The is a special discount

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...

issued in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

that allows holders one-day unlimited rides on the local

trains A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

Japan Railways Group The Japan Railways Group, commonly known as the or simply JR, is a network of railway companies in Japan formed after the Corporate spin-off, division and privatization of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. ...

(JR) during limited periods of the year. Since the ticket's introduction in the 1980s to 2024, one ticket was valid for five non-continuous days (midnight to midnight) within a designated

seasonal A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

period. The ticket was able to be used by multiple passengers; for example, five passengers could use one entire ticket sheet for unlimited trips in one day, or one person could use it for travel across five days. The ticket cost 12,050

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. T ...

(2,410 yen/day), and is ideal for long-distance travellers. The ticket was unable to be used in automatic ticket machines, and railway staff stamped the ticket at the beginning of each day of use. On October 24, 2024, the ticket's conditions of use were changed for the first time since 1984. The new tickets are valid for five consecutive days only, cannot be shared between multiple people, and can now be used to pass through automatic ticket gates. The five-day ticket's price remained the same as before, and a new three-day variant was also made available for 10,000 yen (3,333 yen/day). The Seishun 18 ticket covers travel on all local trains, which includes all passenger trains except for

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...

limited express A limited express is a type of express train or express bus service that stops at fewer locations compared to other express services on the same or similar routes. Japan The term "limited express" is a common translation of the Japanese ...

, and

express Express, The Expresss or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * ''The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid * The Expre ...

services, which require express surcharges. However, in the context of Japan Railways Group, includes not only trains that stop at all stations, but also train services. Rapid trains provide express service to destinations by passing intermediate stations, but do not require the surcharges of "express" trains. There is no age limit to buy the ticket despite the name "Seishun 18" (literally "Youth 18"). The ticket is not available at standard ticket vending machines, but can be purchased from higher-end machines that sell Shinkansen tickets during the sale period under the heading , over the counter at JR railway stations, or from a

travel agency A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel suppliers to offer different kinds of travelling packages for each destina ...

during the sale period.

Ticket sale and usage

The ticket is available for purchase during three different periods of the year. Although JR authorities state that these dates are subject to change, the dates of availability have remained unchanged since the ticket was first released in 1982 and can be considered standard data. When a ticket is purchased, it can be used only for that particular season. JR is able to issue full refunds for tickets that remain unused before the end of the "Tickets on sale" period.

Ticket benefits

JR West Bus

Since 2019, JR West Bus, the bus department of

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

, has given passengers who have Seishun 18 Tickets a discount on fares of three bus routes. The campaign is planned to be carried out 2020 through 2021. The three bus routes which are operated by JR West Bus, the ''Meikin Line - 名金線''（

Kanazawa Station is a major railway station in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West), the private railway operator Hokuriku Railroad, and the Public–private partnership#Japan, third-sector operator IR Ishikawa Railway. B ...

↔ Fukumitsu Station), the ''Enpuku Line - 園福線''（ Fukuchiyama Station↔ Sonobe Station), and the ''Wakae Line - 若江線''（

Ōmi-Imazu Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Takashima, Shiga, Takashima, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). As a key station of the Kosei Line, the station has a yard on its south side. Lines ...

↔ Obama Station). Through this campaign, passengers may ride on the above bus routes at a flat fare of 800 yen each. Passengers show the bus driver the Seishun 18 Ticket, and the driver gives a discount ticket when passengers get off the last terminal. Passengers cannot get off at non-registered bus stops. If you get off at the bus stops, the discount is annulled.

Hisatsu Orange Railway

On the

Hisatsu Orange Railway is a third-sector railway company which operates Hisatsu Orange Railway Line in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures. The line follows the former part of the JR Kyushu Kagoshima Main Line that connected Yatsushiro and Sendai in Kumamoto and K ...

, the is sold for 2,100 yen to passengers who have valid a Seishun 18 Ticket during its period of validity (a same-day seal is placed on the ticket). Riders can use the entire Hisatsu Orange Railway line for one day. Tickets can be purchased from train crew and station staff.

Echigo Tokimeki Railway

On the

Echigo Tokimeki Railway The , officially abbreviated as ETR, is a Japanese third-sector railway operator. It was established in 2010 to operate passenger railway services on the sections of the JR East Shinetsu Main Line and JR West Hokuriku Main Line within Niigata P ...

, the is sold for 1,000 yen to passengers who have valid Seishun 18 Tickets in a valid period of time (a same-day seal is placed on ticket).

