Japan railways are known for having a schedule that runs like clockwork, making them an incredibly useful means of transportation.

Purchasing Tickets

To ride the trains you need to purchase a ticket beforehand.
Most municipal train stations employ automatic ticket machines which allow one to purchase their ticket quickly and efficiently. Many of these machines are also equipped with English instructions.

Tickets are purchased by selecting the price of whichever station you intend to visit. There is generally a large map visible above the ticket machines, which displays the names of accessible stations as well as how much money is required to get there. Maps are mostly written solely in Japanese, but some large stations also have English versions. Due to this fact, it may be slightly difficult to travel for those who are unfamiliar with Japanese characters, but train station staff are always available to answer questions.

For reservations and long distance travelling, instead of using the automatic machines, there is a specific place called the Green Ticket Window (Midori no Madoguchi) meant for these purchases. At this window it is possible to specify the destination, date, train, and quantity of tickets.

For people who travel a lot and cannot be bothered to constantly buy tickets, there are “IC Cards.”

Having started in Tokyo, IC Cards such as Suica and Pasmo are now used at all major metropolises.

A swipe of the card at the ticket gate at both starting point and destination automatically takes the appropriate sum of money used, making it an extremely useful service. Not only can this card be used as electric money at the train station, but it can be also be used to buy drinks at vending machines and kiosks.

One of the most popular IC Cards, Suica, can be used not only in Tokyo but also in Sapporo, Sendai, Niigata, Nagoya, Kansai, Okayama, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and other major areas.

How to purchase, charge and use a Suica card

Suica can be bought from the automatic ticket machines in any train station in the Tokyo area.

Suica can also be charged at the same ticket machines, or at some convenience stores which allow payment with Suica.

Just by swiping the card on the ticket gate’s card reader on entrance and exit, the transaction is completed.

Riding the train

Almost every station is equipped with several automatic ticket gates (jidōkaihatsuki). On entering the station, if you have purchased a ticket, insert it into the opening in front of the gate, and remember to retrieve it when it comes out the back end. You will need it for when you arrive at your destination. For those with IC Cards, place the card on the reader panel, but make sure there is some money loaded onto it, or else you will not be able to enter.

It is also necessary to pass through a ticket gate when leaving the station of destination. The ticket used when entering the first station will need to be inserted into in the same fashion as previous. If the cost of transport is larger than the ticket value, the gate will close and you will be required to pay the excess fee, either at an automatic ticket machine or at one of the ticket windows nearby before exiting.

For IC Cards, once again swipe the card on the reader panel. If there is not enough money on the card, the gate will close and you will need to pay the excess fee as you would with a ticket, or charge the card at a ticket machine and re-exit.

Inside the train

Inside Japanese trains you will hear constant announcements regarding stations the train will stop at, the next station, and what train lines the next station connects with. These announcements are broadcasted in English and various other languages.
There are also digital signs and display boards on the trains which have information posted in English.

Train manners

No smoking is allowed on trains. Some long-distance trains situated with smoking zones exist, but these too are on the decline.

Food and drinks are allowed, but please be careful to keep the area clean.