Is the Seishun 18 Ticket Still Worth It? Japanese Riders Say It Now Suits "Rail-Fan College Students and Full-Time YouTubers"

What Japanese people said — picked from the top 200 of 1,853 comments

• I work at a station, and there's a huge amount of fare dodging and complaints. People who walk through acting like the date stamp is there when it isn't, people who flash it for a split second and then yell "I showed it to you!" Seishun 18 season is honestly terrible.

  現場社員ですが不正乗車とクレームがものすごく多いです。日付スタンプを押していないのにあたかも押されているような顔して通過しようとする人、一瞬見せただけで提示しただろ！と罵声をあげる人など、18きっぷシーズンは本当にひどいです。

  — @maisendoubleMost liked2,181 likes

• Hearing it from the people working there, it kind of feels like the change couldn't be helped. They sowed those seeds themselves, so it's a bit much how they act like the victims...

  現場の方の話を聞くと、改定されても仕方がないような気もするけどね 自分らで撒いたタネなのに、なぜか被害者ヅラしてんのがちょっとな…

  — @アスタリア-z3c429 likes

• Even if you could use it on consecutive days, hotel prices have shot up, so you're stuck there too.

  仮に連続で使えたとしても、今はホテル代が高騰してるのでその部分でも詰んでる。

  — @あかちゃぼ158 likes

• Two of us would share an 18 ticket, then on some free sunny day I'd suddenly decide to use the leftover day for a Sendai to Totsuka round trip. That was pretty "seishun" (youthful). Consecutive use just makes it a grueling trip, and you can't do the sunny-day thing anymore either. Still, thanks to the old 18 ticket, Sendai to Tokyo is a stretch I know well now.

  18きっぷを2人で使って、残った1日で暇な晴れた日にふと思い立って仙台ー戸塚往復旅に出るとか、結構青春だったんだけどなぁ。連続使用だとただの苦痛旅だし晴れた日にとかできないのも難しい。 ただ今までの18きっぷのおかげで仙台ー東京はもう慣れた区間になりました

  — @ゆうちゃん-p5j32 likes

• Suit-san responds fast. I'm impressed he can lay out the upsides. To me, the consecutive-use part did look like a change for the worse. Thinking the old way, riding three or five days straight sounds exhausting, like who has that kind of stamina. But it's consecutive validity, not a rule that you have to ride on consecutive days, so stamina has nothing to do with it. It's basically become a free ticket good on every JR line for 3 days at 10,000 yen or 5 days at 12,050 yen. If you ride something like Tokyo to Hakata or farther, the 5-day one pays for itself. Now, what to plan for winter...

  スーツさんは対応が早いですね。メリットを説けるところが感心させられます。 私は連続利用という点については改悪に思えました。 これまでの利用方法から発想すると3日や5日連続して乗車するのは大変だ、そんな体力は無いになるのかもしれません。 しかし連続利用であって連続乗車しなければならいないわけではありませんから、体力は関係ないと思います。 3日間有効10,000円、5日間有効12,050円のJR全線で使用可能なフリーきっぷに成り下がったわけですね。 東京ー博多ぐらい以上を利用すれば5日間用の元は取れます。 さて、冬の計画をどうしようか…

  — @そーねK2 likes

• Being able to use the automatic gates is a big plus. 1. No more time lost waiting in line to settle Suica fares at boundary stations like Numazu and Mishima. 2. No more hassle at gates that are automatic only, like some on JR West, or at times when a station is unstaffed and you press an intercom so they can check you remotely on camera. Personally I think it's aimed at the ticket shops (selling single days).

  自動改札を使えるのは大きなメリット。 １，沼津や三島とかの境界越え駅でのスイカ乗り越し精算行列待ちのタイムロス解消。 ２，JR西日本などである自動改札しかない改札や、ある時間帯無人になるときインターホン押してカメラで遠隔確認する手間が解消。 個人的には金券屋対策（バラ売り）のような気がする。

  — @union980068 likes

• If anything, it made me grateful that JR put so much effort into a special ticket that barely made them any money, and reminded me not to assume it'll always be there.

  むしろ今までJRが大した利益にならない企画切符に労力をかけていたことへの感謝と、当たり前と思い込んではいけないと思える機会になった。

  — @obstinate_mule414603 likes

• Next they'll do this and then say: "Usage has dropped sharply. We have decided that Seishun 18 Ticket trips no longer fit the times, and regretfully this ticket is discontinued."

  こうやっておいて「ご利用がたいへん少なくなりました。青春18きっぷの旅は時代にそぐわなくなったと判断し、残念ながら当きっぷは廃止といたします。」って次は言って来そう。

  — @masuburi276 likes

• Thanks for the careful explanation. I use it to go home in summer and winter, so from now on it'll probably be a 3-day ticket going and a 3-day ticket coming back. It costs nearly double, but I'm from San'in where getting around is hard. There are only three flights a day, and there's no direct shinkansen or night bus either, so even doubled it's still cheap. If anything, I feel like I've been getting a deal all this time. I leave Tokyo on the first train, so come to think of it, I never hit the crowds at places like Atami. That part of the talk was valuable too. By the way, I wonder how they split the ticket revenue. Since there's no data, do the JR companies divide it evenly, or does it go to the company that sold it? It's fun that the automatic gates leave a trail of where you went.

