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Discount “All Day” Tickets for the Subway in Japan

If you’re travelling to several locations in one day in a Japanese city, you will save money when you buy an unlimited use “one day pass” for the subway system (instead of paying for each ride individually). If you take four or more subway rides in one day, you will usually save money when you buy an all day subway pass in Japan. For many travelers, it’s easy to save 15% – 70% (or more) on subway fares each day, by using all-day passes.

Below we’ll teach you everything you need to know about “one day” subway tickets in Japan.

Unlimited Use Discount Day Pass Tickets for the Subway in Japan

You Can Save Money on Subway Tickets in Japan
How Many Rides Do You Have to Take to Save Money with a Japanese One-Day Subway Ticket?
How Much Money Can You Save by Buying an All Day Value Pass to use the Japanese Subway?
Discounted Day-Passes for Japanese Subways Have Many Names
Ticket Fees for 1 Day Subway Passes in Each City in Japan
Subway Day Use Tickets are Not Valid on All Train Systems
Sample Itinerary (to show how much you might save in one day)
How to Buy a Discount Ticket for the Subway in Japan
Step by Step Process to Buy an One Day Subway Pass in Japan
Best Cities to Use an 1-Day Value Ticket for Subway in Japan
Other Discount Tickets for Public Transportation in Japan
Alternatives to the One-Day Unlimited Use Japanese Subway Tickets

You Can Save Money on Subway Tickets in Japan

All the major cities in Japan offer some version of a “one day,” unlimited-use pass for the subway (and they sometimes offer a combination pass for both the subway and buses). Buying a day-use subway ticket in Japan is very often a better deal than paying for each ride separately.

These passes are specifically for the “subway” – and cannot be used for all of the train systems in a given city. However, since the subways in Japanese cities often have the most lines and the best access to popular destinations, if you’re doing a lot of cross-town travel in one day, buying a “one-day pass” can save you money; usually 15% – 70% per day (depending on how many rides you take) compared to paying one ride at a time.

How Many Rides Do You Have to Take to Save Money with a Japanese All-Day Subway Ticket?

Japanese subways charge by the distance travelled (with additional pricing for each “zone” away from the starting point). The average price of a subway ride is around 200 JPY (for a short distance). Most one-day subway passes in Japan are about 800 JPY (sometimes with lower all-day pass prices for weekends). After about three or four rides in one day, you will save money when you purchase the discounted all-day ticket.

How Much Money Can You Save by Buying an All-Day Value Pass to Use the Japanese Subway?

Most riders will save money with an all-day subway ticket after four rides in the same day (compared to paying for each ride separately). If you take five rides in one day, you’ll usually save about 15% (a pretty good discount) versus paying the full fare. However, if you take six rides using a subway day pass in Japan, you’ll save between 20% and 40% on the day’s subway costs. Seven rides, you could easily save about 60% versus paying for the rides one at a time.

Over the course of a week, if you’re doing a lot of back and forth via Japanese subways within a city, you can easily save about 400 – 600 JPY per day, or 3,000 JPY per week.

Discounted Day Passes for Japanese Subways Have Many Names

Each city has different names for a ticket for the subway system in Japan that can be used all day.

In Tokyo, this ticket is called a “Value Pass” (the version that includes usage of the JR lines is called the “Tokyo Free Ticket”). In Yokohama, it’s called a “1-day Subway Pass.” In Osaka it is a “One Day Pass” or an “Eco Card.” Nagoya City has unlimited-use subway tickets called “Nagoya City Bus & Subway 1-Day Ticket,” “Nagoya Subway 24-Hour Ticket,” and the “Donichi Eco Kippu” (weekend all-day pass for Nagoya subways). In Sapporo, it’s called a One Day Card (and the discount card for the weekend is called a “Donichika” – which is an abbreviated combination of “Saturday,” “Sunday,” and “underground train” in Japanese.

Ticket Fees for All-Day Subway Passes in Each City in Japan

Here are the per-day fees for unlimited-use one-day tickets for subway travel in the following cities:

