Tickets 'Seishun 18 Kippu' With this ticket, you can travel by local trains freely. Of course, stopover on the way is allowed at any time. A set of '18 kippu' costs 11,500 yen. Seishun 18 kippu is a sheet of ticket which can be used either five consecutive or unconsective days. So you can travel as far as you like with only 2,300 yen per day. 'One day' here is counted from 0 a.m. to midnight of next day. Besides, it is possible to share them with your friend. For example, five people use a set of 18 kippu for a day, or two people five days using two sets. This ticket cannot be separated, so you always have to use the same train with your friend when sharing, though. Note that this is a seasonal ticket valid only during the vacation seasons. Usually for sale from 20 February to 31 March, 1 July to 31 August, 1 December to 10 January; valid from 1 March to 10 April, 20 July to 10 September, 10 December to 20 January respectively. They are subject to change, so check the latest information (I will provide latest info here if possible). The fare of normal ticket of local trains (one way trip) are as follows: Tokyo - Atami (104km, less than two hours) 1,890 yen, Tokyo - Kyoto (513km, about nine hours) 7,980 yen, Tokyo - Hakata (Fukuoka) (1,175km, about 20 hours) 13,440 yen. As I show later, it is possible to go from Tokyo to Hakata by only one Seishun 18 kippu, just 2,300 yen. So you can see the advantage of this ticket. The meaning of 'Seishun 18 kippu' is 'Youth 18 (years old) ticket' and main customers of this ticket are young students. But there is no restriction rule about user's age, and actually this ticket is popular among all travelers. Sometimes more than half the passengers in a local train are travelling with this ticket during the season! Seishun 18 kippu is available at all 'Midori no Madoguchi' (Ticket counters) in JR stations, and other travel agancies in Japan. 18 kippu is not sold outside Japan. (Example of correct and incorrect usage of Seishun 18 kippu) Person A: 1 August, 3 Aug., 6 Aug., 7 Aug., 9 Aug.: Good Person A: 1 Aug., 3 Aug., Person B: 1 Aug., 3 Aug., 6 Aug : Good if they travel together in 1 Aug. and 3. Aug. Five person in 1 Aug: Good if all of them travel together. Person A: 1 Aug., 3 Aug., 6 Aug., 1 January, 2 Jan.: Not good in different seasons. Normal ticket (Josha ken) Aside from the seasons of Seishun 18 Kippu, it may seem that there is little advantage to travel by local trains because convenient Japan Rail Pass is available to you. Moreover, the fare of Normal ticket is not so different from long distant coach services, which is faster and more comfortable. Still, some overnight local trains mentioned later are cheap and convenient, worth trying. And you may like the feeling of the local train travel itself, not just as a means to move one place to another. If so, Japan is very good place. Local trains run everywhere and cover most cities of this country. Key issues in planning Use the following overnight trains profitably. To move during daytime may be interesting; scenery cannot be enjoyed unless travelling during the day, but it takes a lot of time. The local train service is not always convenient; it varies from region to region. For example, along the Tokaido/Sanyo corridor from Tokyo to Hakata (Fukuoka), train interval is every thirty or sixty minute at most and it is fairly easy to carry out local train travel. But intercity local train services are generally very poor, especially in Hokkaido Island. If you want to extend your journey off Hakodate or Sapporo, it seems too inefficient to use 18 kippu even if it is cheap. Check the frequency map for your convenience. Except following overnight trains, most local trains run fairly short distance. You may have to change trains every one or two hours. Connection between local trains is good in some lines, but poor in the other lines. When traveling by local trains, it is necessary to know the train schedule because you have to change trains many times on the way. But the timetable of local trains in English is not so easily available. It seems all right to travel without a timetable, asking train attendants or other passengers about train schedule. And in Japan, many travelers carry a thick train timetable; if asking them in youth hostel or other places, they will kindly show you the information. Overnight local trains Note that 18 kippu comes into effect after 0 a.m. So you have to buy a normal ticket to the station whose arrival time passes 0 a.m. Moonlight Nagara (Tokyo - Nagoya - Ogaki) Moonlight Nagara Travel Pictures It becomes seasonal train since March 2009 and do not run everyday. Currently it runs during vacation season when seishun 18 kippu is available, but when using this train it requires confirmation. Moonlight Nagara is composed of all reserved cars and passengers have to make reservation prior to travel. This is surely far cheaper way to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka than any other transport during Seishun 18 kippu seasons. Ogaki itself is a small city, but changing the next local train, you can easily extend your journey to western Japan or even Shikoku and Kyusyu Island. Leave Tokyo in midnight, change trains at Ogaki and Maibara, and arrive at Kyoto and Osaka in the next morning before 10 a.m. Moreover, reach Hiroshima in the afternoon and Hakata (Fukuoka) in the night within 3,000 yen! Running the busiest corridor in Japan, this is the most popular overnight local train. This train consists of reserved seats only (although some of the carriages change to non-reserved seats on the way). When 18 kippu is valid, tickets are always sold out as soon as being put on sale in ten o'clock one month prior to the departure. When you travel westbound from Tokyo to Osaka, you should by the ticket to Odawara (1,450 yen) in addition to 18 kippu. When eastbound, date changes in Toyohashi; from Osaka to Anjo is as much as 4,620 yen, so in this case two 18 kippu will be used. In Moonlight Nagara, lights are not put out throughout the night. Especially during holiday seasons when many student groups come, passengers are expected to be talking till 3 or 4 a.m..

