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Hi we arrive in Tokyo early morning and are planning to head to Kyoto the same day.
We want to book our train tickets for our onward arrival -Has anyone any experience of doing this? Finding the website a bit of a minefield.
We are there over golden week so from reading it sounds like reservations are highly recommended – this is our onward routes
We are going Tokyo > Kyoto > Hiroshima > Miyajima > TokyoYou can buy a JR Rail pass from abroad, but you can’t travel on the fastest trains with it.
You can also purchase individual tickets on the official website here:
https://smart-ex.jp/en/index.phpService is unavailable 11pm-5am Japan time.
However, if you have an IC Card or Suica it’s so much easier to hop on and off as the shinkansen ticket is loaded onto the card. You can only purchase that in Japan.
To be honest, you will need to book everything in advance if you are thinking of getting in anywhere during golden week. Top restaurants, unless you already booked you can forget about it. Kyoto will also be packed and the transport is not the best there. It’s the worst time of the year to go.
There isn’t a jaw dropping difference in time (<30mins) between the Hikari (included in rail pass) and Nozomi (not included), and with your journey you’ll likely save a lot by using the JR rail pass – however you can’t make reservations before you get to Japan.
Best site for train travel is my old friend Mark at: seat61.com/Japan.htm
He gives a number of other sites you could try.
Regarding JR Rail pass – it depends on how long @anirishgirl2022 stays in Japan and if she will go elsewhere other than the above route.
If anything more than 7 days you are looking at cca £300 for two-weeks pass in which case it will be about £60-100 cheaper for individual tickets, especially if bought well in advance.
I got the JR pass the first time I went to Japan, but you need to travel a lot to get value from it. Internal flights in Japan are cheap (especially if you pay with Avios), and if you pay as you go for for short train journeys then you can use the private railway lines, which are sometimes more convenient. (Osaka to Kyoto for example.) The “bullet trains” are mainly 3+2 in economy class, and are not particularly comfortable. The trains from Osaka (Kyoto?) to Hiroshima are 2+2 and more comfortable.
Re “hopping on and off” a Shinkansen, there is usually only one carriage of unreserved seating. Reserving a seat is advisable, and you used to have to do this in person at a JR station. (Not been since 2019, so things might have improved?)
There are always and have always been (well for at least the last 25 years) at minimum three carriages of unreserved seating. The problem is that they get fill up quickly. There is no economy/first class. It’s confusing if you call it that way. Just reserved/unreserved and green class.
With flights you’ll lose a lot of time. Yes they are cheaper, but cash prices have increased and so have Avios. Shinkansen is still advisable. You’ll save at least 3 hours on Tokyo-Kyoto route because you’ll fly into Itami, then need to get to downtown Osaka and then to Kyoto. Flights are really if you want to go directly from Tokyo to Hiroshima, Kyushu, up north to Aomori/Hokkaido or some remote places not served by shinkansen.
This is a hood resource for trains around the world
That site neglects the fact that you can now book directly with JR companies through their Smart Ex website. No need to go through some obscure websites. Plus the pics look like they’re from the 80s… Should be updated really.
This is the equivalent of searching National Rail timetables for Japan, very handy to quickly compare options.
“Timetable Search service Termination notice
As of March 31, 2022, we will no longer offer timetable search.
From now on, we will only offer average time search.
We apologize for any inconvenience, but we will appreciate your continued patronage. ”Ah shite.
Thanks all so if you have unreserved seating do you just turn up early and hope for a seat?
Basically:
– get your JR pass while abroad. It is £180 for 7 days which is good value– when you arrive to Japan you exchange the voucher for the actual pass
– you can then start reserving seats. It is unlimited and free so don’t worry if you then don’t travel (but be mindful of others)
– most Shinkansen you can just board and there will be where to sit
– I would avoid plane for large cities as airports tend to be far
@yonasl Osaka’s Itami is 20 min to Osaka Station/Umeda, Fukuoka Airport to Hakata is also very close to city centre (walkable in 35 min actually if you are so inclined!). Naha Airport too on the monorail
Only Tokyo Haneda and Sapporo are further away, but Haneda is very close to Conrad took under 20 minutes by taxi.
The OP is traveling during the Golden Week, so it’s advisable to book in advance unless they want to travel at unpopular times it will be difficult to find unreserved seating.
@anirishgirl2022 The trains tend to arrive and depart quickly, sometimes a matter of two minutes. Unless it’s the first or final station when it might be longer.
You queue up (even if you are in reserved carriage), but since there are so many trains departing if you arrive early, the queue might be for an earlier train.
Large price increases in the rail pass from Oct 23 according to other blogs
New Pricing October 2023:
Ordinary Car7-day = 50,000 yen (current 29,650/33,610) = 67% increase
14-day = 80,000 yen (current 47,250/52,960) = 69% increase
21-day = 100,000 yen (current 60,450/66,200) = 65% increaseGreen Car
7-day = 70,000 yen (current 39,600/44,810) = 77% increase
14-day = 110,000 yen (current 64,120/72,310) = 72% increase
21-day = 140,000 yen (current 83,390/91,670) = 68% increase
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