Questions about Public transportation (Train, Bus : IC card, Tickets)

4 comments

1. > The Suica cannot be used for continuous travel between areas

   It means it will give an error if you continue on the train, which may be or may not be fixable and you end up with a broken IC card until you come back into its primary region.

   If you intend to travel cross-region – you should use paper tickets, local or national passes.

   > Karuizawa is inside the map on the suica website: Shiojiri is not. Do I need to get off at Jōetsumyōkōand and re-enter with a normal ticket.

   Karuizawa to Shiojiri would most likely be a trip to Nagano (shinkansen or third-party Shinano Railway) and then taking a train to Shiojiri via Matsumoto. You should generally buy a normal ticket (JR) or tickets for that since you could be losing quite a bit of money on non-continous base fare in the first case.

   > When buying a separate ticket for Express trains: what do I do with each ticket? Put the normal fare ticket in the slot at the gates and hold on to the other one?

   Normal fare for normal gates. Normal fare and shinkansen surcharge for shinkansen gates.

   > What does google maps mean that will happen in Nagoya Station

   It means that you will need to transfer trains within shinkansen part of Nagoya station. And I sincerely recommend using Jorudan or Navitime, rather than Google Maps.

   > (Going to Tokyo teamlab planets)

   Every bit of public transport in Tokyo except Tokaido shinkansen and highway buses supports major IC cards including Suica. You probably should not use it on JR East’s run shinkansen since it gets a little more complicated than that.

   > (visiting Asukayama Park on our way to Karuizawa)

   Suica to Omiya. Omiya to Karuizawa – probably paper ticket is a better idea.

   > (Staying at Shiojiri for a day trip to Narai because we didn’t find a place to stay in narai within our budget)

   Karuizawa to Nagano depends on a mode of transport (see above). Nagano to Shiojiri – paper ticket with limited express surcharge if using Limited Express Shinano

   > (The trip to Narai itself)

   Whatever fits your schedule better (with regard to train or cash). Unless it’s a highway bus – you probably need to pick-up paper ticket or token for the bus and give it to driver, while exiting and pay your fare in exact cash.

   > (Doing the Tsumago-Magome hike and staying in Magome)

   Shiojiri to Nagiso: paper ticket; local buses: cash

   > (Going from Magome to Kyoto)

   Local buses: cash; Nakatsugawa to Nagoya – you can technically use Suica for base fare (not recommend it since you will lose money); Nagota to Kyoto: Tokaido shinkansen does not support IC cards

   You should buy tickets from Nakatsugawa to Kyoto, including for Tokaido shinkansen (Nagoya to Kyoto), whether you will use JR Chuo line commuter train or pay surcharge for Shinano is up to you.

   > (Sightseeing within Kyoto: Bamboo forest & Shrine)
   >
   > (Traveling to Osaka)

   All important local transport in Kansai is major IC-card compatible.

   > (From Osaka back to Tokyo, stopping at Odawara and travel luggage free to Hakone)

   You should buy Osaka area to Odawara ticket (including Shin-Osaka to Odawara shinkansen surcharge). Hakone area transit is covered by IC cards.

   As far as getting to Keikyu-Kamata: take regular JR train to Yokohama station and switch to Keikyu there.

2. > Does this mean that I need to step off the last stop of the suica region and then re-enter for the remainder of the trip (with a regular ticket)?

   You would buy paper ticket. You can absolute leave and re-enter, but buying paper ticket is easier and cheaper.

   > For example: I travel from Karuizawa to Shiojiri. Karuizawa is inside the map on the suica website: Shiojiri is not. Do I need to get off at Jōetsumyōkō and and re-enter with a normal ticket?

   For Shinkansen to local line connection you want paper ticket anyway.

   > When buying a separate ticket for Express trains: what do I do with each ticket? Put the normal fare ticket in the slot at the gates and hold on to the other one?

   Put both in.

   > Sometimes when trying to get a route off google maps it’ll say something like: Shin-Osaka to Station Nagoya (Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen “Nozomi 10 Nozomi Tokyo”) and from Station Nagoya (Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen “Hikari 646 Hikari Tokyo”) to Odawara station.- What does google maps mean that will happen in Nagoya Station? I would remain seated on the shinkansen? Or do I need to re-enter the gates?

   That mean you transfer from Nozomi 10 to Hikari 646 at Nagoya station. You don’t need to leave the gate, but you need to change trains.

   > Omiya Station > Karuizawa Station: Hokuriku-Shinkansen (Super-express?: Do a one-time setup on Suica + Super-Express ticket)

   You can buy ticketless tickets, but it might be easier to just buy paper ticket.

   > Karuizawa Station > Nagano Station: Hokuriku-Shinkansen (Super-express?: Cannot use Suica since it would travel outside the IC card area, so buy 2x tickets at the ticket vendor machine?) Nagano Station > Shiojiru Station: Shinano (Limited- Express: Cannot use Suica since it does not cover Nagano area? so buy 2x tickets as normal?)

   You go to ticket counter and ask for ticket to Shiojiri. The basic fare will be through calculated, and your Shinano limited express ticket will be 50% off due to connection discount.

   > (The trip to Narai itself) (Going from Magome to Kyoto)

   The TOICA IC card area starts from Nakatsugawa, so you can use IC card from Nakatsugawa to Nagoya. But again, buying paper ticket direct from Shiojiri to Kyoto will be cheaper. You are allowed stopovers on this route with paper ticket.

   > Kyoto Station > Osaka Station: Tokaido-Sanyo Line (Special Rapid: Suica? No additional ticket needed on Rapid (don’t know about “special rapid”?))

   You don’t need any additional ticket on Special Rapid either.

   > (From Osaka back to Tokyo, stopping at Odawara and travel luggage free to Hakone)

   Just buy paper ticket direct from Osaka to Odawara. But if you use Smart EX, then you need to pay for Osaka-Shin-Osaka separately with IC card.

   > Odawara Station > Shinagawa Station: Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen (Limited-Express: Suica + ticket)

   Shinkansen doesn’t work that way. Either you use Smart EX so it’s just single IC card, or you use paper ticket.

   > Shinagawa Station > Keikyu Kamata Station: Keikyu Main Line (Limited-Express: Suica + ticket)

   You don’t need additional ticket for limited express on Keikyu line.

3. Suica works pretty much everywhere in Japan, in local trains and buses. In these super remote places it does not you can pay by cash.

   Limited express tickets should be bought in ticket machines in train stations. They rarely sell out unless during national holidays.

   Super express is Shinkansen, to be bought on the ticket machine or online on Ekinet or bypassed by having a JR Pass. Transfers usually not required as long it’s on the same line. Different types (Nozomi, Kodama, Sakura, etc.) on the same line stop on a different number of stops.

4. Short answer: Suica and compatible equivalents (Pasmo, Icoca, Nimoca, etc.) will work outside of their designated region, but they will not work *between* regions. So you can use a Suica to travel between Osaka and Kyoto (even though Suica is a JR East Card) but you cannot use a Suica to travel between Osaka and Tokyo (because JR East and JR West are two different regions.)

   Some regions have their own special IC card that is not part of this national network. For example, Ayuca is used by buses around Gifu. You can’t use a Suica on these buses, nor can you use Ayuca on JR trains. For most transport suituations though, you can use a Suica or equivalent national card.