I’ve got an ICCOCA, the Osaka equivalent.
You can buy shinkansen tickets at smaller stations as well, but these kiosks tend to require cash. No lines though.
This indeed. We were in Japan for 3 weeks in May/June and after we had checked out the train connections we had planned for our trip, we checked out how much the same trip would’ve cost us had we taken the JR pass instead.
The JR pass for one week was more or less the same as all our train trips together over three weeks. JR pass for three weeks would’ve been about 2x the money we spent on trains (mostly Shinkansen) over three weeks. I have no idea how much you need to travel to make JR pass a feasible option, but it’s definitely a lot! Like taking a Shinkansen every day.
Conversely, when we were in Japan for three weeks in 2018, JR pass was a considerably cheaper option than paying for all the train trips separately.
Thanks all. It sounds like the pass is not worth it and we will do single trip tickets. We both have i phones so that will make the Suica card easy.
In terms of train tickets, if you know the days you want to travel, are these the sort of thing you would book and reserve well in advance or no? We like to have as much of the “sure things” checked off our list in advance as possible and we know the days we will need train travel based on our itinerary and hotel stays.
If you know your destinations and travel dates, you might as well book the trains. (And you definitely SHOULD if traveling during peak seasons.) You can book shinkansen 3-month in advance. If you book it via their official app (or, I presume, their website), you can change it at any time before departure or cancel it for a refund (but with a cancellation fee).
You can also make advance reservations on some regional expresses, like the “Romancecar” between Tokyo and Mt. Fuji, and seasonal express services (like some trains to Nara during cherry blossoms).
As to Japan Rail Pass, the big price hike – of 65% or more, across the board – happened in late 2023. For example, a 7-day economy-class (“ordinary car”) pass went from 29,650-yen to 50,000-yen. The increase was accompanied by some added benefits, like coverage for some of the faster shinkansen trains (the pass previously covered only the slowest shinkansens), which are nice but not enough to make up for the increase.
A one-way shinkansen ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka costs about 14,000-yen. Free rides on JR’s regional and local services (also covered by the pass) can add up, but probably not enough to tip the scale. (Non-JR railroads and subways, which you’d often need to use, aren’t covered by Japan Rail Pass.)
There are other region or railroad-specific passes but most of them offer only modest savings and come with lots of rules.
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In May/June we just walked to the train station and bought tickets for the next train. Didn’t buy anything in advance.
The only time this didn’t work was in Nagoya when we were going to Osaka (with a local train, not Shinkansen). The next two departures were sold out, so we had to wait for 2½ hours in Nagoya until the next train that had free seats. Wasn’t a big problem as we didn’t have much on our schedule that day.
Well, also the express train from Nikko to Tokyo was also sold out, but the local trains were free with our Nikko pass, so that wasn’t a problem either. The train trip was longer with the local train compared to the express train, but since we would’ve had to wait for much longer for the next express train, we were nevertheless sooner in Tokyo with the local trains compared to the wait + express train.
So if your train trip is schedule-critical, you might want to book beforehand (although normally it’s enough to go to the train station the day before and buy the tickets from the ticket machine), but otherwise I wouldn’t worry too much. Usually there are trains going everywhere every 20 to 60 minutes - if one train is full, the next one is right around the corner.
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I got confused between the options on buying tickets. If you don’t have mobile tickets, you have to pick up your tickets at a machine. If it don’t work, you have to wait on a line (which could be long) at the ticket office. Be sure to bring the credit card you used to book the tickets.
Just finding the office in Kyoto station was a challenge. To the extent possible, buy your tickets at a site that supports a QR code entry (from your phone).
SmartEx works for routes like Tokyo-Kyoto.
If you have a mobile Suica card, that allows more routes through different sites. But I screwed it up and had to pickup paper tickets on those routes.
I buy my Shinkansen tickets at kiosks at smaller stations. No line. The disadvantage is that you have to use cash.
Generally you can get tickets only a short time before travel. The big exception are times like cherry blossum season, Golden Week, and the Obon and New Years holidays when everyone in Japan is traveling.
If you’ve never used the Shinkansen before, I’d recommend getting to the station, especially Tokyo station, an hour ahead of time. Easy to get confused and lost if you don’t know your way around. It’s a small city down there. Remember, there’s more than one Shinkansen line. Get to the correct one. For the Tokaido line to Kyoto/Osaka, if you have reserved seats, the Shinagawa station is more manageable, but if non reserved seats, better chance of getting a seat at Tokyo station.
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Purchasing Shinkansen tickets with the SmartEx app is clunkier than it should be but works well enough. Actually using your tickets is flawless, same as using your digital Suica on local trains.
One other tidbit of info I’ll throw out here is the availability of the shinkansen “S work” seats (usually in car 7) that permit phone calls etc while working. Some of the seats in that carriage are split into two which gives a little extra room (seats are the same size but there is a small area of “storage space” beside each). Something to keep in mind when travelling for work - I believe they are cheaper than the green cars, but are a small premium over the regular seats.
