Japan has a very complex railway systems and therefore a lot of less-known rules. I’ve recently encountered one myself on my trip there: Special City Zones (my translation, originally 特定都区市内, meaning within specific metro areas).
This rule basically allows you to extend your ticket to any stations within the “metro areas” if you’re traveling for more than 200 km (based on track mileage) 1.
For example, on my trip this time, I bought a ticket from ガーラ湯沢 (GALA Yuzawa, a famous Ski area directly connected by 新幹線 Shinkansen) to 東京 Tokyo. When I arrived at the Tokyo station, I went through the transfer gate into the regular JR side of the station, which in itself is a huge shopping mall. I ate my dinner, than I start thinking about how do I get back to my hotel. It turns out it’s easier if I take one stop south on 山手線 Yamonote line to 有楽町 Yurakucho and transfer to metro there. Now, I just go to the platform, take the train to the next station. When I exit the station, I simply drop my Shinkansen ticket in and leave, no extra charge is needed, even though my ticket only says Tokyo not Yurakucho.
Except, of course, I only vaguely remember this on my trip, so I was pretty nervous when I tried to exit the station 😅. Have my SUICA ready to tap and rehearsing Japanese in my head if I need to seek assistance from the staff. Phew, crisis avoided.
Exceptions
This rule, however, does not apply if you purchase Shinkansen ticket online and links it to your SUICA (新幹線 e チケットサービス 2). You will be charged a separate fare for your transfer. (You might be able to ask a station staff to adjust the fare but I have not tried it myself.)
Footnotes
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For Tokyo, if you travel between 100km and 200km, you’re eligible for Tokyo Yamanote Line zone. ↩
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「新幹線eチケットサービス」の乗車券部分には「東京都区内」「山手線内」「仙台市内」などの「特定都区市内制度」は適用となりません。在来線をご利用の際は、別途乗車券が必要となります。並行する区間の在来線もご利用いただけません。 src: https://www.eki-net.com/top/e-ticket/ (2024/02/26) ↩