About the renewal of the Seishun 18 Kippu
The Seishun 18 Kippu underwent a major renewal, starting with the winter 2024/2025 usage period. Most importantly, the ticket can now not be used on non-consecutive days anymore, making it much less flexible and attractive than before. The major changes are summarized below:
A main reason behind these changes are streamlining efforts by the JR Group, such as reducing manned gates and stations, which collided with the old-fashioned nature of the Seishun 18 Kippu ticket.
This renewal is the latest step in a long list of setbacks for the Seishun 18 Kippu, which includes a gradual decrease in its validity area (because local lines along new shinkansen lines turned non-JR), the discontinuation of overnight trains and the increasing competition with low-cost buses and planes.
Nevertheless, for certain travelers and itineraries the ticket's cost of 2410 yen/day for the 5-day pass or 3333 yen/day for the 3-day pass can still be a good deal. However, the renewal will likely alienate many of the ticket's biggest fans: those interested in slow travel. This is because the need for travel on consecutive days makes slow and flexible travel much more difficult.
The Seishun Juhachi Kippu (�t�P�W������, meaning something like "Youthful 18 Ticket") is a seasonally available railway ticket, which gives you three or five days of unlimited, nationwide travel on local and rapid JR (Japan Railways) trains. It lost a lot of its value when it underwent a renewal in late 2024, but it can still be an interesting discount ticket.
| 3 consecutive days | 10,000 yen |
|---|---|
| 5 consecutive days | 12,050 yen |
The Seishun 18 Kippu can be used only three times a year during school holiday seasons, as shown in the table below:
Despite its name, the Seishun 18 Kippu can be used by people of all ages. It is available to foreign tourists as well as Japanese and foreign residents of Japan. But there is no child fare.
Where is it sold?
The Seishun 18 Kippu can be bought at most JR stations across Japan. The sale of the ticket starts several days before the start of the usage periods listed above. And it ends two days before the end of the usage periods for the 3-day ticket and four days before the end of the usage periods for the 5-day ticket.
Can it be shared?
Before the ticket's 2024 renewal, it used to be possible for up to five people to use a single Seishun 18 Kippu at the same time, but it can now be used only by a single person at a time.
How to use it?
The Seishun 18 Kippu can now be inserted into the automatic ticket gates. It used to be necessary to pass through the manned gates.
When is it valid?
The ticket is valid on three or five consecutive calendar days. The starting date is specified at the time of purchase. A day is defined to last until the last train of the day, even if the last train runs after midnight.
Which trains can be used?
The ticket is valid only on local trains (futsudensha/kakuekiteisha) and rapid trains (kaisoku), operated by Japan Railways (JR). Furthermore, it is valid on the JR ferry to Miyajima and the JR buses along the Sanriku Coast (Maeyachi - Kesennuma - Sakari). The Seishun 18 Kippu is not valid on limited express trains (tokkyu) and the shinkansen.
There are a few exceptions:
Is it possible to use the ticket on trains between Honshu and Hokkaido?
Ticket holders will need to purchase a "Seishun 18 Kippu Hokkaido Shinkansen Ticket" for 4650 yen per person in order to use a vacant seat on the Hokkaido Shinkansen between Shin-Aomori and Kikonai (the first station on Hokkaido) and the Donan Isaribi Railway (aka South Hokkaido Railway) between Kikonai and Hakodate (Goryokaku Station) for a one way journey. Getting on or off is not allowed along the way except at Kikonai.
Is it practical to travel long distances by local trains?
Travel by local trains is naturally much slower than by shinkansen or limited express. From Tokyo, for example, it takes roughly nine hours and multiple transfers of trains to reach Kyoto. On major lines, such as the Tokaido Line and the Sanyo Line, local train service is frequent enough to travel without preparing a prior itinerary, but on most other lines, local service is infrequent and connections inconvenient. Therefore, it is highly recommended to create an itinerary in advance by studying the timetables. Low fares by overnight buses and discount airlines have created comfortable alternatives to the Seishun 18 Kippu in recent decades.
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