Lonely PlanetJul 15
Taking the train in Japan - all you need to know
Find your way around Japan by train with this guide to the rail network, with info on tickets and JR Passes, routes and services, and on-board facilities.
24 things in this story
- ShinkansenPlacebullet train, fastest way to travel across Japan
- Limited ExpressPlacetrains with limited stops, run between cities and rural areas
- Joyful TrainsPlacespecial tourist trains operated on weekends/holidays
- Koshino Shu’KuraPlacesake-themed Joyful Train with tastings
- JR Kyushu A TrainPlacejazz-themed Joyful Train
- JR SL GunmaPlaceJoyful Train pulled by a vintage steam engine
- Japan Rail PassPlacevalid across the JR network, good for first trip
- Hokuriku Arch PassPlaceuseful for traveling between Tokyo and Osaka
- IC cardPlaceprepaid contactless cards for public transit
- Suica cardPlaceJR East's prepaid card
- YamatoPlaceluggage shipping service
- JR HokkaidoPlaceoffers Okhotsk/Taisetsu train
- Okhotsk/TaisetsuPlacetrain from Sapporo/Asahikawa to Abashiri
- JR ShikokuPlaceoffers Shiokaze train
- ShiokazeRestauranttrain from Okayama to Matsuyama
- Great Seto BridgeSightcrossed by the Shiokaze train
- KyūshūNeighborhoodarea with local lines, particularly around Nagasaki
- NagasakiSightarea with local train lines
- Senmo LinePlaceruns through Kushiro marshlands
- Hida trainPlace
- Inaho trainPlace
- Elsewhere
- Tokyo StationSightTokyo, Japantransfer point for Shinkansen to Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka
- ICOCA cardPlaceOsaka, Japanprepaid card from the Osaka region
- Pasmo cardPlaceTokyo, Japanprepaid card from Tokyo