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. SM Wong says:
    April 7, 2015 at 3:26 am

    Hi,

    I’ll be arriving at KIX on 16 May around 9 pm (2 adults). How to get to hotel (planning to stay around Namba/Minami area) via train, bus?

    On 20 May we will be going to Kyoto (preferably in the afternoon) for 2 days. If taking the bullet train, where can I buy tickets? Do I have to purchase in advance? What station will I be departing from Osaka? Also the station to arrive in Kyoto?

    On 22 May, planning to take bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo (shinagawa). Kindly advise on the train schedule and the best way to purchase the various single trip tickets. Thank you

  2. samual says:
    March 31, 2015 at 10:43 am

    hi takeshi /JP Rail
    thanks for reply , and one more think is our group of 16 person can we request to discount for the ticket and how we inquire .

    • Takeshi / JPRail says:
      March 31, 2015 at 12:58 pm

      Hi Samual,

      There is group discount. But you have to apply 14 days in advance at the station. I don’t think you can. Even if you can apply by 14 days prior to departure date, there are lots of conditions. It’s too many things to explain here.

      Otherwise contact your local travel agent. Japanese travel agent is better to handle. The following link show you JR pass dealers. I think those dealers or agent may be able to handle it.
      http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/purchase.html#step_01

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

  3. samuel says:
    March 29, 2015 at 10:05 am

    hi takeshi ,

    we travel from kyoto to kanazawa and overnight , then in the morning take a shinkansen to toyama .

    can i buy a single ticket from kyoto to toyama and stopover and stay 1 night in kanazawa ?

    i check hyperdia link that , if i buy separately is more expensive .

    thank you for your advise

  4. melly says:
    March 22, 2015 at 1:14 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    Need your recommendation for my next visit with following itinerary:

    – 28 March – Arrived in Narita Tokyo then depart to Osaka
    – 4 nights stays in Osaka, include daytrip to Himeji and Kobe
    – 4 nights stays in Kyoto, no plan for daytrip but will visit Arashiyama
    – 5 April – depart to Tokyo
    Plan to stay for 7 nights in Tokyo and include daytrip to Chureito Pagoda.

    Still not sure whether 14 days JR Pass is a good bargain.

    Option A
    JR Pass (14 days) + Suica (used for Tokyo) + Kyoto City Bus All-day Pass

    Option B
    Single Fare Ticket (to Osaka from Tokyo & to Tokyo from Kyoto) + Kansai Area Pass 4 days +
    Suica (used for Tokyo) + Kyoto City Bus All-day Pass.

    What would be the best option for passes?
    Any help would be appreciated.
    Your website is a must read for Japan tourist..so many detailed information. Its very helpful for planning my itinerary.

    thanks

    • Takeshi / JPRail says:
      March 22, 2015 at 1:26 am

      Hi Melly,

      Option B is much better deal. Round trip fare between Tokyo and Osaka by Shinkansen is still cheaper than JR Pass 7 days. So 14 days pass doesn’t make sense.

      I don’t think you need 4 days Kansai Area Pass as long as you stay in Osaka other than Himeji and Kobe. I think one day is enough to get Himeji. You can combine Kobe with Himeji too if you want. Osaka subway pass is enough to visit anywhere in Osaka. Even if you go to Kobe only, single fare is fine.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

  5. elysa says:
    March 21, 2015 at 6:59 am

    Hello Takeshi,

    Our itinerary is Tokyo – Kyoto – Osaka – Tokyo. Would it make sense for us to buy 2 one way passes?
    One way pass from Tokyo to Osaka with a 2 day stop in Kyoto. Then return with a direct one way pass from Osaka to Tokyo?

    Thank you in advance,
    Elysa

  6. Sandra says:
    March 13, 2015 at 4:41 am

    Takeshi,
    You discuss the Tokyo to Osaka one way fare. Does the one way fare from Narita to Shin-Osaka have the same validity and stopover rules? We arrive at Narita Airport and want to go to Shin-Osaka with a 2-night stopover in Nagoya.
    After six nights in Shin-Osaka we will go to Yamanashi Prefecture, Fujiyoshida for one night. The next day we go back to Narita. Do you have any ticketing suggestions for this leg of the trip?
    Thank you.

  7. Dorothy says:
    February 24, 2015 at 8:10 am

    Hi. Iwant to travel from Fukuoka to Kagoshima on the bullet train in May. Can you tell me the approximate cost? Thanks

  8. Janene says:
    February 11, 2015 at 5:32 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    We will be travelling to Japan on the 12th of March.
    Fly into New Chitose and will be in Grand Hirafu for 2 nights, 3 nights in Sapporo.
    Fly to Osaka, off to Kyoto for 3 nights, back to Osaka for 3 nights and then Tokyo for 3 nights. Fly out from Narita. There will be one day trip from either Kyoto or Osaka to Hiroshima and possibly a trip to Kobe as well.
    What would be our best option for passes? Any help would be appreciated.

