Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [654]
On most shinkansen routes, there are two or three types of service: faster express services stopping at a limited number of stations, and slower local services stopping at more stations. There is no difference in fare, except for the Green Car (1st-class) carriages, which cost slightly more.
There are a limited number of kin’en-sha (nonsmoking carriages); request one when booking or ask on the platform for the kin’en-sha-jiyū-seki (unreserved nonsmoking carriages). Unreserved carriages are available on all trains, but at peak holiday periods they can be very crowded and you may have to stand.
For prices on specific shinkansen routes, see right.
Classes
Most long-distance JR trains, including shinkansen, have regular and Green Car carriages. The seating is slightly more spacious in Green Car carriages, but most people will find the regular carriages perfectly acceptable.
Costs
JR fares are calculated on the basis of futsū-unchin (basic fare), tokkyū-ryōkin (an express surcharge levied only on express services) and shinkansen-ryōkin (a special charge for shinkansen services). The following are some typical fares from Tokyo or Ueno (prices given for shinkansen are the total price of the ticket):
SURCHARGES
Various surcharges may be added to the basic fare. These include reserved seat, Green Car, express service and shinkansen surcharges. You may also have to pay a surcharge for special trains to resort areas or for a seat in an observation car. The express surcharges (but not the shinkansen super-express surcharge) can be paid to the train conductor on board the train.
Some of the fare surcharges are slightly higher (5% to 10%) during peak travel seasons. This applies mainly to reserved seat tickets. High-season dates are 21 March to 5 April, 28 April to 6 May, 21 July to 31 August and 25 December to 10 January.
Further surcharges apply for overnight sleepers, and these vary with the berth type, from approximately ¥9800 for various types of two-tier bunks, and ¥20,000 for a standard or ‘royal’ compartment. Note that there are no sleepers on the shinkansen services as none of these run overnight. Japan Rail Pass users must still pay the sleeper surcharge (for more on the Japan Rail Pass, Click here). Sleeper services mainly operate on trains from Tokyo or Osaka to destinations in Western Honshū and Kyūshū.
The Nozomi super express has higher surcharges than other shinkansen services and cannot be used with a Japan Rail Pass. As a guideline, the Nozomi surcharge for Tokyo–Kyoto is ¥300; for Tokyo–Hakata it’s ¥600 (seat reserve fee).
Passes & Discount Tickets
If you plan to do any extended travel in Japan, a Japan Rail Pass is almost essential. Not only will it save you lots of money, it will also spare you the hassle of buying tickets each time you want to board a train.
In addition to the Japan Rail Pass, there are various discount tickets and special fares available. The most basic is the return fare discount: if you buy a return ticket for a trip that is more than 600km each way, you qualify for a 10% discount on the return leg.
JAPAN RAIL PASS
The Japan Rail Pass is a must for anyone planning to do extensive train travel within Japan. The most important thing to note about the pass is this: the Japan Rail Pass must be purchased outside Japan. It is available to foreign tourists and Japanese overseas residents (but not foreign residents of Japan). The pass lets you use any JR service for seven days for ¥28,300, 14 days for ¥45,100 or 21 days for ¥57,700. Green Car passes are ¥37,800, ¥61,200 and ¥79,600, respectively. The pass cannot be used for the super express Nozomi shinkansen service, but is OK for everything else (including other shinkansen services).
Since a one-way reserved seat Tokyo–Kyoto shinkansen ticket costs ¥13,220, you only have to travel Tokyo–Kyoto–Tokyo to make a seven-day pass come close