Guide to Seishun 18 Kippu (1/4): What Is It and How to Use It
This part one of a four part series on the Japanese train pass, Seishun 18 Kippu (青春18きっぷ).
- Part one introduces what is the Seishun 18 Kippu and how to use it.
- Part two features some of my thoughts and musings on why people use it.
- Part three shows you how to travel across Japan with the Seishun 18 Kippu.
- Part four shows you how to use the Seishun 18 Kippu to go on day trips from a base city.
What is it?
The Seishun 18 Kippu is a Japanese train pass that allows unlimited rides on local JR line trains. It does not include unlimited rides on limited express trains, reserved seating trains, the Shinkansen (bullet train), or any private train/subway lines.
How much is it?
It is 11,850 yen.
How does it work?
The Seishun 18 Kippu comes as a pack of 5 tickets. You can use the Seishun 18 Kippu as an individual and use it for 5 days of non-consecutive local train travel within the validity period. You can also split the tickets up to 5 people and travel as a group.
How do I save money using it?
As the entire pack of five tickets costs 11,850 yen, and it is valid for five days, this means that each day of train travel costs only 2370 yen. For example, a one way local train ride going from Tokyo to Osaka costs 8750 yen. If you were to use one ticket of the Seishun 18 Kippu, you’d save 6200 yen (8750 – 2370)!
That’s WAY too good to be true! What’s the downside?
It takes 535 minutes to go from Tokyo to Osaka by local train, that’s about 9 nine hours of train travel. It also involves multiple train transfers, usually about 7.
Hey wait… that’s INSANE! No way would I ever use this train pass!
Well, if you are on a budget and have an extended amount of time to travel Japan at a leisurely pace, this is the perfect option for you. The Tokyo – Osaka trip is an exaggerated example to show you how much money you could potentially save. As long as you take a train ride where the cost is over 2370 yen, you’re saving money! In general, a train trip costing 2370 yen takes about 2 hours one way.
Oh well, that sounds pretty reasonable…
Yes! It is reasonable for frugal reasons, but it is also great if you want to slowly enjoy traveling Japan. You can drop into smaller towns can usually only be accessed on local trains. One of my favorite memories traveling with Seishun 18 Kippu was traversing Japan from Fukuoka – Hamamatsu, and dropping into small towns like Hagi in Yamaguchi prefecture and taking in the atmosphere of the old-school coastal castle town.
Alright, alright, alright… I got a bit heated there, my bad.
The premise of the Seishun 18 Kippu is quite intense, but it was designed in mind of budget-broke university students who wanted to travel during their school holidays. In Japanese, “seishun” means “youth” which makes this the “Youthful 18 Ticket!”
You’re telling me that I’m tapping into some sort of fountain of youth with this train pass?
Not at all. It’s more likely that you’ll probably feel EXTREMELY tired if you do a lot of one way long distance train travel on local trains. There are a lot of ways to use the Seishun 18 Kippu. It’s definitely possible to use it for a day-trip too!
Tell me, tell me! How do I use it for a day trip?
As long as the total cost of train travel for the day is over 2370 yen, you’ll have saved money. For example, if you go from Nagoya – Kyoto, it takes about 2 hours one way and costs 2590 yen. The round trip costs 5180 yen. If you make it a day trip, leave in the morning, and come home in the evening; you’ll save 2810 yen (5180 – 2370 yen)!
Huh! So, there are a few ways to game the train system using this pass eh?
There sure are! You don’t even need to use it on your own. You can take the five tickets and instead of using them as five days, you can use it among five people. If you have four other friends who want to go on a day trip, you can all use one ticket of the Seishun 18 Kippu pack and save money together! Everyone pays only 2370 yen!
Yo! Sign me up for this Seishun 18 Kippu!
When is it available?
It is available in the Spring, Summer and Winter. The validity period generally coincides with school holidays.
The validity periods for 2019 – 2020 are:
Spring: Friday, March 1 to Wednesday, April 10 2019
Summer: Saturday, July 20 to Tuesday, September 10 2019
Winter: Tuesday, December 10, 2019 to Friday, January 10, 2020
Where can I buy it?
You can buy it at JR trains station which have a ticket office known as “Midori no Madoguchi.” There may also be opportunities to buy discounted Seishun 18 Kippu from private discount shops outside of train stations.
I’m in! I want to save all the money! I want to see all the local things! I want to go from Kyushu to Tohoku in a week!
I love the enthusiasm! And you should definitely use the Seishun 18 Kippu! But a week to travel 1300 km by local trains is pretty intense… you think you got what it takes to be a local train masochist?
I encourage everyone to try traveling with the Seishun 18 Kippu at least once! I’m addicted to it and tend to use it each season it becomes available, but traveling cheap and slow has warped my perspective on what I’m willing to endure travel-wise.