    Thanks
    Janene

  9. Alan says:
    January 9, 2015 at 11:52 pm

    Thanks for the reply. I did use seishun 18 ticket to travel from aomori to hokkaido last summer on the exception on limited express. Here are a few questions. (I consider myself a travel geek that i like to get from point A to point B using the least among of money, and I typically do flying as i have millions of frequent flyer miles.) However, the concept of one way ticket on JRis great (same as 24 hour connection rule for international flights that i have taken advanage of regularly.)

    First, I want to know the JR pricing by base fare, is there a published table on te price according to distance. I once did Ueno to yokohama, and JR prices is 550 yen. However, Ueno to Shinagawa then another ticket on JR to yokohama ends up cheaper. some sugested to me that it could be because of competiton from other rail company on the route shingawa to yokohama, but I want to know for sure. or is it because of the way the distance involved (breaking up the jouney at shinagawa ends up both sectors near the maximum distance travel on the given price whereas, the direct diatance from ueno to yokohama is just above the previous band.

    second, i was checking wakkanai to kagaoshima, hyperdia returns varios route (via bullet train which i wont use for sure) the base fare is a function of the distance travel. so. when i buy a one way ticket, do i need to specify the route that i intend to take? you mention that the stopover can not backtrack. for travel long distance like this, there are plenty of sideway train i can take, would that be allowed? is there an advanced guide on stopover? would it be bounded by the base fare that i pay?

    obviously, i have been to wakkanai and went to as far south as nagasaki, so, knowing the fine details on the rail ticket is essential as going from A to B is not thr main purpose for me to do this, (i can just redeem an airticket using miles). If i were to do this (or some variation, my goal would try to pick up the remaining prefectures that i have yet to visit) knowing the exact rules are key to build a trip as complicate as this.

    Thank you, your site is great as i used it a lot last year when i plan my seishun 18 trip last summer. (i didnt leave any comment back then.)

    • Takeshi / JPRail says:
      January 10, 2015 at 12:39 am

      Hi Alan,

      I recommend you to read the following site. It explains all JR fare rules.
      http://www.k4.dion.ne.jp/~desktopt/rule.htm

      There are all information that you want to know. But it is very very complicated. I think I’m a railway buff. But I don’t understand all fare rules yet.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

      • Alan says:
        January 10, 2015 at 1:01 am

        Thanks for the link. I will give it a try and ask more questions if needed.

        • Alan says:
          January 10, 2015 at 1:14 am

          Hello, the fare table given in the link that u provide is broken, is there any where else I can find it.
          I think it answers my question regarding breaking up the journey in shinagawa from ueno to yokohama is cheaper, it is because thete is an urban discount on yamamoto line. but i want to check the fare table to confirm my calculation.

          suppose i want to go to Ueno to yokohama via shinagawa, is it possible to buy 2 tickets at ueno to get the discount without getting of the train or gate at shinagawa? it would be a near trick to know if it is possible.

          • Takeshi / JPRail says:
            January 10, 2015 at 12:45 pm

            Hi Alan,

            I have never seen other websites that shows fare table in English. Actually I have never see it on website even in Japanese. It is very complicated and it usually give us as database line Hyperdia. I think it’s not demanded for most of travellers and most of them cannot understand because it’s too complicated. Even JR official websites do not provide it in Japanese.

            As you mentioned, if you buy ticket Ueno-Shinagata and Shinagawa-Yokohama, it’s cheaper than Ueno-Yokohama. Because JR East apply special fare for Shinagawa-Yokohama because of competition with Keihin Kyuko. You have to exit at Shinagaawa if you want to get cheaper option.

            Cheers,

            Takeshi / JP Rail

  10. Alan says:
    January 9, 2015 at 9:42 am

    if i were to do wakkanai to kagoshima via a one way ticket without paying the limited express fee, what are my options? it is great to learn JR has layover idea like airfare and i am thinking to do something crazy from north to south via one ticket. how to determine of the routing is direct?

    • Takeshi / JPRail says:
      January 9, 2015 at 1:03 pm

      Hi Alan,

      I don’t know how many routes can be taken. Some rail buffs in Japan have tried to make the longest distance ticket and they’ve done.
      At this moment, the shortest way is the following:

      Wakkanai – Sapporo – Otaru – Oshamanbe – Goryokaku – Kikonai – (*Seikan tunnel) – Kanita – Aomori – Akita – Niitsu – Kanazawa – Osaka – Hiroshima – Kokura – Miyazaki – Kagoshima

      When you go through Seikan tunnel, there is no local train. But you can take limited express train non reserved seat for Kikonai – Kanita.
      And after March 14, Hokuriku Shinkansen will start to run. You can’t go through Kanazawa because conventional line move to third sector, non JR company between Naoetsu and Kanazawa.

      So this is so complicated. I think there are more than million routes available.
      You can find many routes by Hyperdia.
      https://jprail.com/travel-informations/basic-informations/timetable-and-reservation/hyperdia-perfect-guide-train-timetable-and-route-search-engine.html

      When you search at Hyperdia, divide several part of the trip. Because it is too long to find it by hyperdia if you input Wakkanai and Kagoshma-chuo.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

1…45678…42
Copied title and URL