  丁寧な解説ありがとうございます。僕は夏と冬に帰省で利用しているので、今後は行きで3日券、帰りで3日券という利用になるでしょうね。 料金はほぼ倍なのですが、交通の便が悪い山陰地方ですので、飛行機は１日３便ですし、新幹線や夜行バスを使うにしても直通がないので、倍になってもまだ安価です。 逆に今まで得をさせて頂いたくらいに思っています。ちなみに東京を始発で出るので、そういえば熱海とかで混んだことはなかったですね。そういうお話も貴重でした。 ちなみに乗車券の分配はどうしているんでしょうかね。データの取りようがないからJR各社で均等に分けているのか、購入した会社の収入になるのかわかりませんが 自動改札で足跡が付くのは面白いですね。

  — @chocolate-yellow-4223 likes

• Thank you for carrying me through my broke middle and high school years. The thrill of reaching Tokyo after eight hours of changing local trains from the countryside is something I'll never forget, and it was truly my youth.

  金が無い中高時代を支えてくれた事に感謝 地方から普通列車で8時間乗り継いで東京に着いた時の感動はこれからも忘れられないし紛れも無く青春だった

  — @Lulu-yl7sq11 likes

• Honestly, I think the good thing about the Seishun 18 Ticket was that it was a free ticket that let you cross from one company's area into another without thinking twice. Now that each company sells its own cheap free tickets, unless you're making a really long trip, it's also true that each company's free ticket is pretty much enough.

  正直なところ、青春18きっぷの良いところは「会社のエリア跨ぎを躊躇なくできるフリーきっぷである」というところにあったと思う。今や各会社で各々安いフリー切符が売られている以上、物凄い長距離移動をしないのであれば各会社のフリー切符を使えば十分という感じになってしまったのも事実なんじゃないんだろうか。

  — @Kiyopon-vz1eb376 likes

• If you're going to ride a local line that's about to be shut down, an 18 ticket does nothing for it, so a regular ticket is definitely better. True, the crowd is bad. I bought one for the first time this winter and figured I'd never buy one again, and then came this change, so I'm done with it. I want to cut the travel part short, so zipping to the destination by shinkansen or whatever and then using the good-value free passes each company sells is probably what suits me best.

  廃線間近のローカル線に18切符で乗りに行っても何の足しにもならんから普通乗車券で乗った方が絶対いいですね 確かに客層悪くて今年の冬に初めて買いましたがもう2度と買わんやろうって思ってたらこの改訂だったので見切りが付きました 道中は短縮したいので、目的地に新幹線等でパーっと移動して各社が出してるお得なフリーパスに使うのが僕に乗っては1番あってるかもしれないです

  — @旅鉄ぽんず4 likes

• A ticket you show to station staff instead of putting through an automatic gate is probably a breeding ground for fare dodging. It's a free ticket you can use anywhere in the country, but considering the burden on station staff, this change is about right. If you're doing a crazy long-distance schedule, combining highway buses with the free tickets each company sells lets you travel cheaply. (^^♪

  自動改札でなく、駅員さんに提示する切符は不正乗車の温床になるでしょうね。全国どこでも利用できるフリーきっぷなのですが、駅員さんの負担を考えると、今回の改定が適当でしょう。変態的なスケジュールで長距離移動するのであれば、高速バスと各会社から販売されているフリーきっぷを併用すれば、安くお得に旅行出来ますからね。(^^♪

  — @MORY01235 likes

• Seeing all this, JR Central's Aozora Free Pass is a godsend.

  こう見ると東海の青空フリーパスは神だな

  — @edge信者dayo21 likes

Is the Seishun 18 Ticket still worth it?

It is if you will ride long distances on back-to-back days. Since the rule change the ticket is valid for 3 or 5 consecutive days and cannot be shared. One rider worked out that a trip of Tokyo to Hakata or farther pays back the 5-day ticket. The most-liked comment (802 likes) says workers and older riders will struggle to use it.

Sources: westjr.co.jp — checked 2026-10-06

How much is the Seishun 18 Ticket in 2026, and when can you use it?

The 3-day ticket is 10,000 yen and the 5-day ticket is 12,050 yen, covering ordinary and rapid JR trains in non-reserved seats on consecutive days from the start date you choose. The winter 2026 period runs December 11, 2026 to January 11, 2027. One ticket covers one person, at any age.

Sources: westjr.co.jp · jreast.co.jp — checked 2026-10-06

Why did JR change the Seishun 18 Ticket rules?

Station staff point to fare dodging. The second most-liked comment (2,181 likes) is a station worker describing riders who walk past with an unstamped date or flash the ticket for a second and shout. Another rider reads the end of single-day resale as aimed at discount ticket shops, and calls the automatic gates a big plus.

What do Japanese riders use instead of the Seishun 18 Ticket?

Regional passes from the individual JR companies. The top answer on this (376 likes) says the old ticket's real value was crossing company borders, and that each company's own cheap pass is now enough unless you travel very far. Others pair a shinkansen ride with a local pass, or highway buses with one.

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