Buying Train Tickets in Japan from Canada

Hi there,

Don’t bother with that—you can buy them on the spot when the time comes.

For Osaka to Tokyo, depending on your exact destinations, flying might be a better option—cheaper and more convenient. But in that case, book in advance.

Michel

Hi there, You can buy your tickets directly on-site at the train station—I do this every time, no problem. 😉

Wow! That’s awesome, then. Thanks so much for the quick reply.

Mario

Hi Michel,

That’s great. No problem, then, doing all of this online before departure. It was one of my worries.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Mario

hi there we bought our 4 Shinkansen tickets directly at the station—quick, and most importantly, cheaper than online, at least for us. kyoto - tokyo would’ve cost around 500 € on the internet, but in the end, it was 300 € on-site, so we treated ourselves to a nice dinner that evening with the difference 😉

Great info, Fred. That’s reassuring. I gather you didn’t have any language issues when buying the tickets.

Really looking forward to it! Just these train tickets left to buy. We can handle that at the station. Is there a counter with a human for ticket purchases, or is it only through electronic kiosks?

Thanks again for your reply to my message.

Mario (Québec, Canada)

So far, I only have theoretical knowledge since we're not leaving until May, but have you looked into train passes (JR Pass, Hakone Free Pass, etc.) that can help save money?

For train frequency, if it helps give you an idea, here's what I found: - Tokyo to Hakone (actually Odawara Station): Trains every 10 minutes until 8:30 AM, then at 9:00 AM, then every 20 minutes. Trip duration: 1h30 - Hakone (Odawara Station) to Kyoto: Schedule: First departure at 7:35 AM, arrival at 10:36 AM. Then a train every hour at xx:35 until 4:35 PM. Trip duration: 3h Also direct trains: 10:11 AM → 12:14 PM, 12:07 PM → 2:13 PM, 2:07 PM → 4:13 PM. Trip duration approx. 2h05

I don’t have info for Kyoto-Osaka since we’ll be stopping in Hiroshima.

Thanks, Caussat, for the info.

Yeah, I checked the passes, and they wouldn’t be cost-effective for us. So, I’ll buy them at the station when we arrive in Tokyo. A few people on this forum told me it’s easy to buy tickets on the spot and even cheaper than online. Since it’s my first time in Asia, I’m a bit stressed about not having my train tickets in advance, but from what I’ve seen, the train frequency for the routes we’ll take is great, so that eases the discomfort a bit.

Now, I just need to figure out if I’ll be buying them at an electronic kiosk (hopefully not Japanese-only! 😅) or at a counter with a real person!

Mario (Québec, Canada)

Just like you, it was the frequency of the trains that reassured me. That’s why I mentioned it to you.

no worries, counter with English-speaking staff or self-service kiosk. everything is straightforward. As for the JR Pass, it wasn’t worth it for us. if I remember correctly, it was around 500 € per person, so for 4 of us it wasn’t cost-effective.

Thanks so much, Fred. My stress level just dropped a good notch 😅! I found out that when we’ll be in Japan, it’ll also be the Japanese vacation period in mid-August. So, way more crowds to expect on the trains.

Mario (Québec, Canada)

Bonjour Patrick,

En furetant sur les discussions sur le Japon, je me suis rendu compte que vous y allez régulièrement et fournissez de bons conseils aux voyageurs. Je me permets donc de vous écrire aujourd'hui avec deux questions pour lesquelles je ne suis pas certain de comprendre.

1. Carte eSIM. Je songe prendre un forfait avec Airalo ou encore avec une compagnie québécoise qui se nomme Simeo. Je crois comprendre qu'avec un forfait (quelle que soit la compagnie) il ne devrait pas y avoir de souci. Vous confirmez?

2. Côté paiement. Cash versus carte bancaire (Mastercard et Visa dans mon cas). Je suis habitué à tout payé par carte bancaire, mais je comprends qu'au Japon, ce n'est pas tout le temps possible et qu'avec une carte (IC je crois avec un nom spécifique dont je ne me souviens plus) que l'on peut mettre dans son portefeuille iPhone (Dieu merci, j'ai un iPhone) on peut y ajouter du cash en tout temps via Apple. J'aimerais mieux comprendre ce fonctionnement de carte: à quel endroit se la procurer pour la mettre dans le portefeuille du IPhone et comment procéder pour la recharger.

J'imagine aussi qu'avoir un peu de cash japonais avec nous serait une bonne chose.

Grand merci pour vos précieux conseils.

Mario (Québec, Canada)