The core idea: you buy a price, not a destination
The kenbaiki (券売機), literally ticket-selling machine, sells you a jōshaken (乗車券), literally riding ticket, which everyone calls kippu (切符). For an ordinary journey the ticket names only the station you start from and a price. It opens the gates at any station that costs that much or less, which is why the machine never asks where you are going. Instead it asks three things, always in the same order: what you want, for how many people, and at what price.
The price comes from the fare map above the machines, though some newer machines also let you search by station name. If you cannot find your destination, buy the cheapest ticket and pay the difference when you arrive, a fix covered in the post on IC cards and fare adjustment. Here a friend helps you in the ticket hall.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 切符はどこで買えますか。 | Kippu wa doko de kaemasu ka. | Where can I buy a ticket? |
| 北山までいくら？ | Kitayama made ikura? | How much is it to Kitayama? |
| 上の運賃表を見て。 | Ue no unchin-hyō o mite. | Look at the fare map up there. |
| 二百六十円だって。 | Nihyaku-rokujū-en datte. | It says 260 yen. |
| 一番安い切符を買って、降りるときに精算すればいいよ。 | Ichiban yasui kippu o katte, oriru toki ni seisan sureba ii yo. | Just buy the cheapest ticket and pay the difference when you get off. |
Reading the fare map: find tōeki, then your stop
The unchin-hyō (運賃表), literally fare table, is a line map with a number beside every station. First find your own station, marked tōeki (当駅), literally this station, or genzaichi (現在地), literally present location, and usually picked out in red. Then follow the line to your destination and read the number beside it: that is the adult fare from here. Smaller figures, where printed, are child fares. Many maps in the Tokyo area also print a second, slightly lower figure for IC cards, because IC fares there are counted to the yen while ticket fares are rounded up to the next ten.
Stations on other companies' lines often appear in another colour. A fare printed beside them is a through fare that covers the transfer; where none is printed, buy the cheapest ticket and settle the rest at the end.
The buttons on the screen, one by one
The first screen answers the question of what you want, and the labels are nearly the same on every railway, even where the layout differs. Kippu (きっぷ) is a single ticket, kaisūken (回数券), literally number-of-times ticket, a set of coupon tickets, and teiki (定期), short for teikiken, a commuter pass. Chāji (チャージ) tops up an IC card, and seisan (精算), settlement, pays a fare difference, often on separate machines inside the gates.
Around the screen sit a few fixed buttons: yobidashi (呼出), literally call out, rings the staff; torikeshi (取消), cancel, returns your money; ryōshūsho (領収書) prints a receipt after you buy; and a language button switches the screen to English and other languages. If you are stuck, a station attendant will help, and these two questions cover most cases.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| すみません、チャージはどのボタンですか。 | Sumimasen, chāji wa dono botan desu ka. | Excuse me, which button is for topping up? |
| 英語の画面にできますか。 | Eigo no gamen ni dekimasu ka. | Can I switch the screen to English? |
| Button | Reading | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| きっぷ | kippu | Buy an ordinary single ticket |
| 回数券 | kaisūken | Coupon tickets; JR stopped selling them in 2021 and 2022, some other lines still do |
| 定期券 | teikiken | Commuter pass between two named stations |
| チャージ | chāji | Add money to an IC card |
| 精算 | seisan | Pay a fare difference, usually inside the gates |
| 領収書 | ryōshūsho | Print a receipt for what you just bought |
| 呼出 | yobidashi | Call a staff member through the intercom |
| 取消 | torikeshi | Cancel and get your money back |
Otona and kodomo: choosing the number of people
Before you press a fare, you can set the number of people: otona (大人), adult, and kodomo, child, written 小児 (shōni) on many machines and こども on others. How many people comes before the price because one press then buys several tickets at once. If you skip it, you get the default, one adult ticket.