Tokyo: “One Day Open Ticket” or “Value Pass” – 700 JPY (900 JPY for Toei and Tokyo Metro Subway lines)
Tokyo: “Tokyo Combination Ticket” or “Tokyo Free Ticket” – 1,600 JPY (includes Tokyo Metro Subway, Toei Lines, JR lines, more)
Kyoto: “Kyoto City Subway 1‑Day Pass” – 800 JPY or “Subway & Bus 1-Day Pass” – 1,100 JPY
Yokohama: “1-day Subway Pass” – 740 JPY
Osaka: “One Day Pass” or “Enjoy Eco Card” – 820 JPY (600 JPY on weekends)
Nagoya: “Nagoya Subway 24-Hour Ticket” or “One Day Bus and Subway” – 760 JPY (870 JPY for Subway and buses, and 620 JPY for the Donichi Eco Kippu weekend pass)
Sapporo: “One-Day Ticket” – 840 JPY (520 JPY on weekends)
Kobe: “Subway One-Day Pass” – 830 JPY
Fukuoka: “Fukuoka City Subway 1-Day Pass” – 640 JPY or “Fukuoka Tourist City Pass” – 2,500 JPY (includes Fukuoka City Subway, Nishitetsu buses and trains, JR Kyushu local trains, Showa buses, and Fukuoka municipal ferries)
Hiroshima: “1 Day Streetcar Pass” – 700 JPY or “1 Day Streetcar and Ferry Pass” – 1,000 JPY (ferryboat to Miyajima)
Okayama: “Okayama Romen‑Densha 1‑Day Pass” – 400 JPY
Saitama: “SEIBU 1Day Pass” – 1,000 JPY (All seibu lines)

While all the major cities offer these daily passes, the layout of some cities may make “unlimited use” more or less practical. See below for our recommendations by city.

Subway Day-Use Tickets are Not Valid on All Train Systems

Japanese cities typically offer a lot of public transportation, including several different train lines within one city (sometimes sharing the same train station), with separate, distinct charges for each train system. This can be confusing for new visitors.

For example: A city like Osaka has eight different train systems, each with its own payment system; In addition to the Osaka Metro Subway lines, there are seven other lines, including JR lines, Nankai lines, Hankyu lines, Hanshin lines, Keihan lines, Kintetsu lines, and the Osaka Monorail line. While many of these lines serve connections to locations outside the city, if you’re travelling a lot within Osaka City, it is common to use two or more train systems in the same day.

These subway day-use discount tickets are typically for that city’s subway only. If you buy a subway one-day ticket in Japan, you may still have to pay for rides on other train lines in that city.

Some cities do offer unlimited day-use tickets for both subway and city buses on the same pass, for one price.

Sample Itinerary (to show how much you might save in one day)

We personally use one-day subway tickets in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. We have an actual used ticket from the Osaka Metro Subway that recorded each of the trips we took that day (printed on the back of the ticket).

On that day, the ticket was used seven times.

The minimum fare for a subway ride in Osaka is 190 JPY. For seven rides, the minimum cost would have been 1330 JPY. Since we used the Osaka one-day “Eco Enjoy Card” to ride the subway, the cost was only 820 JPY. We saved at least 510 JPY (probably more, as we took some longer rides that day), or over 60% versus if we had paid for the subway rides one at a time.

How to Buy a Discount One-day Ticket for the Subway in Japan

You can buy discounted all-day tickets to use the subway in Japan at most automated ticket machines within the major subway stations; at most major subway stations, there is an option to buy a one-day ticket or a “24 hour ticket.” While there are automated ticket machines at every station, not every machine will offer a discount ticket option.

To start: You can either 1. Buy a thin, plastic, physical ticket (what they call a “magnetic strip ticket” or a “thermal paper” ticket) or 2. Add an all-day pass to a PASMO or SUICA card (metal cards that can be used again and again to store value for transportation or other payments). There is also sometimes an option to buy an all-day pass via a PASMO or SUICA app.

The physical “paper” subway tickets are easy to use, and there is no additional cost. If you want to buy a reusable PASMO or SUICA card, there is an additional one-time fee for a metal card. If you’re not staying in Japan, buying a “paper” physical ticket each day may be a good option. If you already have a PASMO or SUICA card, the subway automated ticket machines can print your pass on the card (and the machine will erase, and reprint, the pass on your card if you buy a day pass on any preceding day).

You can pay for a one-day subway ticket in Japan with cash, credit card (cards from outside of Japan may not work), or IC card.

Step-by-Step Process to Buy an All-Day Subway Pass in Japan

Here is the process to buy an all-day pass to use on Japanese subways:

#1. Make sure you are in a subway station; not a station that serves a different kind of train. In Tokyo these stations are called Tokyo Metro; in Yokohama they are called the Subway; in Osaka they are called the Osaka Metro; in Nagoya the system is called the Subway; etc. (If you’re seeing signs that say “JR” or some other kind of train, that is not considered a “subway” in Japan).

#2: Look for a subway ticket machine. There may be more than one train system in a given subway (and some stations have nothing to do with the subway), so make sure you are using a machine that is specifically for that city’s subway system.

#3. If you don’t speak Japanese, look for a button that will let you select your language. All ticket machines have an option for English and other languages (they usually also include Chinese and Korean).

