Japan Routes: What Each Leg Costs and How Long It Takes
Most route questions have a numeric answer, and most pages answer them with paragraphs. These do not: each page opens with the fare and the journey time, then compares the alternatives honestly — including the times the slow, cheap option is the right one.
- Tokyo → Kyoto¥14,000 · 2h15 by Nozomi. The one route where the train beats flying outright.
- Tokyo → Osaka¥14,500 · 2h30 by Nozomi — and why Shin-Osaka is not Osaka.
- Osaka → Hiroshima¥10,500 · about 90 minutes, and whether it works as a day trip.
- Kyoto → Osaka¥580 · 30 min on the JR Special Rapid — and why the shinkansen is the wrong call.
- Kyoto → Nara¥720 · 45 min. Which station actually puts you next to the deer.
- Tokyo → Kanazawa~¥14,400 · 2h30. Kagayaki is fully reserved — and is the detour worth it?
- Tokyo → Hiroshima~¥19,500 · about 4h. The one route where a flight genuinely competes.
- Tokyo → Hakone¥2,470 · 85 min on the Romancecar — and when the ¥6,100 Freepass pays.
- Osaka → Nara¥840 · about 50 min. The arrival station matters more than the fare.
A note on the numbers
Fares here are standard one-way adult prices for a non-reserved seat, and journey times are for the fastest regular service. Both move — seasonal surcharges, fare revisions, and slower services on the same line. We publish a route page only once its fare and time are verified, which is why this list grows slowly rather than covering every city pair at once.
To price a whole trip rather than one leg, use the trip cost calculator; to check whether a rail pass beats buying these tickets individually, use the JR Pass calculator. If you find a number here that is out of date, tell us — corrections are the most welcome kind of message.