Kampu Ferry

Kampu Ferry gives passengers who have Seishun 18 Tickets a discounts about fares between

Shimonoseki file:141122 Shimonoseki City Hall Yamaguchi pref Japan01s3.jpg, 260px, Shimonoseki city hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 248,193 in 128,762 households and a pop ...

and

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

. The company allows discount of 50% for second class (4,500 yen/one-way/after discounting), discount of 36% for first class (8,000 yen/one-way/after discounting), and discount of 25% for deluxe class (13,500 yen/one-way/after discounting). Passengers must reserve a seat on the ferry and explain staff about using "''Seishun 18 Kippu Tabi Daioen Waribiki ( Ja:青春18きっぷ旅大応援割引)''" by telephone before boarding on the ferry. When you make a reservation, passengers must tell the staff their name, passport number, date of birth and gender. The company gives a discount about fares in terms of validity of the Seishun 18 Ticket. A round-trip ticket is counted as two tickets, so the tickets are discounted as two tickets. There is no discount when the passengers make a reservation at a one-way trip from Pusan Port to

. Passengers must pay a fuel surcharge fee, and international tourist tax (1000 yen) except fares and Seishun 18 Tickets.

JR Hotel Group

JR Hotel Group gives guests who have Seishun 18 Tickets a discount. Guests must make a reservation at this hotel by the day before. Guests must show the hotel staff your Seishun 18 Ticket which is used on the same-day when you stay at hotel when you check into the hotel.

Exception

Chiyoda Line

Travel is permitted on local and semi-express trains on the

Tokyo Metro The Tokyo Metro () is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the #Organization, Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.52 million passengers (as of 2023), the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the Tokyo subway, two s ...

Chiyoda Line The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro in Tokyo, Japan. On average, the line carries 1,447,730 passengers daily (2017), the second highest of the Tokyo Metro network, behind the Tozai Line (1,642,378).Kitasenju Station and Ayase Station without getting off, since the Chiyoda Line is deemed to JR

Jōban Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line officially begins at Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, Miyagi. However, following ...

History

The ticket first went on sale from March 1, 1982, as the . It cost 8,000 yen and consisted of three 1-day tickets and one 2-day ticket. It also included a "Seishun 18" sticker for passengers to stick on their bags when travelling. In 1983, the name was changed to . The price was raised to 10,000 yen for a booklet of four 1-day tickets and one 2-day ticket (equivalent to 1,666 yen per day, compared with 1,600 yen per day for the original ticket). In summer 1984, the format was changed to a booklet of five 1-day tickets, with the price remaining at 10,000 yen, equivalent to 2,000 yen per day. The price was raised to 11,000 yen in the winter of 1986 following the nationwide fare increase in July of that year. With the introduction of the

consumption tax A consumption tax is a tax levied on consumption spending on goods and services. The tax base of such a tax is the money spent on Consumption (economics), consumption. Consumption taxes are usually indirect, such as a sales tax or a value-added ta ...

in 1989, the price was raised to 11,300 yen for the summer ticket, and this was further increased to 11,500 yen in summer 1997 after the consumption tax increased from 3% to 5%. In 2014, the consumption tax was raised to 8%, leading to a price of 11,850 yen. In 2019, the consumption tax was raised to 10%, which raised the ticket's price to 12,050 yen. The format of the ticket changed from the booklet to single ticket sheets in spring 1996 as a measure to prevent users from re-selling unused portions to ticket resellers. In October 2024, the ticket's conditions were changed to require the five-day usage period to be consecutive days, and to disallow the use of the ticket by multiple people, whether on the same or across different days. Like the

Japan Rail Pass The , also called the JR Pass, is a rail pass sold by the Japan Railways Group exclusively for overseas visitors. It is valid for travel on all major forms of transportation provided by the JR Group in Japan, with a few exceptions. The pass is de ...

for foreign tourists, the ticket can now be used in automatic ticket gates.

In popular culture

The lyrics of " Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!", a single by the

kawaii metal Kawaii metal (also known as cute metal, J-pop metal, or kawaiicore) is a musical genre that blends elements of heavy metal and J-pop that was pioneered in Japan in the early 2010s. The genre combines both Eastern and Western influences that appe ...

band

Babymetal (stylized in all caps as BABYMETAL) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal", Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal" and Momoko Okazaki as "Momometal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse Inc., Amuse talent a ...

, mention the Seishun 18 Tiicket.

References

External links

JR East discount ticket information

JR Hotel Group
{{Wikivoyage, Seishun 18 Ticket Fare collection systems in Japan Train tickets