if you travel in Japan it's highly
likely that you'll end up using the
country's extensive railway network
known for being reliable punctual and
convenient train travel is an integral
part of life in Japan despite being 61st
globally in land mass and 11th in
population size Japan is number one
worldwide for the number of passengers
carried by rail transport each year
since the first railway opened in 1870
to connecting Tokyo and Yokohama train
lines have stretched across all four of
the main islands and now cover the
entire country every major metropolitan
area has an intricate grid of local
lines high-speed trains like the
Shinkansen make long-distance travel
convenient and even most populated rural
areas can be reached by rail however
there are some aspects of train travel
in Japan that can be confusing or
intimidating like buying the right
tickets finding the correct platform and
practicing proper train a ticket and
others and in this video we're going to
cover all these topics and more so that
by the end you're fully up to speed
about how to use trains in Japan buying
and using train tickets
of course riding trains cost money the
base fare of any train ticket is
generally determined by the distance
traveled there are three main ways to
pay for this base fare ticket prepaid IC
cards rail passes and of course good old
paper tickets prepaid IC cards the most
convenient method is to use a prepaid IC
card which removes the need to buy
tickets and allows you to travel more
efficiently creating an IC card is an
easy process that can be done in English
at most ticket machines to use an IC
card all you have to do is touch it to
the sensors of the ticket gates at your
start and end stations and assuming
there's enough money on the card that's
it the system automatically calculates
the fare and deduct it from the value of
the card if you don't have enough money
left on the card to cover the trip you
can charge it at a nearby fare
adjustment machine it's also important
to point out that although IC cards can
be used in almost all train stations in
major cities IC coverage is not yet
nationwide so be careful when planning
your trip that IC cards are accepted at
both ends of the route
Braille passes next in the order of
convenience our rail passes there are
dozens of different rail passes which
cover different regions of Japan and are
offered by different companies some of
these passes can be an amazing value
while others may not pay off as easy it
really depends on your trip
we should mention up front that almost
all the most useful passes can only be
purchased and used by temporary visitors
so-sorry residents but this excludes you
the most popular of all the passes is
called the Japan Rail Pass which covers
any train operated by the jr companies
since roughly 70% of all trains
nationwide and 100% of bullet trains are
run by jr the Japan Rail Pass can be an
extremely valuable option for visitors
travelling long distances on the
Shinkansen to use the pass simply show
it to a stationmaster at the ticket
gates and you'll be let through to the
platform's Paper Tickets
lastly you can always buy a paper ticket
to do this find your destination on the
map near the ticket machines which will
tell you how much the journey will cost
at the ticket machine select the number
of people the correct fare amount and
insert at least this amount of money the
tickets along with any change will be
dispensed from here insert the ticket
into the gate collect it when it appears
on the other side and proceed to the
platform's it's very important to keep
the ticket for the duration of the ride
and your end stops simply put the ticket
into the gate and walk through this time
it will not reappear if you bought the
wrong ticket or got off at the wrong
stop you can always use the nearby fare
adjustment machine to correct the
mistake and that's it congratulations
now you know everything there is to know
about buying and using train tickets in
Japan happy travels but wait what about
riding faster trains like the Shinkansen
or making seat reservations and what
even is a green car anyway needless to
say there is an iceberg worth of train
information beyond the tip we just
covered although it's beyond the scope
of this video to cover everything here's
just a bit more that may help you when
buying tickets for faster trains on top
of the base fare ticket whose price is
calculated on distance additional fees
might be charged depending on a variety
of factors one of the most important
being the Train category of the train
you intend to ride you see trains are
divided into multiple categories which
correspond to how quickly they'll get
you to your destination
the slower categories are local trains
also called Kikuchi or futsuu in
Japanese which stop at every station
rapid trains or CAI soku which skip some
stations but are still fairly slow and
express trains or queue cold which skip
additional stations these three are
fully covered by the base fare ticket we
talked about earlier and other
categories you'll commonly use when
traveling shorter distances or staying
within a city above these are limited
Express trains or toke tube which travel
over longer distances and stop only at
major stations many companies like jr.
require an additional fee to be paid for
riding limited Express trains and
finally the fastest category is the
super Express or Shinkansen which always
costs a supplemental fare it's also
worth noting that the Japan Rail Pass
and many other passes cover the
Supplemental fares for many trains in
these last two categories other things
which impact the cost are reserved
versus unreserved seating available on
most long-distance trains reserved seats
are slightly more expensive than
unreserved ones and seat reservations
are typically made at the same time as
purchasing tickets also an additional
fee is required if you'd like to ride in
the green car which is like the business
class of train travel in Japan and
available on most long-distance trains
we've also made a separate video all
about riding the Shinkansen specifically
now that we know how to buy and use
tickets let's go over the basics of
actually riding the trains once through
the ticket gate you'll need to find the
correct platform at small countryside
stations there may only be one platform
but at larger stations it can be
confusing near the ticket gate there are
electronic sign boards displaying which
trains are departing from each track
their time of departure and their
category often these displays rotate
between Japanese and English also if you
don't know any Japanese if you politely
tell a stationmaster the name of the
station you want to reach they can often
direct you to the right platform once on
the platform there are a few things to
keep in mind often trains on either side
of the platform will be running at the
same time but going in opposite
directions you can tell which direction
each side is heading by train line signs
that have the end stop written on them
keep in mind that only local trains stop
at all stations but rapid Express and
limited Express skip stations
beware of boarding a train that is going
too
skip your stop often signage and maps on
a platform can provide this information
when waiting to board the terrain join
one of the lines in front of where the
train doors will open if you are the
first in line
you can tell where the doors will open
based on markings near the yellow line
as the train stops in front of you move
to the side so that alighting passengers
have a clear path to exit and then
follow the line as it moves into the car
as a word of caution if you're traveling
during rush hours in a downtown metro
area be prepared that trains may be
extremely crowded with people literally
packed in and pressed against each other
once on the train it's important to know
when you've arrived at your stop in
urban areas announcements about upcoming
stops are often made in Japanese and
English and there are usually electronic
displays on the doors also in most cars
you can usually find train line maps and
as you stop at each station the station
name signs will say which station is
next in each direction at your stop
leave the train and exit the station
through the appropriate ticket gate
lastly here are six brief points of
etiquette that would be useful to keep
in mind and help you have a smooth
journey when riding trains in Japan
point one often popular train stations
in Japan can be congested with large
numbers of people it's especially
important to be aware and considerate of
the people around you and also not to
block passageways where people are
trying to walk either with yourself or
with your luggage point two especially
when the train is crowded if you're
wearing a backpack either put it up on
the luggage storage area carry it in
front of you or put it close to your
feet on the floor where it won't bother
others around you point 3 and train cars
talking on the phone is considered rude
because it may disturb other passengers
point 4 for similar reasons if you're
going to talk with those around you it's
polite to talk quietly point 5 eating
and drinking are commonly done on
long-distance trains but they are
considered inappropriate on urban and
suburban trains 0.6 priority seats are
meant for passengers who need them
of course there's much more we could say
about train travel in Japan but for now
hopefully you feel confident buying and
using tickets and riding the train for
more information or to watch another
video click the links on the screen now
or head over to Japan guide calm your
comprehensive up-to-date travel guide
firsthand from Japan thanks for watching
be sure to subscribe and click the
notification bell for more videos about
Japan happy travels
[Music]