Kanazawa and the Seishun 18 Kippu

We all know that traveling within Japan can be very expensive if you don't plan ahead. Pricey Shinkansen tickets, express trains, and airfare can really put a damper on a potentially fun trip. Then there's the night bus, which is affordable, but can be so uncomfortable that you'll need to crash out as soon as you arrive at your destination in the morning (or walk around groggily drinking coffee and hating everyone). However, there is another way.

The Seishun 18 Kippu basically means "young persons ticket" yet has no age restrictions. It costs 11,500yen and can be used only on JR Local (Kakueki-teisha or Futsu-rensha) or Rapid (Kaisoku) trains. The pass can be used for 5 days within 3 periods of the year:

Spring: 1 March - 10 April
Summer: 20 July - 10 September
Winter: 10 December - 10 January

The ticket acts as an "all you can ride pass" for 5 days, but can be split amongst friends. At the beginning of the day, the ticket is stamped at the first station you enter and is valid until 23:59 on the same day. If you are traveling with a friend, you can get the ticket stamped 2 times in 1 day as well etc. So technically, 5 friends could travel from Tokyo to Osaka (about 9 hours) for just 2300yen per person!!

My journey took me from Ueno Station at 5:13 to Kanazawa Station at 15:30 via Niigata/Joetsu route with one friend. We got to see things like this:

In the mountains of Niigata

The Eastern Sea along the Hokuriku Line

Lots of farmland and snow

Upon return we left Kanazawa at about 9:30 and via Nagano, Matsumoto and the Chuo Line, we made it back to Ueno at about 21:30. We got to see things like this:

Beautiful mountains and fresh snow
A local stop outside Nagano with arguably the best view from a station ever

Arguably, the journey does take quite a while, but if you come prepared with a book, ipod, and most importantly food and drink, the journey can be quite enjoyable.

In Kanazawa itself we saw the main sights such as:

Kenrokuen Garden, one of the top 3 in Japan

Neighbourhoods like Naga-machi which are original and very old

The ultra modern Kanazawa Museum of Contemporary Art
Kanazawa Castle

Kanazawa is like a smaller version of Kyoto which can be seen in one or two days, and has very few tourists in the Winter, which makes the sights seem even older and even more special. This city combined with the 18 kippu is a perfect way to experience an older version of Japan which is hard to come by when you live in Tokyo.