Train or Plane in Japan? Here’s How to Decide

Since the Japan Rail Pass increased in price by 70% in 2023, many travelers are considering plane travel as a way to get around Japan. But the question is: When should you fly and when should you take the train (shinkansen) in Japan? Here’s how to decide.

Japan Airlines 777 - image © Alan Wilson / CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED

The Takeaway

• As a general rule, if the journey is going to be longer than 450km (280 miles) or 3.5 hours, then you should consider flying. See the maps below to visualize this.
• From Tokyo, that means you should fly to anywhere north of Sendai and west of Kobe.
• From Kyoto/Osaka, that means you should fly to anywhere north/east of Tokyo and south/west of Fukuoka.
• This rule is based on the following considerations:
• Train stations are usually in the middle of cities, while airports are outside of cities, so flying involves extra time getting to and from airports.
• There are formalities (check-in and security check) at airports, while there are no formalities at train stations, so flying has hidden time costs.
• Therefore, taking a train can often be faster than flying even if the flight takes less time than the train ride. However, once you pass the 450km/3.5hr mark, flying is better.
• Flying in Japan is MUCH more pleasant than flying in many foreign countries. It can also be surprisingly cheap.
• You can compare the cost of flights from Tokyo and Osaka with a flight comparison site.

Shinkansen in the station - image © Takeshi Kuboki / CC BY 2.0 DEED

The Details

Needless to say, your decision regarding trains vs planes will depend on personal preferences. If you’re an anxious flyer, then you’ll probably prefer trains unless there are no other options. Likewise, if you love seeing the country from ground level, trains are the way to go.

The General Rule

For most people, if the journey is going to be longer than 450km (280 miles) or 3.5 hours, then you should consider flying. See the two maps below to understand what this looks like when you’re starting from Tokyo or Kyoto/Osaka. I’ve also included some examples of actual trips from Tokyo and Kyoto.

Train vs Plane from Tokyo

When traveling from Tokyo, it makes sense to take the shinkansen to destinations as far west as Kobe and as far north as Sendai. Beyond those places, you should consider flying.

Tokyo > Kyoto	Flight or Shinkansen Time	Total Travel Time	Cost
Shinkansen	2 hr 12 min	2 hr 12 min	¥14,370
Plane (HND>ITM)	1 hr 10 min	3 hr 58 min	¥13,690

 

Tokyo to Kyoto: If you’re going from Tokyo to Kyoto, the shinkansen, which leaves from Tokyo Station in the center of town, will take 2 hours and 12 minutes and cost ¥14,370. If you start from the same place (Tokyo Station) and fly via Haneda, the flight only takes 1 hour and 10 minutes to Osaka’s Itami Airport (the closest airport to Kyoto), but the total travel time to Kyoto under the best of circumstances will be 3 hours and 58 minutes. The flight from Haneda to Itami is around ¥12,000, plus ground transport which costs around ¥1,690. So, the price is nearly the same, but the total travel time is significantly longer for flying (and that’s not even factoring in time for airport formalities).

Tokyo > Kagoshima	Flight or Shinkansen Time	Total Travel Time	Cost
Shinkansen	7 hr	7 hr	¥31,140
Plane (HND>KOJ)	2 hr 5 min	3 hr 10 min	¥13,280

 

Tokyo > Kagoshima: If you’re going to Kagoshima (Kyushu) from Tokyo by train, the journey will take 7 hours and cost ¥31,140. But the flight from Haneda only takes 2 hours and 5 minutes and the total travel time can be as brief as 3 hours and 10 minutes and cost as little as ¥11,000 (plus ¥2280 ground transport). Thus, flying to Kagoshima (or other places in Kyushu, Northern Honshu or Hokkaido) is a no-brainer.

You can compare the cost of flights from Tokyo to Kagoshima with Skyscanner.

Train vs Plane from Kyoto/Osaka

When traveling from Kyoto or Osaka, which share the same domestic airport (Itami), it makes sense to take the train to places as far as Fukuoka/Hakata or Tokyo. Beyond those places, you should consider flying. Please note that the figures here apply to both of the main airports that serve Kyoto and Osaka: Itami (ITM) and Kansai (KIX). While Itami is closer to Kyoto and Osaka, it’s fiddly to get to, so total travel time is usually around the same as KIX.

