Japan's JR East Is Offering 50% Off Shinkansen Tickets For Select Routes

Many of us are huge fans of Japan and love travelling to this amazing country! And while the world is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, we're still looking forward to that time in the future when it'll be safe to visit again ? If you're hoping to visit Japan in the future, it may interest you to hear that JR East is offering 50% off select Shinkansen bullet train and limited express train ticket prices!

The promotion is running from 20 August 2020 and will last all the way to 31 Mar 2021 and applies to the following Shinkansen lines and routes.

1. Tohoku Shinkansen - Hayabusa/Hayate: Between Tokyo Station and Morioka/Shin-Aomori (Iwate)
2. Tohoku/Hokkaido Shinkansen - Hayabusa: Between Tokyo and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto (Hokkaido)
3. Tohoku Shinkansen - Yamabiko: Between Tokyo and Fukushima
4. Tohoku Shinkansen - Nasuno: Between Tokyo and Nasushiobara (Tochigi)
5. Tohoku/Akita Shinkansen - Komachi: Between Tokyo and Akita
6. Yamagata Shinkansen - Tsubasa: Between Tokyo and Shinjo (Yamagata)
7. Joetsu Shinkansen - Toki: Between Tokyo and Jomo-Kogen (Gunma)
8. Joetsu Shinkansen - Tanigawa: Between Tokyo and Niigata
9. Hokuriku Shinkansen - Asama: Between Tokyo and Nagano
10. Hokuriku Shinkansen - Kagayaki: Between Tokyo and Kanazawa (Ishikawa)
11. Hokuriku Shinkansen - Hakutaka: Between Tokyo and Itoigawa (Niigata)

For the limited express trains, these include:

1. Hitachi: Between Tokyo and Haranomachi/Soma/Watari/Iwanuma/Sendai
2. Azusa: Between Tokyo and Haranomachi/Chino/Kami-Suwa/Matsumoto
3. Kaiji: Between Tokyo and Kofu/Ryo
4. Wakashio, Shinjuku-Wakashio: Between Tokyo and Oamishirasato/Ohara/Katsuura/Awa-Kamogawa
5. Sazanami, Shinjuku-Sazanami: Between Tokyo and Goi/Anegasaki/Kisarazu/Kimitsu/Tateyama
6. Shiosai: Between Tokyo and Sakura/Yachimata/Naruto/Yokaichiba/Asahi/Choshi
7. Inaho: Between Tokyo and Tsuruoka/Amarume/Sakata
8. Nikko, Kinugawa, Spacia Kinugawa: Between Tokyo and Tobu-Nikko/Kinugawa Onsen

As Shinkansen ticket prices can get pretty pricey (for example, travelling to the tip of Tohoku to stations like Shin-Aomori can easily set you back about JPY21,000, so getting 50% off is a super big reduction! Unfortunately, the discount doesn't cover the super popular routes like from Tokyo to Osaka and ultimately, if you're travelling by train to a lot of different places during a trip, a rail pass would still be more cost-effective. However, for those planning to visit specific locations (for example, planning a trip to just Hokkaido), it would be a great deal! Many of the prefectures serviced by the route above have tons to offer (such as Tohoku, which we loved!) and would be perfect places outside of busy Tokyo to explore in the future.

We may not be able to travel to Japan just yet, but we remain hopeful that that time will come when it'll be safe to explore the land of the rising sun again, and hopefully sooner rather than later!