Train

The kind of train[JR.Subway...]｜ How to buy tickets/How to go through a wicket/ Fare systems｜ Reservations/Timetable｜ For Passsengers with children｜ Links｜

Types of train (JR, subways, etc.)

JR｜ The other train｜

How to buy tickets/How to go through a wicket/Fare systems

Places for buying tickets

Train tickets for destinations in Tokyo and its suburbs can be bought at ticket machines installed near wickets of each station. Tickets for a one-way fare of over 1,620 yen or expensive tickets such as reserved-seat and limited express tickets are sold at "Ticket Offices (Midori no Madoguchi)" and "View Plazas" (JR East, credit cards accepted), which also sell tickets for domestic flights, ships, long-distance buses and art museums.

How to buy tickets I

"Ticket machines"

Those who do not understand Japanese can easily buy tickets with touch-screen ticket machines, which have an English display option. While most of the machines accept 1,000-yen notes, some machines also accept bills in larger denominations, including 5,000- and 10,000-yen notes, so purchasers do not need to change notes in advance. No coins smaller than 10 yen are accepted at ticket machines.

(1) Ticket machines are installed opposite or beside wickets. First, confirm the fare to your destination on the fare table or the route chart on the walls above the machines.

(2) Put the stated fare into the machine and press the appropriate button. If using a touch-screen machine, you can first press the fare to your destination and then insert the money. (You can put up to six coins at the same time into a touch-screen machine, but you should insert bills one by one. As some machines do not accept wrinkled bills, please make sure that you have bills in good condition)

(3) After receiving your ticket and change, head for the wickets.

How to buy tickets II

"Ticket Office" or "View Plaza"

When you buy tickets for the Shinkansen bullet trains or long-distance buses, first go to an open counter for service. If you are buying tickets for sleeping cars, a limited express or reserved-seats, you will need to fill out forms in advance. If you don't know how to buy tickets, you can tell the staff your destination and which route you will take to go there. They will help you from there.

(1) Most train stations in Tokyo use automatic ticket gates. When you have a ticket with has a black or brown magnetic surface on its back, you insert the ticket into the slit on the right hand side of the wicket you want to go through. After you pass through the ticket gate, your ticket will come out of the slit on the other side of the wicket with a small hole in it. Pull out and keep the ticket. Since you need to use the ticket again when you reach your destination, you should take care not to bend or soil it.

(2) When you arrive at your destination and leave the station, insert the ticket into the ticket gate. The ticket gate will keep the ticket. If insert the ticket into a wicket outside the area covered by the fare on your ticket, the gate will give warning and prevent you from going through it. In that case, the ticket will be returned through the forward slit. Pay the difference at the fare-adjustment machines beside the wickets and go through a ticket gate by inserting the fare-adjusted ticket. You can also go to the manned wicket beside automatic ticket gates to pay the difference.

Fare systems

There are several kinds of tickets, in addition to ordinary one-way tickets, including limited express tickets and sleeping-car tickets. However, very few private railways or subway lines in Tokyo offer limited express or sleeping car tickets (one exception is the Odakyu Romance Car, which requires a limited express ticket). Though there are many railway services in Tokyo, including private railways, Toei subways and the Tokyo Metros, the following are explanations of the ticket fare system for JR lines, which are used most often.

（Limited express tickets）
A limited express ticket is necessary to take a limited express train operated by JR, including the Shinkansen bullet trains. Passenger tickets are purchased separately from limited express tickets. Limited express ticket prices change seasonally: 200 yen is added to the regular charges during the busy periods at year-end and the summer and spring travel seasons, while fares are 200 yen less during inactive periods. Shinkansen bullet trains have three types of seats: unreserved seats, reserved seats and Green Car seats (an explanation is given below). Unreserved seats require a passenger ticket and a limited express ticket. Reserved seats require you to pay a seat designation charge (510 yen) in addition to a passenger ticket and a limited express ticket. During busy seasons, it is common for cars of unreserved seats to be standing room only.

（Green Car Ticket）
Seats in two cars of some trains are wider and more comfortable than those in regular cars. These are called Green Cars. Since all Green Car seats are reserved, you must buy a Green Car Ticket in addition to a passenger ticket before getting on the train. Green Car Tickets can be bought at "Ticket Offices" as well as a few other places.

（Coupon tickets）
Coupon tickets are useful when you go to the same place many times or take many train rides that require the same fare, since you can get 11 tickets for the price of 10. You can buy coupon tickets at ticket machines and "Ticket Offices."

Reservations/Timetable

How to make reservations

Reservations can be made for reserved-seat tickets. When you make ticket reservations, you can purchase passenger tickets at the same time. You can make reservations for tickets up to one month before the day you plan to travel. To make a ticket reservation, you will need to fill out and submit a form (available at "Ticket Offices" and "View Plazas") that including the date you plan to travel, the name and number of desired train and your destination. Reservations are not required to buy a ticket at a ticket machine because ticket machines sell only unreserved seats. If changes are made in your itinerary, please obtain a refund at "Ticket Office" as soon as possible, as tickets for trains that have already departed will not be reimbursed.

Timetable

Since trains in Tokyo, including the JR Yamanote Line, the JR Keihintohoku Line, the JR Chuo Line, the various subways and private railways in the 23 wards, run frequently, you will rarely have to wait more than five or ten minutes for a train. Waits are longer in the early morning and late at night when the number of trains decreases. If you would like a timetable for a specific station, you can get it from a station attendant at the ticket gates of the station. Nationwide timetables are available for sale at bookstores.

For Passsengers with children

Children's fares (fares for children age 11 or under) for passenger tickets, limited express tickets and reserved-seat tickets are about half those for adults. However, Green Car Tickets do not offer a children's discount. Children's tickets can be bought in the same way as tickets for adults, either at the "Ticket Office" or at ticket machines, the latter requiring you to press the "child's button." when buying a child's ticket.
Children aged one to five are regarded as "little children" and those under one year of age as "infants." Both of them can board the train for free in most cases. Exceptions are as follows:

When there are more than two little children for each paying passenger (A child's ticket will be necessary from the third little child.)
When a little child or an infant uses a reserved seat, a Green Car Seat or a sleeping car seat for himself/herself. If a parent puts the little child or the infant on his/her lap, there is no need to pay a fare.
When a little child travels alone