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Does my child needs a train/bus ticket 2018/8/28 16:28
How do I ask bus/train staff if my child needs a ticket WITHOUT appearing like a cheapo? My child is 4 year plus.
Does this sounds all right? "Uchi no ko wa chiketto iru?"

If she does not need a ticket, will the ticket gate close in on me if I let her exit first?


by lim (guest)  

Re: train or bus tickets: 4-year-old kid 2018/8/28 20:53
Whether you should pay for your 4-year-old kid
depends mainly on whether she solely uses a train | bus seat which can be reserved.

If she does not need a ticket, will the ticket gate close in on me if I let her exit first?

At railway stations,
you and she had better go together through a ticket gate;
when she tries to pass through an automatic gate individually,
the gate machine highly likely halts her.

----

Infant: Passenger at 1 to around 6 years
who has not yet reached the age of Japanese elementary school.
Pupil: Passenger at around 6 to around 12 years
who has not yet reached the age of Japanese junior high school.
Adult: Passenger who has reached the age of Japanese junior high school.

When a seat (or other facility) is not to be reserved
: Up to 2 Infants accompanied by 1 Pupil | Adult
can travel free of fees.
: To the third and latter Infants,
a child-rate fee should apply respectively.

When an Infant and a Pupil | an Adult together use
a seat (or other facility) in a train which needs to be reserved
(e.g. when an Infant is on the laps of an Adult sitting down on a seat)
: That Infant can can travel free of fees.

When an Infant solely uses
a seat (or other facility) in a train which needs to be reserved
: Child-rate fees (= basic fare and surcharge) should apply.

When an Infant uses a bus seat which needs to be reserved
: A child-rate fee should apply.
by omotenashi rate this post as useful

Re: Does my child needs a train/bus ticket 2018/8/28 20:56
5 year or less don't need a bus/train ticket in Tokyo. You insert your ticket in advance and let your child go after you to avoid gate close.
If you ask bus or train staff in japanese, "Kodomo no okane wa? Yon sai desu."
by ki (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Does my child needs a train/bus ticket 2018/8/28 21:09
When I am buying a ticket at the station, is there anything that indicates this is a train that needs reservation? I am clueless! Otherwise I can imagine only the name of the destination and fare are written down on the board.

If there are empty reserved seats around, is it possible to let my 4 year old child take a seat by herself first and I only let her sit on my lap when I see full paying passengers looking for a seat?
by Lim (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Does my child needs a train/bus ticket 2018/8/28 21:13
Will the train or bus staff ask me for physical verification to prove my child is 4 year old? I am worried they may not believe me as my daughter is tall.
by Lim (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Does my child needs a train/bus ticket 2018/8/28 23:36
To put it simple, you pay to have the infant seated, it's free if you carry her, even if no one is using the seat you cannot have her seated.
by kms899 rate this post as useful

Re: Does my child needs a train/bus ticket 2018/8/29 00:18
No one will ask you to prove your child's age if you want to take them on a train for free.. If you want to get a child a child suica then you will need to show proof like your passport.

If you use hyperdia can be helpful figuring out what sort of trains you will be taking. When my daughter was 5 I didn't pay for the bus in Kyoto or the subway in Osaka because having her sit on my lap for 10 minutes wasn't a big deal. (heck, she has a suica now, and I will have her sit on my lap to make more room for others.) I did buy her a rail pass because I was not going to have her sit on my lap from Tokyo to Kyoto on a shinkansen.
by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: Does my child need a train/bus ticket 2018/9/3 23:09
Thank you for telling me about hyperdia. I have never heard of it before till you mentioned it. Hyperdia is for trains. Is there one for bus or both combined?

By the way, do hotels normally help guests book day trips to nearby places (within 1-2 hours from tokyo) like nikko or mount Fuji? If so, how do I ask the hotel to help me book in Japanese?

I am also thinking of meeting my friend-whom I have not met in many years -in nagoya. Since it will take about 4 hours for a 2-way trip, i hope to stay overnight in nagoya. How do I ask my friend if my husband, child and I can stay at her house without sounding awkward? (Her house is a 2-storey house located just beside her parents-in-law.)
by Lim (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Does my child needs a train/bus ticket 2018/9/4 00:09
Hi Lim,

As far as I know, There are bus schedules for Highway buses but local buses have none as it partially depends on traffic when they arrive at various stops. Sometimes there is a schedule for a starting stop but not for the others. In general, there are very few places within Tokyo where you need to take local buses and are not better off taking the subway or a train. If you're planning to take a Highway bus you search for the schedule via your destinations.

How much help a hotel will give you regarding booking tours probably depends on what sort of hotel you are staying in. Perhaps send an email to your hotel and ask if they can help book tours? I've not idea where you are staying.

My general rule of thumb is if you don't feel comfortable asking someone if you can stay with them, the answer is going to be "no." I've had a few friends let me stay with them in Japan. All of those were before I had a child. Even if your friend owns their own house it is a huge imposition to have a family of 3 stay with them, particularly if you're not super close.

I've actually done 4 hour round trip day trips and if you're going to Nikko you will be doing one that day as well.
by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: Does my child need a train/bus ticket 2018/9/6 20:19
Hi there. I am not sure how should i ask the hotel in japanese. Is it something like "higaeri ryoko no yoyaku shite itadakemasen ka"?

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough with regards to staying with my friend. I did not mean to say I feel awkward asking her.
Instead I meant to say---> I am not sure how to ask in a way that a Japanese would typically ask. Is it literally "uchi ni tomarasete kurenai?!"

Can a Japanese please help? Thanks so much.
by Lim (guest) rate this post as useful

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