo and Kyoto. Hoping for your response.

    Thank you,
    Cory

  3. Clairine says:
    March 17, 2016 at 4:42 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    Thankyou for the information.

    I’d like to ask:
    1. The validity of Odawara-KIX base fare ticket depends only on the distance or the time duration?
    Bcs I follow your itinerary sample start from the Odawara part. The problem is I will stay 4 days in Kyoto and 2 days in Osaka, if I buy my Odawara-KIX base fare ticket, will it be expire if it depends on time duration?
    I saw in Hyperdia that Odawara-KIX is about 530km away.

    I stopover in Kyoto and Osaka.

    Please kindly advise 🙂

    Regards,
    Clairine

  4. Yael says:
    March 15, 2016 at 1:41 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    Thank you for taking the time to respond to all of these inquiries and for providing such helpful information. Am I to understand that round trip ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto on the Shinkansen cannot be purchased in advance online, only at the station?

    Thank you!

    Yael

    • Takeshi / JPRail.com says:
      March 15, 2016 at 6:37 am

      Hi Yael,

      That’s right. Unfortunately you cannot purchase it online. But it’s not hard to book and purchase for Shinkansen ticket. There are lots of trains running.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  5. Barbara says:
    March 11, 2016 at 7:48 pm

    Takeshi-san,

    Konnichiwa. I am getting confused after reading so much information from different sources so I hope you can give me simple advice.

    I will be flying in via Haneda International and plan to take the Keikyu line to Shinagawa. I just need to get to Kyoto from there. I will be stay in Kyoto for 14 days and then I need to go to Tokyo after that.

    If I don’t buy a JR Pass, is it possible to buy a single trip ticket from Shinagawa to Kyoto at Shinagawa station, and on my return, from Kyoto station to Shinagawa or Tokyo station on the day of travel itself? Or would you advise me to buy the tickets online in advance?

    I will be travelling alone with a very big bag, and I’m not so young any more and can only speak and read very simple Japanese.

    Arigatogozaimashita.

  6. Lisa says:
    March 11, 2016 at 7:41 pm

    Hi Takeshi,
    If we travel from Tokyo to Hakone (2 nights) then onwards to Kyoto, can we buy a single JR ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto and use it to stop over in Hakone? Or do you have to buy Tokyo > Hakone and Hakone > Kyoto separately? We will be getting the Hakone free pass for the 2 days there. Thanks for your advice.

  7. maddy says:
    March 10, 2016 at 6:59 am

    ±Hi Takeshi,
    My itineary is
    Haneda to Shinjuku
    4Nights in Shinjuku

    Shinjuku to Hakone
    3Nights in Hakone

    Hakone to Kyoto
    2Nights in Kyoto

    Kyoto to Osaka
    2Nights in Osaka

    Osaka to Kansai Airport

    Please advise.
    Thanks!

  8. Carlos says:
    March 9, 2016 at 6:02 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    We will be in Fukuoka from July 10 to the 17th. We plan to make a trip to osaka and hiroshima. What is the best ticket to purchase?

    Thank you

  9. Jasin says:
    March 5, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    Hi Takeshi

    My family will be going Japan on 3-15 june free and easy . This is our itinerary

    03/06 Arrive Haneda, stay Tokyo
    04/06 Tokyo –> Fujinomiya –> tokyo
    05/06 Tokyo –> Kofu
    06/06 kofu –> Matsumoto
    07/06 Matsumoto –> alpine route –> toyama
    08/06 toyama ( visit kurobe gorge )
    09/06 toyama –> hirayu onsen
    10/06 hirayu onsen
    11/06 hirayu onsen –> tokyo
    12/06 Tokyo –> shimoda
    13/06 shimoda
    14/06 shimoda –> tokyo

    Are you able to advise me what JR pass should i purchased for the above. Since some of the journey will be by bus (at hirayu and izu ), so i think buying a 14 days pass is not suitable, what will you suggest ?

    Thank you

  10. Carmen says:
    February 27, 2016 at 10:28 pm

    Hi Takeshi,
    This is our first trip to Japan. will be going on March 11- March 20. we find your blog is very useful. but we still have some question about it. Here is our itinerary

    March 11 Narita- Shinjuku
    Mar 12 Tokyo
    Mar 13 Tokyo – Hakone
    Mar 14 Hakone – Nagoya
    Mar 15 Nagoya – Kyoto
    Mar 16 Kyoto
    Mar 17 Kyoto – Osaka
    Mar 18 Osaka
    Mar 19 Osaka- Ueno
    Mar 20 Ueno – Narita

    can you please advise
    1. Should we buy the long distance ticket from Shinjuku – Osaka or Shinjuku – Nagoya, then Nagoya – Osaka.
    2. Or should we just buy the JRPass for 7 days?
    3. Do you have any other suggestion?

    Thanks a lot!

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