Unlike airline tickets, not all train tickets can be issued electronically. Train tickets bought from Japan Rail can only be issued a few ways.

Paper Tickets: Buy paper tickets from ticket machines inside the station, find your destination on the maps above the ticket machines, this will show you the fare. AT the machine select number of people, fare amount, insert the amount of money, insert the ticket into the gate and collect, keep this ticket for the duration of your ride and insert the ticket into the gate, it will not re-appear.

Rail Passes: The Japan Rail Pass is the only document that we can purchase for you in the US. We will send you a voucher via email and once you reach Japan you will need to go to the JR ticket office to exchange the voucher for your rail pass. You will need to show your passport.

There are dozens of rail passes sold in Japan, which cover different regions with different companies. These passes are geared towards temporary visitors. Japan Rail Pass covers all trains that are operated by JR Companies, which is 70% of the trains nationwide and 100% of bullet trains are run by JR. Show your pass to a stationmaster at the ticket gates and you will be let through to the platforms.

IC Cards: You can purchase at touch screen machines inside the stations, which provide information in English. Touch the card to the sensors at your start and end stations. The system automatically calculates the fare and deducts it from the card value, there are fare adjustment machines are found nearby in case you don’t have enough money on your card. IC cards are not yet used nationwide.

Please note that all ticket methods are not always offered for a given train ticket. In fact, many tickets only support one of these issuance methods. Whichever issuance method is used, you will need to physically show your train ticket to the conductor on board at the time of ticket control or upon check-in for certain trains. In any case, the TripMasters voucher and/or Japan Rail Pass invoice is never acceptable as a form of train ticket. Make sure to review our section on delivery methods for all the details and possible options for your travel documents.

In Japan, for the most part, rail tickets and rail passes can only be purchased in person at the station once you reach the country. We cannot issue tickets to you in the US before your departure.

However, there is a new limited online service offered by JR West as of September 2019 that does allow you to purchase train tickets online. This service only applies to JR West trains with tickets that cover Western Japan including Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and points west. Shinkansen tickets are not included, but express trains, airport express trains are covered. The tickets can be purchased up to a month in advance, both inside and outside of Japan. The tickets are collected from specified ticket machines or ticket counters in the major train stations in West Japan.