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Budget ¥13,320 (about $85) per person whichever option you take:
on this line the fare does not depend on the train. What separates them is how long they take, and the fact that the Japan Rail Pass does not cover the fastest train.
The two stations are 514 km (319 miles) apart by rail.
The two ways to get there
JR train
Tokaido Shinkansen Nozomi
Tokyo → Kyoto, unreserved seat
¥13,320
about $85 · per person
about 2 h 15journey time
Japan Rail Pass: noThe Nozomi and the Mizuho are the only JR trains the pass leaves out.
Who runs it
JR
The public rail network, six regional companies. The Japan Rail Pass is valid on their lines and on nothing else.
Source
Which train
Nozomi and MizuhoNozomi and Mizuho: The fastest services on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu lines: they stop only at the major stations. They are the only JR trains excluded from the Japan Rail Pass.
Source
The Nozomi is never covered by the Japan Rail Pass, not even on a full-fare ticket, whatever the seat type. It is still the fastest and most frequent bullet train on this line.
Fare source
JR train
Tokaido Shinkansen Hikari or Kodama
Tokyo → Kyoto, unreserved seat
¥13,320
about $85 · per person
about 2 h 40on the Hikari, longer on the Kodama
Japan Rail Pass: yesCovered by the Japan Rail Pass.
Who runs it
JR
The public rail network, six regional companies. The Japan Rail Pass is valid on their lines and on nothing else.
Source
Which train
Hikari or KodamaHikari and Sakura: Same rails as the Nozomi, a few more stops. Covered by the Japan Rail Pass, with no supplement.
SourceKodama: The service that stops at every station on the line. The slowest of the three, and covered by the Japan Rail Pass.
Source
Same price as the Nozomi: on this line an unreserved seat costs the same on every train. With a Japan Rail Pass this is the bullet train you take, at the cost of 25 extra minutes.
Fare source
Last checked August 11, 2026. The dollar figure is worked out at the exchange rate of the site's last update and
is never stored beside the yen.
This trip inside your whole itinerary
One trip on its own never tells you whether the Japan Rail Pass is worth it. That depends on every
other leg of the journey, and on the regional passes, which are far cheaper and cover only their
own area.
The company decides whether the Japan Rail Pass applies: JR yes, private no, whatever the train.
The train decides how long it takes. It changes nothing about the pass, with one exception: the Nozomi and the Mizuho, the only two JR trains the pass leaves out.