Moonlight Echigo (Tokyo - Nigata - Murakami) It becomes seasonal train since March 2009 and do not run everyday. Currently it runs during vacation season when seishun 18 kippu is available, but when using this train it requires confirmation. With this train, you can extend journey farther north along the Japan Sea Coast and south part of Hokkaido Island, reaching Hakodate at night. It is also good to go farther west to Toyama and Kanazawa. This train requires reservation prior to journey. When northbound from Tokyo to Niigata, date changes in Takasaki, 1,890 yen from Tokyo. In the case of southbound, Niitsu (between Niigata and Nagaoka) is the dividing line. In this train lights are put off during midnight, so it is pretty quiet. Traveling during daytime I will show you some major routes here. But, if you are in hurry, traveling a long distance journey by local trains during the day is not very recommended. Tokyo, Central Honshu and Kansai Region Tokaido Line (East Coast Road Line) Tokyo - Atami - Numazu - Shizuoka - Nagoya - Kyoto - Osaka - Kobe Frequency: very good Speed: fast Connection: very good Frequent local services are provided along this line and you will not have to care about timetable. It is the best line for the beginners of local train travel, though its scenery is rather dull. Train comes every ten to twenty minutes. One exception is the section between Ogaki and Maibara (Sekigahara Pass), sometimes you may have to wait for an hour at most. Using this line, you can travel fairly smoothly. It takes about six hours from Tokyo to Nagoya, seven hours to Maibara (the junction to Hokuriku Line), eight and a half hours to Kyoto, nine hours to Osaka. Leaving Tokyo in the morning, you will arrive at Kyoto and Osaka in the evening. Chuo Line (Central Line) Tokyo - Shinjuku - Kofu - Shiojiri - Nagiso - Nakatsugawa - Nagoya Frequency: medium Speed: medium Connection: medium Local trains run every one or two hours so check the timetable carefully. In the section between Tokyo and Kofu, more frequent services are provided. About two and a half hours from Tokyo to Kofu, five hours to Matsumoto, seven hours to Nakatsugawa. And if you go to Nagano by local train, you should take this route. It is about six hours from Tokyo to Nagano. If you do not check the train schedule previously, it may take much more time. Hokuriku Line Maibara - Fukui - Kanazawa - Toyama - Naoetsu - (Niigata) Frequency: medium Speed: medium Connection: medium From Maibara (the junction along Tokaido Line between Nagoya and Kyoto), about two hours to Fukui, four hours to Kanazawa, five and a half hours to Toyama. Leaving Tokyo in the morning, you will reach in these three cities at night. Using overnight 'Moonlight Nagata' is also convenient. Leaving Osaka in the morning, you will arrive at these cities in the afternoon. Western Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku Island Sanyo Line (Osaka -) Kobe - Okayama - Hiroshima - Shimonoseki - (Hakata (Fukuoka)) Frequency: good Speed: fast Connection: good Traveling by local trains along Sanyo Line is relatively easy. Train comes at least every thirty minutes. About three hours from Osaka to Okayama, five and a half hours to Hiroshima, eleven and a half hours to Hakata (Fukuoka). Leaving Tokyo very early in the morning, you will reach Hiroshima at night. Leaving Osaka in the morning, you will get to Hiroshima in the afternoon, Fukuoka at night. Northern Honshu and Hokkaido Tohoku Line (North East Line) Tokyo (Ueno) - Utsunomiya - Fukusima - Sendai - Matsushima - Hiraizumi - Morioka - Aomori Frequency: medium (poorer in the northern part) Speed: medium Connection: not good It takes about five hours from Tokyo to Fukushima, six and a half hours to Sendai, eleven hours to Morioka, fifteen and a half hours to Aomori. Leaving Tokyo in the morning, you will reach Sendai (also, Aizu-Wakamatsu and Yamagata along the branch lines) in the afternoon, Morioka at night. If heading for Aomori or farther Hokkaido from Tokyo, it is better to take the overnight train 'Moonlight Echigo'. If you do not check the train schedule previously, it may take much more time. HOME