Hi people!
We will travel to Japan in april and have booked an JRPass and want to get an IC Card.
Is it possible to take bus/cable car/trains that are not in large cities like in Hakone, Kanazawa to Shirakawago/Takayama?
It’s not clear for us if we have to buy another tickets.
We are from germany and can use our “Deutschlandticket” everywhere in the country, besides the fast Trains(ICE).
Is it like that in japan?
I hope that someone can help us!
by Oxymoron67
5 comments
This appears to be a post about IC cards (Suica, Pasmo, ICOCA, etc.). For general information, please see [our IC card wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/advice/transport/iccards/) and Japan-Guide’s [IC card page](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_003.html). If you are wondering how to get an IC card upon arrival in Japan, please see the stickied thread at the top of this subreddit for up-to-date information about card availability and other frequently asked questions.
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JR passes can only be used on JR trains, buses, and ferries. There are several other companies in Japan for public transport. You can generally use an IC card (pasmo, suica) for everything else.
You will be able to use the JR Pass on JR trains and some (but not all) JR buses. The list is [here on the official site](https://japanrailpass.net/en/use/conditions-for-use/), under bullet number 6.
Unfortunately, there are many, many train/bus operators in Japan, so you won’t always be able to use the JR Pass. There are some cities (like Kyoto) where it’s practically worthless, since there aren’t useful JR systems there. And there are plenty of large cities (like Tokyo and Osaka) where only _some_ of the systems you’ll use to get around are JR. So it really boils down to the individual train or bus you’re taking.
When it comes to local transit within a city or for transit between nearby cities, you can use an IC card for that if the JR Pass doesn’t cover the trip. If you’re taking highway buses or long-distance limited express trains that aren’t operated by JR, you’ll need to buy separate tickets.
There unfortunately isn’t a perfect or easy answer to your question, since it’s very individual to the route.
> Is it possible to take bus/cable car/trains that are not in large cities like in Hakone, Kanazawa to Shirakawago/Takayama?
Kanazawa bus takes IC card. They also have a JR bus line that takes the JR pass.
Hakone local stuff takes IC card.
Takayama buses – the internal city buses use paper tickets and cash.
Shirakawa-go, also pretty sure the buses do not take IC card.
For a JR Pass, you can only use it on JR services – most Shinkansen, _most_ train lines unless they use non-JR tracks, inner-city JR buses, and the Miyajima ferry.
You will not be able to use the JR Pass on anything called a subway, a metro, express/highway buses (which JR also operates)..
Pretty much. I’ve used my Suica EVERYWHERE. All the way to Nagaski to Sendai. I was blown away as I thought I had to buy an IC card at every prefecture.
JR Pass is amazing in a sense that you can use it on almost everything. I used one of my JR passes to go to Miyajima Island in Hiroshima via the Ferry (which I didnt know).
If you get the JR Pass, the bullet trains you can’t use are the Nozomi and Mizuho (I think unless you pay extra). I have never jumped on those trains.
IC cards can cover pretty much a lot of the other lines/subways in major cities. I’ll have to look on my notes, but I don’t think I used my IC card at a few Trams (Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Hiroshima). I paid for the ticket as I wanted to experience it differently.
It seems like many of the big regions/cities and local companies have various passes.
I’ve bought 2-3 day subway passes in Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo (I love Japan’s trains).
In Kansai, I’ve gotten the Osaka Amazing pass back in 2018. In July,