PlanJapanJapan, the complete guidePDFContents
2Part 2

Getting around

Trains, the Shinkansen, passes and transit cards: a dense network, explained simply.

  1. Understanding the network
  2. The Shinkansen
  3. JR Pass and regional passes
  4. Suica, PASMO, ICOCA
  5. Bus, plane, car, taxi
Getting around · The network

Many networks, one logic

Six JR companies, private railways, subways: each has its own gates and fares. An IC card works on all of them; the JR Pass, only on JR lines.

The Shinkansen lines

SEA OF JAPANTokyoNagoyaKyotoOsakaHiroshimaHakataKagoshimaKanazawaSendaiHakodateJAPAN100 kmN
Tokaido · JR CentralSanyo · JR WestKyushu · JR KyushuTohoku · JR EastHokkaido · JR HokkaidoHokuriku · JR East and JR West

Swipe the map

Four trains, two tickets

  1. Local

    Stops at every station. Regular ticket or IC card.

  2. Rapid

    Skips stations: check that it stops at yours. Regular ticket or IC card.

  3. Limited Express

    Major stations only, like the HARUKA or the Romancecar: ticket + surcharge.

  4. Shinkansen

    High speed, from one big city to the next: ticket + surcharge.

  • Good habits
  • Read the platform screen: the train type, the destination (the last stop, not yours) and the platform number.
  • Line up on either side of the doors, and let people off first.
  • Give priority seats to elderly, pregnant or disabled passengers.
  • Head back before midnight: in Tokyo, the last Yamanote trains leave around 12:40 am.
  • Avoid
  • Phone calls on board: switch to silent; on the Shinkansen, call from the vestibule.
  • Tokyo's morning rush, until about 9:30 am on weekdays.
  • “Women Only” cars, reserved for women on weekday mornings in Tokyo.
  • Leaving your suitcase in front of the doors.
PlanJapanGetting around · Understanding the network
PlanJapan · Japan, the complete guide · 2026–20272