Railway kodomo is narrower than the everyday word. On JR and most other lines it means primary-school pupils, roughly six to twelve; from secondary school on, you pay the adult fare. Children below school age ride free, up to two with each paying passenger on most lines. The child fare is about half the adult fare, with rounding that varies by company, and child tickets carry the kanji 小. A family at a staffed window, or a parent at the machine, will say things like this.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大人二枚、子ども一枚お願いします。 | Otona ni-mai, kodomo ichi-mai onegai shimasu. | Two adult tickets and one child's, please. |
| この子は小学生なので、子ども料金です。 | Kono ko wa shōgakusei na no de, kodomo ryōkin desu. | This one's at primary school, so it's the child fare. |
| 幼児は無料ですか。 | Yōji wa muryō desu ka. | Do small children ride free? |
| 先に人数を選んでね。 | Saki ni ninzū o erande ne. | Choose the number of people first. |
| 中学生からは大人料金だよ。 | Chūgakusei kara wa otona ryōkin da yo. | From secondary school it's the adult fare. |
Paying: the order of steps and the machine's voice
Once the fare is chosen, put in coins or notes; some machines also accept payment from an IC card. Many machines let you insert the money first and then light up every fare you can afford, so the order is flexible. Take the ticket and your change together. If you want a receipt, press ryōshūsho straight after buying, while the screen still offers it. The recorded voice speaks polite, formulaic Japanese.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 人数を選んでください。 | Ninzū o erande kudasai. | Please choose the number of people. |
| 金額を選んでください。 | Kingaku o erande kudasai. | Please choose the amount. |
| お金を入れてください。 | Okane o irete kudasai. | Please insert money. |
| きっぷとおつりをお取りください。 | Kippu to otsuri o otori kudasai. | Please take your ticket and change. |
| お取り忘れのないようご注意ください。 | Otori-wasure no nai yō gochūi kudasai. | Please take care not to leave anything behind. |
Ticket or IC card: when paper is the right choice
Most days an IC card is simpler, and a separate post covers topping one up and passing the gates. Paper still wins in a few cases, and each follows from the same logic: the gate must know where you started and what you paid, and sometimes a card cannot tell it.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ICカードで乗れますか。 | Aishī kādo de noremasu ka. | Can I ride with an IC card? |
| この区間はICカードをご利用いただけません。 | Kono kukan wa aishī kādo o goriyō itadakemasen. | IC cards can't be used for this section. (staff) |
| きっぷをお買い求めください。 | Kippu o okaimotome kudasai. | Please buy a ticket. (staff) |
- A journey that crosses from one IC card area into another, where the card cannot cover both ends.
- A small station with no IC reader, still found on some rural lines.
- A child without a child IC card, since an ordinary card charges the adult fare.
- A day pass, ichinichi jōshaken (一日乗車券), sold at the machine on many city networks.
Limited express and shinkansen seats need a separate express ticket, tokkyūken (特急券), usually from a different machine marked shiteiseki (指定席), reserved seats. The post on train station phrases covers asking for these at the window.
Beyond the basics: calling staff and fixing a wrong ticket
The yobidashi button connects you to station staff through an intercom, and at some stations an attendant answers from a window beside the machines. Use it when a note is rejected, change does not come out, or the machine keeps your money. Before you pay, torikeshi solves most mistakes. After paying, a ticket that is too cheap is fine: settle the difference at your destination. A ticket that is too expensive can usually be refunded at the staffed window, sometimes minus a fee, so ask straight away rather than after your journey.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| すみません、おつりが出てきません。 | Sumimasen, otsuri ga dete kimasen. | Excuse me, my change hasn't come out. |
| お札が入りません。 | Osatsu ga hairimasen. | The machine won't take my note. |
| 間違えて高いきっぷを買ってしまいました。 | Machigaete takai kippu o katte shimaimashita. | I bought a more expensive ticket by mistake. |
| 払い戻しできますか。 | Haraimodoshi dekimasu ka. | Can I get a refund? |
| 少々お待ちください。 | Shōshō omachi kudasai. | One moment, please. (staff) |
Common mistakes at Japanese ticket machines
Searching the screen for your destination. The cause is habit from machines abroad that start with a list of stations. Read the fare map first, then press the price.
Buying a child ticket for a thirteen-year-old. In everyday Japanese a secondary-school pupil is still kodomo, but on the railway they pay the adult fare.
Queuing at the reserved-seat machine for a short trip. The machines look alike, but those marked shiteiseki handle longer transactions; the plain ones are quicker for local tickets.
Leaving the change behind. Ticket and coins often come out of different slots, and the ticket catches your eye. Check both trays before you step away.
Looking for the IC figure on the fare buttons. Where the map prints two numbers, the one counted to the yen is the IC fare; the ticket button shows the rounded figure, a few yen higher.