On Train Tickets

Once in a while, I see someone posting on the forums and would like to confirm his/her claim.

The claim was that if one wishes to travel from Tokyo to Fukuoka via Hiroshima, they need not purchase two tickets. I.e. Tokyo to Hiro and Hiro to Fuku

Instead they can buy Tokyo to Hiroshima, get off at Hiroshima, reenter using the same ticket at Hiroshima to continue on to Fukukoka.

Can someone confirm this? If true, what are the conditions, how many stops are available, and how long can the stop be?

Stop being stopping at a station and going about that city.

Thank you. Asking for a pal who is planning to visit Japan. I think it would be good to do a one way trip from airport to airport to save on traveling time.

Can someone confirm this?

Base fare tickets for trips longer than 100 kilometers allow the traveler to get on and off along the way within the ticket's period of validity. However, backtracking or using a route other than the one specified on the ticket are not allowed.

If true, what are the conditions, how many stops are available, and how long can the stop be?

The ticket's period of validity is the main limitation. Tickets for a distance between 100 and 200 kilometers are valid for up to 2 calendar days. For every additional 200 kilometers, the period of validity increases by one day. Tokyo-Hakata is about 1175 kilometers; therefore, a base fare ticket from Tokyo to Hakata will be valid on up to 7 days. During that time you can get on and off along the specified route as many times as you wish without backtracking (except within the metropolitan areas where your ticket starts and ends - e.g. you cannot get off at Shinagawa with your Tokyo-Hakata ticket).

The same is not true for any supplement tickets (e.g. the limited express fee for shinkansen trains). These have to be purchased separately for each section traveled (e.g. one for Tokyo-Hiroshima and another one for Hiroshima-Hakata).

Thanks Uji.

Does this mean that from Hakata to Tokyo, if I tell my friend to get off at Hiroshima to spend 2 nights and to get off at Kyoto to spend 4 nights, reaching Tokyo on the last night, he can do so?

In that case, it may be cheaper than getting a 7 Day JR Pass.

Does this mean that from Hakata to Tokyo, if I tell my friend to get off at Hiroshima to spend 2 nights and to get off at Kyoto to spend 4 nights, reaching Tokyo on the last night, he can do so?

Yes. I believe the ticket expires at midnight of day 7.

In that case, it may be cheaper than getting a 7 Day JR Pass.

Base fare Hakata-Tokyo: 13,820 yen
Shinkansen supplement Hakata-Hiroshima: 3,340 to 4,270 yen
Shinkansen supplement Hiroshima-Kyoto: 4,090 to 5,130 yen
Shinkansen supplement Kyoto-Tokyo: 4,870 to 5,900 yen

Total: 26,120 yen to 29,120 yen

Cost of a 7-day Japan Rail Pass: 29,110 yen

The price for shinkansen supplement tickets depends on seat type (reserved vs. non-reserved) and the day of travel. The cheapest option is for unreserved seats.

(Sorry to hijack your thread joshua.. but thanks for posting it!)

Uji, I want to stop off at several shinkansen stations on my way back to Tokyo from Hiroshima next month, just for a short time at each. Can I use the base ticket to go through at the regular automated gates, or do I need to go to the manned gate every time? And is there any sort of limit as to how many times I can get off in one day?

Thanks!

No problem.
Let the two Gunma residents talk it out.

And you can ride Nozomi on a non-reserved seat which is the same fare as Hikari.
But Q. is how do you get to Hakata and from where?
If you need to fly from Tokyo by the Air Pass for 10,000 yen, is it better off? And you will be giving up to go other places?

Does this mean that from Hakata to Tokyo, if I tell my friend to get off at Hiroshima to spend 2 nights and to get off at Kyoto to spend 4 nights, reaching Tokyo on the last night, he can do so?

Yes. He can reach Shinagawa Station or Tokyo Station by Shinkansen around 23:15 of the 7th day, pass through a Shinkansen transfer gate before the midnight, take a non-Shinkansen train for about an hour (if any) then exit JR around 00:15 of the 8th day, when his JR base-fare ticket should be collected.

At a Shinkansen transfer gate, which is between Shinkansen and non-Shinkansen zones, he can put his base-fare ticket and Shinkansen ticket together into a gate machine; when he gets outside a Shinkansen zone there, his base-fare ticket is returned.

scarreddragon: Can I use the base ticket to go through at the regular automated gates, or do I need to go to the manned gate every time?

When you stop off at a JR-West station (Kyoto or later), I recommend using a manned gate. (A JR-West gate machine may not record a stopover correctly, I suppose.)

scarreddragon: And is there any sort of limit as to how many times I can get off in one day?

No, there is no such limit.

if one wishes to travel from Tokyo to Fukuoka via Hiroshima, they need not purchase two tickets.

That is correct concerning a JR base-fare ticket.

Except when a combined ticket (working both as a base-fare ticket and as a Shinkansen ticket) is issued, a separate ticket is needed for a Shinkansen ride.

Unless a passenger gets outside a Shinkansen zone or turns back, he/she can change Shinkansen trains on a same day with one Shinkansen ticket. For example, you can take a Kodama train on Tokaido Shinkansen to Shin-Fuji Station, try your luck to see Mt. Fuji from inside the Shinkansen zone then take a later train in the same direction on the same day.

Can I use the base ticket to go through at the regular automated gates, or do I need to go to the manned gate every time?

It is supposed to work at automated gates. But in rare cases, some automated gates are not "intelligent enough" in which case your ticket will be rejected and you have to use the manned gates. I personally had problems with gates in the Kansai region before. But I always try the automated gates first.

And is there any sort of limit as to how many times I can get off in one day?

The limit is the number of stations along the route specified on your ticket.

Note that on the base fare ticket it is specified whether you use a shinkansen line vs. a non-shinkansen line. But in practice, a ticket valid for a shinkansen line can often also be used on the local line that runs parallel to the shinkansen (e.g. a base fare ticket valid for the shinkansen from Tokyo to Takasaki can be used to use the Takasaki Line and get on and off along the Takasaki Line even at non-shinkansen stations). But I would not count on it. Sometimes it makes a difference and it is better to be careful and specify the correct one (shinkansen vs. non-shinkansen).

omotenashi, Uji, thank you! I'm glad to find this out!

May I ask which is the advantage of buying a ticket from Tokyo to Fukuoka versus buying one ticket from Tokyo to Hiroshima and a second one from Hiroshima to Tokyo? Would it be cheaper to buy just one ticket?

So
It's like this
It's cheaper to buy one train ticket then two tickets
It's like taking a taxi ride of 2km and taking two taxi rides each being 1 km
Or taking two bus rides instead of one long distance ride.

It's cheaper to have one long then two short.