Traveling to Hokuriku with Seishun18 Pass
- MaiRie
- Aug 16, 2020
- 3 min read
If you love traveling around Japan via in a slow pace and enjoys the nature from the train just like me, Seishun 18 ticket would be perfect for you.
All-you-can-ride Train Passes || JR Rail Pass
JR has passes that covers any mode of transportations such as buses, trains, ferry, or even shinkansen. They have various passes available within Japan and it differs in every area. By acquiring these could help you save more and travel easily. Some passes are good for 3days, 5days, or 7days. Most of them are seasonal, which means are only available in spring, summer, and winter. If you're traveling Japan, make sure to check this out and see what works for you best.
What is Seishun 18 ?
Its name 'seishun' (青春) means 'adolescence', 'youth', 'spring time of life'. Seishun 18 was originally for the students who wants to travel in their seasonal vacations which is why it is only available in spring, summer, and winter. It allows up to five non-consecutive days of unlimited travel on JR local and rapid trains for only ¥12,050 or ¥2,410 per day. Which means you can travel and enjoy the train scenery at slow pace. This ticket's period of use is really long so you can use it whenever until before the period of use ends. It allows the holder one-day unlimited rides. A ticket has 5 stamps, each stamps can be shared with your family or friends. You can get on and off local trains (futsu/普通) and rapid trains(kaisoku/快速) as much as you want on the same day a stamp is used. This is one of my favorite tickets as it is more relaxed when it comes to its usage and it could help you save more.
Period of use/on sale
These dates may vary every year and it falls in to the dates above for 2020. Unlike the Japan Rail Pass, the Seishun 18 ticket does not need to be used on five consecutive days. That means you can activate it one stamp, take a break, and get back to using it a little later within usage period.
Period on sale | Period of use |
Spring: February 20 to March 31 | March 1 to April 10 |
Summer: July 1 to August 31 | July 20 to September 10 |
Winter: December 1 to December 31 | December 10 to January 10 |
From Okayama to Hokuriku(Kanazawa) - Hokuriku(Toyama) to Okayama
Most of the time, I use this ticket to travel around Kansai by myself. But on this trip, I am sharing it with a friend. There are 5 stamps available in the ticket means, we used 2 stamps on our way to Hokuriku and there are 3 more left.
Above: On our way to Kanazawa, we were able to explore a bit of Tsuruga(left) and Fukui(right)
On the last day of our trip, we used 2 more tickets to head back to Okayama. This means I still have one more ticket that I can use to travel this summer.
How much did we save?
Below are the possible costs we could have spent from Okayama to Kanazawa for a one way trip. You can see a huge price difference with Seishun 18. This really depends on your focus on a trip and clearly shows you're buying the time. If you love train scenery or exploring areas on your way to your destination, this would be perfect for you.
Without the Pass | Seishun 18 |
| ¥2,410 one way
|
How to buy the pass
The pass is available at most JR stations from the selling dates. You can purchase it at the gate or at JR Ticket Offices (Midori no Madoguchi). The price may differ from the previous year. You can also purchase it ahead of time. If you want to know more, please check out:
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