buy single journey railway ticket online

the 3 of us will be travelling from Haneda airport - Tokyo City - Kyoto - Hiroshima and Narita Airport. I have figured out that it is cheaper to purchase train tickets for each leg rather than the 7 day JR Pass. I have 2 questions.
1. Is my calculation correct (can it be cheaper that a pass)?
2. Can I buy single journey train tickets ONLINE?

So you will go haneda airport to Hiroshima, Then hiroshima to narita,So it is return journy
Haneda to hamamatsucho by monorail=500y
hiroshima by JR railway=11880yen,base fare you can take nozomi shinkansen 1 way:18380

Arrival Haneda Airport -travel direct to Tokyo
3 nights in Tokyo (will also make short visits to Yokohama, China Town )
2 nights Kyoto
1 night Hiroshima
back to Narita hotel
next day dep Narita

I do not intend to buy JR Pass. Instead, I will buy Train ticket from
1. Tokyo to Kyoto
2. Kyoto to Hiroshima
3. Hiroshima to Narita

How would this be and what is the cost for the trains?

You can buy ticket Tokyo - Hiroshima and return. That is the cheapest.
You�fll need a base fare ticket separate from the seat ticket for each leg.
I didn�ft find right now a page that explains this. There are other people here that know that system better and can explain.
You might want to look though into buying a mn open jar ticket arriving to Tokyo and leaving from Hiroshima.

How can i buy return ticket as my last ride is from Hiroshima to Narita NOT Tokyo

I think that what Meritage is suggesting is that you buy a return ticket from Tokyo to Hiroshima, and essentially "stopover" in Kyoto for 2 nights. This will be cheaper than buying 3 shinkansen tickets, Tokyo -> Kyoto, Kyoto -> Hiroshima, Hiroshima -> Tokyo. Essentially, you buy the base fare ticket all the way through to Hiroshima, then break the super express (Shinkansen) supplement into 2 parts. Have a look at this recent youtube video, which shows step-by-step how to do this for a return trip Tokyo to Hiroshima. If the link doesn't work, just google youtube How to Make the Most of Your Shinkansen Tickets in Japan without a JR Pass | POV Vlog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F8xfCistkg

I don't know if you can do this online though.

�gHow can i buy return ticket as my last ride is from Hiroshima to Narita NOT Tokyo�h

In order to get by train from Hiroshima to Narita you must pass through Tokyo. So you�fd buy a separate ticket Tokyo to Narita.

I would seriously look into flying Hiroshima to Narita though

A "round-trip" ticket for distances over 601km provides a 10% discount. That could be used for tokyo to Hiroshima and just get the leg to Narita separately.
A one-way, multi-stop trip is cheaper than individual legs. Hiroshima to Narita Airport with a stop in Kyoto for example.
Advance purchase via SmartEx also provides discounts.
But, even single tickets for each leg would be cheaper than a 7-day rail pass.

I believe that the English interface of ticket machines does not allow for purchasing base-fare only ticket, nor can handle it round trip tickets. So, if you want to go for this cheapest option, I think you have to go to the manned ticket counter (or use the Japanese language interface on a ticket machine).

Hi Uji. The youtube video I linked to (above) shows how to buy a round trip base fare and separate super express supplements, using the English interface. I've done it before at a manned counter, but it definitely seems possible to do it at a machine. It's just a lot of different screens, so maybe not for anyone not confident about what they're doing.

Thanks, jth_travel, that is very useful! I tried it myself a few weeks ago and couldn't find it.

The Train Fare calculator is very helpful. But I am a bit confused.
After reading many forums and the internet, I understand that I need to buy 2 tickets to travel. One is the Base Fare Ticket and the second is a Non-Reserved ticket ( as I don�ft intend to buy a reserved ticket)

Let�fs say I will go by train from Hiroshima to Narita Airport.

The fare on the calculator shows as 11500 yen. Is this for both tickets mentioned above?

11500 Hiroshima to Narita is way too low. Something is wrong.

It is the approximate cost of a flight (Spring offers very cheap flights between Hiroshima and Narita; therefore, it would be the fastest and cheapest way of traveling between the two places)! You can see the details for a given route by clicking on the route. If you don't want to fly, select "exclude flights", in which case the cost for the train ticket will be shown, which is around 20,500 yen (for unreserved shinkansen tickets).

Uji

You had mentioned that I could see the details of the route. Now where could I see this? Is it in the fare calculator? Or are you referring to some other resource.

Start using better website to calculate fares.

Jordan
Navitime
Hyperdia

Add up all the individual fares. Done...

H:
Jordan
Navitime
Hyperdia

HyperDia no more shows real train time.

The first one is spelled Jorudan (with "u").

H:
Add up all the individual fares. Done...

No, that's not done.

Adding up JR basic fares by sections of your train rides
may lead to a figure which is larger than the actual cost,
especially when you travel for a long distance.

The sum of the JR basic fares
for Tokyo -- Kyoto and Kyoto -- Hiroshima
is higher (by about 3000 yen)
than the JR basic fare for Tokyo -- Hiroshima.

The validity period
of the basic fare ticket for Tokyo -- Hiroshima
(one-way: 6 days, round-trip: 12 days)
is long enough for your itinerary.
So, you don't have to pay the basic fares separately for plural parts of the route.

I don�ft intend to buy a reserved ticket

Without seat reservation, you won't benefit much from booking tickets online.

You should
type correctly your e-mail address and the full names of stations,
set your password,
and keep your reception number or credit card
until you pick up your tickets,
which is not necessary when you use a JR ticket counter.

You have a few days before heading to the western Japan,
therefore I think you can visit a JR ticket counter while it's not very crowded.

The cost for you to travel by JR without seat reservation
from Tokyo to Kyoto, from Kyoto to Hiroshima
then from Hiroshima back to Tokyo
(all within 12 days)
is about 37000 yen per adult.

back to Narita hotel
next day dep Narita

I recommend you plan to get to Tokyo or NRT
at least two days before flying out.

It takes five hours or more
to go by railway from Hiroshima to NRT.
Depending on weather conditions,
even the Shinkansen may be delayed.

----

When will you travel?

Around what time will your plane arrive at HND?

Have you decided where in Tokyo you will stay?

Is there a member who has difficulty in walking?

Would you visit places such as Nara, Kobe, Himeji and Miyajima Island?

To go back to the initial topic of the thread, which was about buying train tickets online: as mentioned by JapanCustomTours, you have to use SmartEx:

https://smart-ex.jp/en/index.php

I recommend creating an account in advance, just to see if your credit card is accepted. I tried a Visa and a Mastercard from different banks, and only the Mastercard could be registered. There are discounts if you purchase your tickets in advance, and these discounted prices are not shown on the route planners (Jorudan, Navitime, Google Maps...).

And finally, this page explains how to board a train once you have purchased a ticket:
https://smart-ex.jp/en/entraining/

darellj, yes, I refer to this site's rail pass calculator (https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/). If you click a given route, then the details will show up.

omotenashi

You have provided a very valuable and comprehensive set of information. Thank you for that . I will read them one by one carefully and get back with any doubts I have. Hope that�fs fine.