Kyoto > Hakata	Flight or Shinkansen Time	Total Travel Time	Cost
Shinkansen	2 hr 44 min	2 hr 44 min	¥16,980
Plane (ITM>FUK)	1 hr 15 min	2 hr 30 min	¥13,600

 

Kyoto > Hakata: If you travel from Kyoto to Fukuoka/Hakata by train (shinkansen), the total journey time will be 2 hours and 44 minutes and cost ¥16,980. The plane is faster with a flight time from Itami to Fukuoka/Hakata of 1 hour and 15 minutes and fares as low as ¥12,000, but ground travel will add at least 1 hour 15 minutes and cost around ¥1600. Once you add in the time for formalities at Itami, and the hassle of getting from Kyoto to Itami, you can see that the shinkansen is the better choice.

Kyoto > Kagoshima	Flight or Shinkansen Time	Total Travel Time	Cost
Shinkansen	4 hr 40 min	4 hr 40 min	¥24,430
Plane (ITM>KOJ)	1 hr 15 min	2 hr 30 min	¥15,400

 

Kyoto > Kagoshima: If you go from Kyoto to Kagoshima (southern Kyushu) by shinkansen (with a change at Hakata) the journey will take 4 hours and 40 minutes and cost ¥24,430. But, if you take the plane from Itami to Kagoshima, the flight will take 1 hour and 15 minutes and cost ¥13,800, plus 1 hour 15 minutes and around ¥1600 for ground transport. Thus, the total travel time is 2.5 hours and cost is ¥15,400, making it much cheaper and faster to travel from Kyoto to Kagoshima by plane.

Tokyo Station in central Tokyo - image © miragechopin / CC BY 2.0 DEED

Train Stations Are in Cities, While Airports Are Outside Cities

As you can see from the above examples, there’s a hidden time cost to flying because you have to travel from a city center to an airport, which may be located quite far from the city. This is particularly true for Narita, which is quite far from Tokyo, and Itami, which is relatively close to Kyoto and Osaka, but only accessible by limousine buses or fiddly combinations of trains, subways and monorail. In contrast, most shinkansen stations are either right in the city center (like Tokyo Station) or very close (like Shin-Osaka and Kyoto Station).

Arriving at Kansai International Airport: Go Legacy / Shutterstock.com

Formalities at an Airport vs a Train Station

Waiting in line to check in for your flight and then waiting in line again to undergo the indignity of the security check is a necessary evil of plane travel. Granted, Japanese airlines tend to handle check in very efficiently and the staff at security tend to be MUCH more polite those their counterparts in other countries (hello, TSA), but these things still add time and unpleasantness to a plane journey. By contrast, when you travel by shinkansen, you just breeze right through the turnstile – no muss, no fuss.

Check-in counter at Narita - image © Dushan Hanuska / CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED

Terminal 3 at Haneda Airport - image © GoToVan / CC BY 2.0 DEED

Flying in Japan is Pleasant

Taking a domestic flight in Japan is almost always a pleasant surprise. Airports are clean and well run, check-in is fast and efficient, security is pretty painless, and the planes are almost always in good condition. And, the food at Japanese airports is so much better than at most European and North American airports! Indeed, you can probably eat better at Haneda Airport than in most mid-sized American cities.

Peach Airlines plane at Kansai Airport - image © Alec Wilson / CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED

Flying in Japan is Cheaper Than You Think

But the most surprising thing of all is the fares: with several new low-cost carriers (LLCs), you can fly across Japan for less than the cost of a good dinner. And because fares are so low, if you’re feeling flush, you can indulge in premium seats without breaking the bank. Just as an example, here are some economy class fares for flights from Tokyo in March 2024: Tokyo-Sapporo US$43 by LLC and US$100 by legacy carrier (JAL); Tokyo-Naha (Okinawa) US$68 by LLC and US$110 by legacy carrier (JAL). And in business class on a legacy carrier, Tokyo to Sapporo is just US$218, and Tokyo to Naha is just US$203.

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