February 28 2025 / Travel Writing /

Japan Trip Planning Q&A – Transportation

This is from the Japan Trip Planning Q&A series for monthly and annual subscribers to my newsletter, Letters from Japan. If you would like to subscribe to members-only posts, here is the link.

Good afternoon,

The reason I’m visiting your inbox for a second time this month, soon after the February edition of Letters from Japan – Snow Falling on Cedars, is to share the first part of the Japan Trip Planning Q&A Series, focusing on (mainly train) transportation.

This series, first mentioned in the February letter and exclusive to monthly and annual subscribers, aims to provide practical tips for Japan trip planning, which, honestly—even for me as a resident—still feels overwhelming, all in a Q&A format.

My intention is to keep the posts in this series relatively short and precise, covering as much as I can in ten questions—without adding to the already taxing process of planning a trip to Japan. The next post in the series, coming next week, will focus on booking accommodation.

It’s difficult to cover every possible question, including any new ones that might come up after reading the answers below. So, I’ve focused on the most obvious and likely the most relevant ones. But as always, if anything is unclear, feel free to email me, use the chat option on Substack, or leave a comment below. I might not have all the answers right away, but I’ll certainly look them up for you.

The most crucial question in Japan trip planning—the to be or not to be of the process—is whether to buy the once very popular and now a little infamous Japan Rail Pass. So, let’s start there.

#1 Is the Japan Rail Pass worth it?

Until October 2023, the answer to this question was a straightforward yes, as a one-week pass cost only slightly more than a round-trip Shinkansen ticket between Tokyo and Kyoto. However, with a 70% price increase pushing the cost of a one-week ordinary car pass to ¥50,000, the nationwide Japan Rail Pass—covering the entire Shinkansen network and all other lines operated by Japan Rail Group companies (more on that below in Question #8)—is now rarely worth it for one- or two-week itineraries unless you have a fairly hectic schedule, moving to a new city every one or two days.

Recently, a friend planning a month-long trip to Japan, including long train journeys from Aomori down to Nagasaki, found that the cost of a three-week pass was equivalent to buying individual tickets for their entire journey, which covered seven different cities. They still went for the pass, but more for convenience and flexibility rather than cost savings. Another friend who did two weeks of city hopping between Tokyo (starting and end point of the trip) and Hiroshima, covering all the usual suspects along the way, chose not to purchase the pass and instead relied on individual Shinkansen tickets and low-cost airfares.

If your itinerary is set, you can use this extremely helpful tool from the always-reliable Japan Guide website to determine whether the nationwide rail pass makes sense for your trip: Japan Rail Pass Calculator.

Additional info: Shinkansen has different categories of cars: Gran (not available on every train), Green, and Ordinary. Despite the name, Green cars aren’t a more environmentally friendly option—they’re simply a slightly more luxurious version of Ordinary cars. They cost extra, have two seats per row instead of three, and feature softer lighting. A ride in a Green car typically costs an additional ¥5,000 or more. Since I’m a little too particular about lighting, I opt for Green car seats when I can get an advance purchase discount that reduces the price gap with Ordinary seats (for discounts, see Question 3). There’s also Gran Class, the first-class option on some Shinkansen trains. Not every train offers this class, but those that do provide leather seats, more spacious seating, and attentive service from the crew. A ride in Gran Class requires an additional payment of ¥20,000 or more.

#2 Are there regional train passes?

Yes, every region has its own pass—often multiple options—and some have become even better deals since the nationwide price increase in October 2023. There are around forty passes in total, all covered on this regularly updated page: Japan Rail Passes.

One of the most popular options is the five-day JR East Tohoku Pass, which is available to both visitors and residents of Japan who hold a foreign passport. The pass costs ¥30,000 and offers unlimited travel for five consecutive days between Tokyo and Tohoku (they will also be launching a ten-day version in May 2025 for ¥48,000).

It’s a fantastic deal. I’ve personally used the pass twice, and while some remote destinations require a bus transfer, the pass still makes sense in most scenarios—especially when you consider the cost of a one-way Shinkansen ticket from Tokyo to Aomori, the northernmost city in Tohoku, which is ¥17,900.

#3 Are there any other discounted train ticket options besides rail passes?

Yes. If you book in advance and don’t get discouraged by the clunky interface of some booking sites (hello, Eki-Net), you can secure Book Early discounts of up to 50% on individual Shinkansen and limited express tickets.

This past November, I traveled from Aomori City to Tokyo with a 30% discount, bringing the fare down from ¥18,000 to ¥13,000 by purchasing my ticket two weeks in advance. While the 50% discount seems harder to find for Shinkansen rides, I once managed to get it for a limited express train in Hokkaido, traveling between Asahikawa and Wakkanai.