Lonely PlanetJul 15, 2026
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
- ICOCA cardPlaceprepaid card from the Osaka region
- Elsewhere
- ShinkansenPlaceJapanbullet train, fastest way to travel across Japan
- Tokyo StationSightTokyo, Japantransfer point for Shinkansen to Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka
- Limited ExpressPlaceJapantrains with limited stops, run between cities and rural areas
- Joyful TrainsPlaceJapanspecial tourist trains operated on weekends/holidays
- Koshino Shu’KuraPlaceJapansake-themed Joyful Train with tastings
- JR Kyushu A TrainPlaceJapanjazz-themed Joyful Train
- JR SL GunmaPlaceJapanJoyful Train pulled by a vintage steam engine
- Japan Rail PassPlaceJapanvalid across the JR network, good for first trip
- Hokuriku Arch PassPlaceJapanuseful for traveling between Tokyo and Osaka
- IC cardPlaceJapanprepaid contactless cards for public transit
- Pasmo cardPlaceTokyo, Japanprepaid card from Tokyo
- Suica cardPlaceJapanJR East's prepaid card
- YamatoPlaceJapanluggage shipping service
- JR HokkaidoPlaceJapanoffers Okhotsk/Taisetsu train
- Okhotsk/TaisetsuPlaceJapantrain from Sapporo/Asahikawa to Abashiri
- JR ShikokuPlaceJapanoffers Shiokaze train
- ShiokazeRestaurantJapantrain from Okayama to Matsuyama
- Great Seto BridgeSightJapancrossed by the Shiokaze train
- KyūshūNeighborhoodJapanarea with local lines, particularly around Nagasaki
- NagasakiSightJapanarea with local train lines
- Senmo LinePlaceJapanruns through Kushiro marshlands
- Hida trainPlaceJapan
- Inaho trainPlaceJapan