Also, if you have booked and paid for your tickets via the Smart Ex app, there are “will call” machines nearby that allow you to skip the ticket machine lines - something I’ve found handy when in a hurry.
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We had a hell of a time with the SmartEx app, it took several tries. Our concierge offerred to do it but at a huge premium, so we ended up trying over and over until it worked. I could never get it to work so my wife ended up purchasing. Once it went though it was seamless, and we were able to book the last seats in the train car that had the reserved large luggage area right behind the seat from Tokyo to Kyoto. We did it about 2 days before, but this was mid-September.
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Another question. We have a free day in Osaka and are between the two following choices. Day trip to Himeji Castle or it just so happens that there is a big sumo tournament in Osaka during March and we can try to get tickets. My concern with choosing the sumo tournament is it might be something we enjoy for an hour or two but then what? We won’t be able to do both in the same day so I would be forgoing Himeji Castle unless we decided to steal a day from Kyoto to see the castle. Thoughts?
I would steal a day from Kyoto. Himeji is a must-see. But sumo tournaments don’t happen that often.
I think 3 days in Kyoto is enough (1 day for Arashiyama (leave before noon; just do it early); 1 day in Higashiyama/Kiyomizudera (even more urgent to leave before noon otherwise unbearably crowded); 1 free day doing whatever – spend an evening doing Fushimi Inari after doing Arashiyama or Higashiyama because the crowds are thinner in the evenings).
I spent a week in Kyoto and loved it and didn’t feel it was too long. (Last year and 2023).
But if you don’t like crowds, it might be not for you. Nonetheless , there are many uncrowded gems (mentioned above).
And I thought the main Higashiysma area was the least interesting , even without the crowds. Most shops very touristy. And while my wife loved the Imari Shrine , I found it meh.
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I’ve been to many castles throughout Japan and Himeji just didn’t do it for me (guess I overhyped it too much in my head).
Have you thought about a day trip to Kobe? Very underrated and so very close to Osaka/Kyoto.
The Sumo Wrestling event sounds fun though and would definitely be a unique experience.
Heading back to Osaka and Kansai later this afternoon.
How about Nara?
Love Nara in 22. But I heard it was completely jammed in Nov 25.
I’d say it’s great but go very early. I would have returned but just too many things to do.
It may be too much for one day but, I think you can do both Himeji Castle and sumo tournament in one Osaka day:
- I don’t know anything about sumo but it looks like, on a tournament day, the “main event” starts at around 3:45 pm (and ends a little after 6 pm).
- Shinkansen from Osaka to Himeji is just over 30 minutes. So, including the time it take to go from your hotel to Osaka shinkansen station (Shin-Osaka), wait for the next shinkansen, and walk from Himeji shinkansen station to the castle (about 20 minutes, less if you take a taxi). So let’s say 2 hours from your hotel to the castle.
- Spend 2 hours touring the castle.
- Then 2 hours to go directly from the castle to the sumo tournament (at EDION Arena Osaka, less than 25 minutes on the subway (no transfers needed) from Shin-Osaka – DO NOT take a taxi because it’d likely take longer).
That’s six hours door-to-door. So, if you leave your hotel before 9 am, you can get to the sumo tournament with 45 minutes in reserve. And you can shave some of the Osaka-Himeji travel time by arriving at shinkansen stations just in time for your trains, and also by taking a taxi from Himeji shinkansen station to the castle.
Again, it’d be a busy day, but I think doable.
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Thanks all. We actually already have a day trip to Nara factored into the schedule so that’s why I am hesitant to steal another day from Kyoto. Kobe looks cool and is certainly in consideration but there is just only so much we can do and this is our first trip to Japan and I know won’t be our last.
I really like the idea of trying to stretch the day and see Himeji and then get back in time to catch a little sumo. As noted above, I probably don’t need to see more than an hour or two of sumo to get a feel for the experience and the best matches are later in the day and we are early birds and have no problem being up and out of the hotel by 7/8 AM so I think that is a strong possibility.
Appreciate all the input!!
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Personally I would prioritize the sumo. It might be your only opportunity to experience a tournament, which is something you can’t see like that anywhere else in the world. While castles are impressive and beautiful, there are many elements that are alike, and they have architectural elements in common with temples and palaces that I am sure you will already be seeing. Not that Himeji is redundant, it just isn’t uniuqe. Sumo isn’t like anything else.
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That’s awesome and yeah, hopefully you’ll get more opportunities to explore Japan in the future.
Currently on my 14th trip over there.
The itinerary includes returns to Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Osaka, Tokyo, Saitama, Hakodate, and Sapporo.
New places include Yufuin, Beppu, Kitakyushu (which was nice), Shirakawa-go, Takayama, Mishima, Hirosaki, Lake Toya, and Otaru.
I’ll hit 50 cities and areas traveled throughout Japan by the end of this trip.