#4. Look for the option for an “all-day pass.” In Tokyo, this is called the “Value Pass.” In Osaka, it is called the “One-Day Pass” or “Enjoy Eco Card.” In Nagoya it is called a “Nagoya Subway 24-Hour Ticket” or “One Day Bus and Subway” ticket. There may be an option for an even lower priced ticket for use on the weekends.

#5. If there is an option for a paper ticket or PASMO/SUICA (or to use an app on your phone), make your choice. If you’re using PASMO/SUICA, you’ll have to enter your existing card (or choose the option to pay for one).

#6. Pay the fare. You can commonly pay via cash, credit card (cards from outside of Japan may not work), or IC Card.

#7. Receive your ticket.

#8. If you want to a receipt, press the appropriate button.

That’s it. Once you have an all-day pass, you will use it as you enter and exit the subway system for the rest of that day (or for 24 hours, for one of the special Nagoya tickets).

Best Cities to Use a One-Day Value Ticket for the Subway in Japan

The biggest cities usually provide better opportunities to get real value from a one-day Japanese subway ticket.

Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya are big cities. Depending on where you want to travel in a given day, tourist attractions and other destinations may be a significant distance from where you are staying, and from each other. It is not unusual to ride the subway five or more times in a day, to reach different locations in those cities.

For very short rides using the combination Tokyo Metro Subway and Toei Line Value Pass (900 JPY) on the weekdays, it may take as many as five rides to break even, with a discount after six rides. If you’re taking longer trips across the city, you’ll save money with fewer rides.

The Osaka Metro One-Day Enjoy Eco Pass is almost always a good deal. The city of Nagoya, also, is big enough to get good value from a day-use ticket.

For smaller cities that have less to see, or have more attractions in concentrated space, unlimited use tickets may be less valuable. For example, Kobe City is a long, narrow city – running east and west (between the mountains and Osaka Bay). Many attractions are within walking distance around Sannomiya Station, in the few blocks between the hills and the sea. As there are also several different Kobe train lines in that area; even when you use a train, it’s less likely to always be a Kobe Subway line. In Kobe, an all-day pass may offer less value, because you walk more, or use several of Kobe’s different train systems.

For another example, Sapporo City has a very concentrated downtown area. For residents or visitors staying downtown, it may be easier to walk to a destination; the area between Sapporo Station and Odori Station can be explored on foot (with an underground passage between the stations). Even if you use the subway, you might not take more than four rides in one day, making the pass less attractive (unless it’s a weekend).

Because many of the cities in Japan offer even lower priced all-day use subway tickets on weekends, the weekend-priced ticket is almost always a very good value, where you’ll save 50% to 100% or more per day, compared to paying for individual rides. Sapporo’s Donichika weekend subway pass, for example, is only 540 JPY.

Other Discount Tickets for Public Transportation in Japan

To avoid confusion, be aware that there are other kinds of discount tickets for transportation by train in Japan.

Within a city like Tokyo or Osaka, there are one-day “value” tickets, there are discounts for disabled people, and special “commuter passes” for locals that take the train often over the course of a month. Cities like Tokyo sometimes offer special “tourist-only” tickets (the PASMO Passport was one example, which may be discontinued).

The JR lines exist in these cities, and are usually not part of any “one-day” subway pass (JR lines are not a part of the subway). JR Lines have their own passes, that can be ideal for visitors that are traveling long distances between cities (but won’t be useful or cost-effective for trips within a given city).

Alternatives to the One-Day Unlimited Use Japanese Subway Tickets

Another easier, less complicated solution to using trains in Japanese cities is to buy a PASMO or SUICA card (500 JPY), to load it up with value, and then to use it to pay for rides one at a time.

There is no discount with this option, but it is simple, and it works across all train lines, in all cities – not just the subway system within a given city. If you load up a PASMO or SUICA card with value (say, 1000 or 5000 JPY), you can “tap” your pass at the entrance to a subway train, for a JR train, or any of Japanese public transportation, including many local buses.

You can also add a day-use pass to a PASMO or SUICA card, where you pay extra for unlimited use of the subways in a given city for that day, and you retain your existing balance. You can then use the day pass on the subway all day (if you use a different train system, that fare will be deducted from any balance of funds on the card). At the end of the day, the “one day subway pass” on the PASMO or SUICA card expires, and you can continue to use any remaining balance you had on the card.

Japanese Subway Day-Use Tickets are a Good Deal

It is not difficult to buy a one-day ticket for a Japanese subway; they are convenient to use, and you can easily save some money on your daily subway travel costs.

Discount “All Day” Tickets for the Subway in Japan

Unlimited Use Discount Day Pass Tickets for the Subway in Japan

Japanese Subway Day-Use Tickets are a Good Deal

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