How to find Japan train schedules and prices
Tabata Station, Tokyo
© Tyler zhang, Unsplash
In Japan, it can sometimes be difficult to find the best way to reach your destination. Get to know Japanese trains schedule and how much train tickets cost here !
The Japanese railway network is the best way to travel, especially with a Japan Rail Pass or pre-ordered train tickets, to your key destinations. Here are some details about timetables and fees to plan your trip accordingly ! 🚅
Japan Train Schedule ⏱️
You have different choices to check the schedule of a train.
Smartphone Apps
Since Hyperdia does not exist anymore, these are the 3 applications/websites that we recommend when searching your journey.
Jorudan – Japan Transit Planner
With Jorudan, you can enter your route and sort the results by price, by time and by number of transfers. There is also an option to choose whether you want to take a Nozomi, Hikari or Local train, since the cost will variate between these trains.
The application allows more possibilities than the website, like choosing the kind of ticket or pass you are using.
Japan Travel by Navitime
Navitime offers a variety of customized options, such as means of transportation or the type of ticket/pass you are using, to check the itineraries that match your pass, and even add a stop-over if you wish to.
The only technical difficulty is that if you're looking for a particular place (a coffee shop, a library…), you will most likely not find it. Only sightseeing spots or stations are available.
Google Maps
You probably know Google Maps, and the Japanese one is pretty precise, so you will have no issue finding the route to a specific place. They even update when there are delays. However, there is no feature to know if your journey is JR Pass-friendly or covered by other types of train passes.
Routes by Navitime
© Lucie G, Japan Experience
Select your Pass when searching for an itinerary with Navitime
© Lucie G, Japan Experience
Routes by Google Maps
© Lucie G, Japan Experience
In the station
You can find the schedules of the train with timetable panels, as in the pictures below, on the track or in the entrance of the station.
Official website of railway companies
A lot of Japanese railway companies have websites in English, where you can find timetables, status information, route maps and even station maps. For example, all the JR companies (JR East, JR Kyushu…) have a website.
Printed timetables pamphlet
Sometimes, it’s more comforting to have a paper version of the information that you require. You can find printed timetable pamphlets in some stations, near the information point or ticket machines.
Printed timetables of Kusatsu Station from JR
© 芳蘭 徐芳蘭, wikimedias
More Tips :
- On our website, you can find the running times of Shinkansen trains (they are the same every day) on the ticket page of every route. Each type of Shinkansen runs multiple times an hour, so you'll have no trouble finding a ticket at the time you want.
- Some areas don’t have a lot of trains every day, whereas places like Osaka or Tokyo have trains every 3 minutes. Don’t be surprised if some trains only run every two hours in Hokkaido’s countryside !
- You’ll find different types of trains (local - stopping at each station, rapid - stopping at fewer stations, express - stopping at major stations only). Each variant runs approximately every 15 minutes: this means that even though a train comes every three to five minutes, it might not stop at your station. Find out more about this here : From Limited Express to Local Train.
- Except for night trains, the service stops around midnight and restart around 5 AM. In big cities, there are a lot of emergency accommodations at low prices for the ones who didn’t make it to the last train, like capsule hotels.
Japan Trains Cost 💵
Trains are the most common way to travel in Japan because the network is very developed, even in the countryside. However, even though it’s by far the most trouble-free option, taking the train is not always the cheapest one. There will often be different companies operating the same trip, with one faster (and more expensive) than the other. The difference might not be that much in time or money, so make sure to check which itinerary is the best to take for your journey.
When you buy a train ticket in Japan, you usually pay two separate fares :
- Base fare : this is the fixed price of the ticket on the line you're riding. The cost depends on the distance you cover.
- Extra fare - seating options, express train : This depends on your specific options on the line. Express trains are more expensive, and so is the type of seat you choose :
Unreserved Seat: in Japan there are unreserved cars (usually the first three cars) for non-reserved seats, this means you can sit wherever you want in the car. These tickets are the cheapest and if you have a Japan Rail Pass, you can even board the train without reserving a seat.
JR ticket from Sapporo to Higashi-Muroran for a reserved seat
© Sui-setz, wikimedias
Reserved Seat : in that case, you will have a designated seat. You can make a reservation for these seats in advance at any ticket office. It is free with a Japan Rail Pass.
Green Car Seat : these seats are the equivalent of first class seats. There, you can recline your seat, enjoy the footrest and a larger space for you and your luggage as well as magazines for the trip.
