Japan to raise train prices over the holidays.

30 comments

1. In a way, this is just another tax on locals. If they really mean what they say, they should hand out discount train tickets somehow or something

2. “Overtourism” lmao

3. Can’t they just impose a tourist tax paid through accommodation like many countries and it can be variable based off the location and time. Eg: incentivise people to go during winter but reduce load during spring.

4. If it’s for everyone, this hurts locals the most. Foreign tourists who are enjoying the weak yen won’t give a hoot.

5. I’m curious if the system will lump increased ticket prices to then also increase commuter pass costs. Tourists aren’t buying commuter passes so I’d hope they’d exclude it somehow

6. It has nothing to do with tourism. It’s a revenue raiser, pure and simple.

7. Just like how they raised prices to pay for the safety barriers.

   Something they paid for normally out of fares before, but now they created a separate charge for it… and when are they going to remove that charge?

   They’ll never just raise fares, they’ll always have some excuse for it.

8. They complain when there’s no tourism. They also complain when there IS tourism

   https://preview.redd.it/7i90odzyhavb1.jpeg?width=897&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6c1bc9c0497f5fdad93152fe3bc3ad2ed254c5a5

9. Over-tourism is an excuse. They simply want to raise the price. I just hope they give raise to the employees with that extra revenue.

10. Guess I’m going to avoid taking the Enoden even more now.

11. >Interesting quote “provided the price increases are not intended to boost revenues.” Yea right.

    Of course, same as they didn’t make the KitKat smaller to save/make more money while not reducing the price but to make it more “hitokuchi” size so your eating experience is better!

    Same shit different day. There will or won’t be backlash on Twitter, the old farts will come out, bow deeply to apologize and we will move on with the change anyway.

12. Step 1: Intentionally keeping the yen low to rake in as much tourism revenue as possible

    Step 2: oVeRtOuRiSm

    Step 3: Increase public transportation prices, but only on holidays and weekends because tourists totally stay inside their hotel during the week

    Step 4: Profit

13. What holidays?

14. > The goal is to curb “overtourism”.

    Talk about chinese people without talking about chinese people lol

15. Yeah because tourists will be like “hmm I have to pay 200 yen instead of 180 yen for a train ride from X to Y? Despite the extremely cheap yen I guess I’ll stay home then.”

16. the only way this would make any logical sense is if it only targets areas where tourists totally outnumber locals. even then the locals would still be punished, when there’s a million more efficient and targeted ways tourists could be made to pay extra. this has got to be one of the dumbest and most inefficient things the Japanese government has implemented in recent times.

17. There is too much tourism. Kyoto etc are swamped.

    Raising the price of mass transit as solution is ridiculous.

    They need a tax on tourists via something like an entry ESTA. 3000jpy or something per application that’s valid for a year.

18. Sounds like this would affect domestic tourism more than outside tourists. Why would tourists only travel on weekends and holidays lol?? Do they think tourists come all the way from America or France just for a weekend in Japan? Or that they spend all week in their hotel and only emerge on weekends? Residents of japan are the ones who mostly are only able to travel on weekends or holidays

19. Over the holidays when only locals travel?

20. Yes get these tourists, while burning the house down

21. Maybe they want to encourage people to walk, bike, or drive more 😂

22. I would like to add that train prices are already insanely high!

    All forms of transportation in South Korea is a full 50% cheaper.
    Their excellent bullet trains, half the price of Japan. Taxis? Half the price. Subway. Half the price. Local trains half the price.

    I live in Kyushu. A flight to Seoul, 20,000 yen. A flight Tokyo to 35,000. WTF.

    A train from Kyushu to Tokoy, 40,000 yen. WTF.

    I am poor as fuck. Living in Japan 15 years. I am poorer now 10 years well into my career than I was a fucking ALT.

    Starting a long-distance relationship, just 2 hours away. Only costing me 100,000 yen a month to visit her. Applying to to start a Phd and literally have to take money OUT of my retirement fund. And what will the PhD get me? Nothing, it will simply allow me to stay at the same level and hopefully find a job… for maybe a few % point more than I make now.

23. Ridiculous,just milking people.

    If the problem is overcrowded public transport, raising prices won’t solve it – increasing the amount of trains/buses in circulation tourism-specific transport could solve it(especially in Kyoto).

    Btw, why does a private company need to ask government for permission to raise prices of their privately offered service?It sounds like a central planing in a communist country. Did I miss something?

24. Given the vast amount of locals who take the train to any spot, tourist-area or non-tourist-area, vs tourists, id agree with the other statements that it mostly amounts to a local tax

25. The thing is… no one is going to cancel their plans because of a higher ticket price. They know this. This is a way to milk even more money from residents, not tourists. They’re just using the tourists as a scapegoat, hoping to get sympathy from a population that’s worn out by the amount of people.

26. People who can afford their entire family over to japan for a holiday don’t even look at ticket prices lol I just top up my SUICA and keep moving~

27. Better get your teiki locked in before they do smdh

28. Locals, stay the fuck home, basically.

    If locals stayhome, they won’t complain, cause they won’t see how crowded shibuya, arashi yama are.

29. Poor Japanese tourists that cannot even opt to go abroad without getting screwed by the cheap yen

30. Not long ago everyone was crying that without the tourists the economy suffered. Please come back tourist!!! Now they don’t want too many tourists?? I’m confused