Book your trains in Japan

Travellers can book online trains in Japan and receive the electronic tickets by email, ready for boarding.

We facilitate advance ticket booking for Shinkansen and Limited Express trains operated by JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu connecting Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Himeji, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, as well as Shinkansen and Limited Express trains operated by JR East and JR West connecting Nikko, Niigata, Fuji, Matsumoto, Nagano and Kanazawa.

We also facilitate the purchase of different types of rail pass with JR East and JR West to travel on Shinkansen trains, Limited Express trains, as well as Express, Rapid or Local trains in Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku and Kyushu regions.

Contents

Train companies in Japan

- Shinkansen high-speed rail
- Limited Express conventional rail

Getting around Japan by train

- Travel with ticket
- Travel with rail pass

Destinations

- Kanto region

- Train routes to Tokyo
- Train routes to Nikko

- Chubu region

- Train routes to Fuji
- Train routes to Shizuoka
- Train routes to Nagoya
- Train routes to Matsumoto
- Train routes to Nagano
- Train routes to Kanazawa
- Train routes to Niigata

- Kansai region

- Train routes to Kyoto
- Train routes to Osaka
- Train routes to Kobe
- Train routes to Himeji

- Chugoku region

- Train routes to Okayama
- Train routes to Hiroshima
- Train routes to Yamaguchi

- Kyushu island

- Train routes to Fukuoka
- Train routes to Kumamoto
- Train routes to Kagoshima

Getting to the airport by train
How to book your train tickets in Japan?

- How to use the train e-ticket?

Train companies in Japan

Rail services in Japan are operated by Japan Railways (JR) as well as private railway companies.

Japan Railways (JR) consists of several independent companies that carry on the operations of the former national railway operator JNR. In the present, JR Group is divided in six companies dedicated to provide passenger train services in different regions of Japan: JR Hokkaido, JR East, JR Central, JR West, JR Shikoku and JR Kyushu.

To achieve a complete coverage of the railway transportation across the nation, Japan Railways (JR) operates several types of intercity trains, including:

- Shinkansen high-speed rail
- Limited Express conventional rail

Shinkansen high-speed rail

Shinkansen is the high-speed railway service operated by Japan Railways with trains running at a maximum speed of 240–320 km/h.

The Tokaido line was launched in 1964 connecting Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Since then, the network has expanded to interconnect most of the major cities in the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido and Kyushu. The current Shinkansen network consists of 2,764 kilometers of dedicated high-speed tracks that use standard-gauge and are separated from the conventional lines that use different gauge.

The main Shinkansen lines are the following:

- Tokaido Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka, operated by JR Central
- Sanyo Shinkansen between Osaka and Fukuoka, operated by JR West
- Kyushu Shinkansen between Fukuoka and Kagoshima, operated by JR Kyushu
- Hokkaido Shinkansen between Aomori and Hokuto, operated by JR Hokkaido
- Tohoku Shinkansen between Tokyo and Aomori, operated by JR East
- Akita Shinkansen between Tokyo and Akita, operated by JR East
- Yamagata Shinkansen between Tokyo and Shinjo, operated by JR East
- Joetsu Shinkansen between Tokyo and Niigata, operated by JR East
- Hokuriku Shinkansen between Tokyo and Kanazawa, jointly operated by JR East and JR West

The Tokaido and Sanyo lines are interconnected forming a continuous corridor that links Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, and is used by through services operated by JR Central and JR West. The Sanyo and Kyushu lines are interconnected forming a continuous corridor that links Osaka, Fukuoka and Kagoshima, and is used by through services operated by JR West and JR Kyushu.

The Tohoku line and the Tokaido line meet in Tokyo but the tracks are not physically interconnected, hence there are no through services between the East and Central regions and passengers are required to interchange trains at Tokyo Station.

The Hokuriku line operates over the Joetsu and Tohoku lines tracks between Tokyo and Takasaki, then it separates and continues on its own dedicated tracks to Nagano and Kanazawa.

Shinkansen trains are designated by a code name that identifies the class of service followed by one to three numerals. The fast services stop only at key stations, the semi-fast services stop at the major stations, and the local services stop at all stations:

- In the Tokaido and Sanyo lines, NOZOMI is the fast service, HIKARI is the semi-fast service and KODAMA is the local service.
- In the Sanyo and Kyushu lines, MIZUHO is the fast service, SAKURA is the semi-fast service and TSUBAME is the local service.
- In the Hokkaido line, HAYABUSA is the fast service and HAYATE is the semi-fast service.
- In the Tohoku line, HAYABUSA is the fast service, YAMABIKO is the semi-fast service and NASUNO is the local service.
- In the Akita line, KOMACHI is the fast service between Tokyo and Morioka, as well as the local service between Morioka and Akita.
- In the Yamagata line, TSUBASA is the semi-fast service between Tokyo and Fukushima, as well as the local service between Fukushima and Shinjo.
- In the Joetsu line, TOKI is the semi-fast service and TANIGAWA is the local service.
- In the Hokuriku line, KAGAYAKI is the fast service, HAKUTAKA and ASAMA are the two semi-fast services, and TSURUGI is the local service.

Shinkansen trains are powered by electric multiple units and can carry up to 16 cars per train, arranged in Green Car with business class seats that require advanced reservation and Ordinary Car with standard class seats distributed in Reserved and Non-reserved.

In total, the Shinkansen trains offer three passengers classes: Green Car Seat, Reserved Seat and Non-reserved Seat.

Travellers with Reserved Seat tickets are required to take their numbered seat in the Green Cars or the Ordinary Cars. Travellers with Non-reserved Seat tickets are allowed to take any seat available only in the Ordinary cars designated as Non-reserved. On these cars, seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. When all the seats are full, passengers must travel standing on the corridor or the coach entrance without blocking the access to other passengers.

Limited Express conventional rail

JR Group operates many intercity and regional lines with trains running on conventional rail at a maximum speed of 130-160 km/h.

Given the limited coverage of the Shinkansen network, passengers may need to use conventional trains to reach certain regions of Japan or travel directly between two cities.

Conventional rail services are classified depending on the stop pattern:

- Limited Express is the fastest service
- Express is a semi-fast service stopping at major stations
- Rapid is a fast service stopping at most stations
- Local is a slow service stopping at all stations

When travelling on conventional rail, the standard ticket depends on the travel distance and it is the same for all the trains regardless of the number of stops or transfers. The standard ticket allows the passenger to access the platform and board Express, Rapid or Local trains. To board Limited Express trains, passengers are required an extra ticket for Reserved Seat or Non-reserved Seat, which is purchased separately from the standard ticket and is inspected by the train conductor on board.

In total, the Limited Express trains offer three passengers classes: Green Car Seat, Reserved Seat and Non-reserved Seat.

Getting around Japan by train

Japan has 27,268 kilometres of railway network, which includes 2,764 kilometres of Shinkansen lines.

Travel with ticket

We facilitate advance ticket booking for trains operated by JR East, JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu, as well as the private railway companies Keisei Electric Railway and Nankai Electric Railway.

Ticket reservation is available 1 month in advance.