on the trail of train tricks

Millions of people rely on Japan's highly developed network everyday. Besides being fast, it's rarely ever late. The Shinkansen has a reputation for being on time with seconds as its margin of error. People often syncronise their watches to the time shown at train stations as even local trains are on time to the minute.

With such heavy reliance on rail, one might expect it to be fairly cheap and affordable. In reality, a train ride can be very expensive if you don't know what you're doing.

Let's say you want the comfort and blazing speed of the JR, but aren't willing to pay the premium price for it. There are several techniques you can use to get around the price problem.

...jumping in and out of stations

Going from Kishibe to Sannomiya (Kobe) on the JR will cost you 690 yen, which is pretty steep even by Japanese standards. Strangely enough, if you take the train to Osaka, exit the station and buy a new ticket to Sannomiya, the cost overall is lower:

From Kishibe to Osaka (4 stations): 170 yen
-From here, exit the turnstyles, and buy a new ticket to reenter the station
From Osaka to Sannomiya (Kobe): 390 yen

Altogether you pay only 560 yen, 130 yen less then going direct.

...buying tickets from wholesale ticket stalls

In the event you can plan your trip in advance, you can get discounted tickets from ticket stalls. From Osaka to Kyoto will normally cost you 590 yen - expensive compared to the Hankyu's 390 yen. However, a ticket from an external stall will only cost you around 340 yen - a massive discount on the original price. However, it is only valid outside rush hours (from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm). Inside rush hours, the discount ticket will cost 460 yen.

You won't be able to buy tickets for all stations though - those on the JR Osaka Loop Line （ＪＲ環状線 - kanjosen） for example, are not on sale.

If you're planning to take the 新幹線 (Shinkansen), then you can also purchase discounted tickets from these stalls as well.

Besides train tickets for all train lines, these shops also sell tickets for upcoming events and concerts - but some of them are at a speculative price.

...and looking for locations

In Osaka, you can find many ticket stalls underneath the Hanshin building in Umeda. It's very easy to identify a shop: besides having the obvious array of tickets on sale and price lists, there's usually a line of people waiting to make a purchase.

In Kobe, you can find a ticket shop in Sannomiya, along side the main exit of the Hankyu building.

In Kyoto, there is one along the end of Shijo-dori (check)

***make table of locations
***add photo

...ticket Books

If you're planning to go somewhere quite often, it might be worth buying a ticket book, which gives you 11 tickets for the price of 10. They can be bought from ticket machinese with LCD touch screens - on most train lines (depending on the station) there are also such machines with English display capability. If not, ask the station master how you can buy 回数卷　（かい・すう・けん - kaisuken）

...monthly tickets

Monthly tickets can be bought at main stations, and it entitles the user to unlimited travel between two destinations, and stations in between them. Going beyond the set area means you'll have to pay more. They are relatively expensive though, and will only be worth if you travel between the two places almost everyday.

For example, for a short distance between Osaka and Kishibe on the JR will cost 4,210 yen for a month or 12,000 for 3 months. In Japan, the discounts gained through buying 3 months is insignificant (usually a difference of 100 yen or less).

There are three stations between Osaka （大阪）and Kishibe　（岸辺）, costing 170 yen one way. As a result, you would need to make 25 trips a month (or 12 round trips) in order to even break even.

However, monthly tickets for other train lines are cheaper. For example, using Hankyu to get from 南千里　(minami-senri) to 石橋　(Ishibashi) costs 3,876 yen per month with the student discount. It covers a much further distance than the JR example above.

* Note: Minami-senri is one of the two Hankyu stations close to the Osaka University Foreign Student House, while Ishibashi is the Hankyu station closest to Tokonaka campus of Osaka University.

...special student discounts

In order to obtain student discounts on monthly tickets, you need to present the following two documents:

1) student identification card 学生証 - がく・せい・しょう　gakusei shou
2) student status verification 通学証明書 - つう・がく・しょう・めいしょ tsugaku shou mei shou

The second document can be obtained at the office of your faculty, or from schools directly.

Technically exchange and research students are not eligible for student discounts, but no checking is done: someone else can buy the ticket for you if necessary.

To buy the ticket, just follow the signs to the "Monthly Ticket" or "Commuter Pass" counter. You will need to fill out a form with the following information:
- Name (in kanji/romanji and katakana)
- School or university name
- Field of study
- Address
- Name of the two stations you want to travel between

To renew the pass, you can use the automated machines in every station. You need to reapply for the ticket once a year in March, which is the end of the Japanese fiscal year. Expect to line up for over an hour at that time.

Unlike other countries, buying a ticket valid for many months in advance will not yield any significant price discounts.

On the JR, all monthly tickets are issued using ICOCA cards.

Finally, you can obtain the student discount only between your home station and the station nearest to the school. Of course, only verbal checking is done so the truth can be stretched a bit.

...icoca

The ICOCA (a pun which means "Shall we go?" いごか？) is a card with a small chip embedded within. It acts as either a stored value card or a monthly ticket, and there are no discounts involved. Although it is similar to the Kansai Card in function, this one can be refilled as often as you want.

The card is passed over a reader at each turnstyle and money is automatically deduced from the card. At present, the card only works in the Kansai region.

The card can be bought from any JR station from the computerised ticket machines (those with LCD display touchscreens). The button you should press is labelled "IC Card" in English. It costs 2,000 yen for the card purchase: 500 yen is a refundable card deposit, while 1,500 yen will be available for travel.

At present ICOCA is valid on JR West and JR East, basically being cross-compatible with the SUICA system being used in greater Tokyo.

Jスルー Card (J-thru Card)

This is a stored value card which can be purchased in any JR station. No price discounts are provided, but the cost, date and destination of your trips are recorded on the back of the card.

Lagare Card

The Lagare Card is the same as the J-thru card, except sold in Hankyu stations.