When using limited express trains on conventional lines, a boarding ticket and a limited express ticket are required. The same applies to the Shinkansen, requiring a boarding ticket and a limited express fare. Basically, the amount of money goes up according to the distance, but there is a slight exception. This is the subject of this issue.
The quickest way to find out is to look it up in the Quick Reference Guide.
Limited express trains on conventional lines operate on a variety of routes, so the express fares listed in the timetable are based on “distance”. Therefore, the express fare is calculated by checking the operating kilometer of the section to be used, and then saying, “If the operating kilometer is in the range of XX km to XX km, then how much is the express fare?
However, for frequently used sections, it is quicker to look at a separate table. It is a so-called triangular table, and the numbers in the cells at the intersection of the boarding and alighting stations indicate the amount of money. This is often seen in the fare charts of one-man trains.
As for the Shinkansen, the number of lines and stations is limited, so the paper timetable provides a triangular table covering all stations. As mentioned above, a boarding ticket and an express fare are required, so each cell has two tiers: the upper tier is the fare (boarding ticket) and the lower tier is the express fare (reserved seat) for the regular season.
However, when we look at the express fare figures, we notice something odd. For the two adjacent stations, the express fares are italicized with an “*” and the amounts are the same.
For example, looking at the Sanyo Shinkansen, the express fare between Himeji and Aioi is 870 yen in italics, and the express fare between Aioi and Okayama is 990 yen in italics. The fares between other adjacent stations are also either 870 yen or 990 yen. This is called a specific limited express fare, and in the case of the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, it may be either 870 yen or 990 yen, depending on the distance between stations.
The Tokaido Shinkansen between Tokyo and Shinagawa also has a specific limited express fare of 870 yen, so the fare is 180 yen and the limited express fare is 870 yen, for a total of 1,050 yen. Who would take the Shinkansen with an additional express fare that is almost five times the fare? I wondered, but I once took the Tohoku Shinkansen only between Tokyo and Ueno. The fare was 170 yen, and the specified express fare was 880 yen, for a total of 1,050 yen.
Anyway, so far, we are talking about the “basics”.
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