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Is it possible to buy tickets at Nagano Service Centre which is out of pass area?

We are skiers wanting to catch the Shinkansens from Nagano to Appi Kogen,18 Feb for a skiing holiday, and 10 days later back to Narita Airport.
The best pass for us is the JR East Tohoku pass, as it covers all the area, except the very start from Nagano to Sakudaria.
If I exchange my voucher,for a pass when I first arrive in Narita on the 7 Feb, and I choose the starting date from my first day of travel on 18 Feb, from Nagano to Appi Kogen, is it possible to get the tickets at Nagano service centre, to travel from Sakudaira to Appi Kogen, even though it is out of pass area? ( I understand that I will also need to pay for a separate ticket from Nagano to Sakudaria). Or is this not possible, and I will need to get off the train at Sukudaira, which is the start of the pass area and buy my tickets and wait for the next Shinkansen? Or how can I get my tickets on that day?

Comments

  • Hi,
    If I'm understanding you correctly, you want to use the train for a leg that is outside of the pass coverage area.
    If so, you can stay on the train you are on, and then 2 things will happen. Either the train conductor or attendant will come along checking everyone's tickets - at that point, you need to pay on the spot for the leg that you will ride. If not, when you get to your destination, you can go to the manned gate where you exit, and pay for it there.
  • Hi Tenjin,
    So if I can’t get a reserved seat ticket, using my JR East Tohoku pass at the Service Centre in Nagano (as it is out of pass area), then I can buy a ticket from Nagano to Sakudaria, get on the Shinkansen and when the conductor comes along, show them my JR East Tohoku pass, and my passport and get them to issue me a ticket for the rest of my train trip.
    Is that correct?
  • I may not be following you here. Nagano City is outside the coverage area of the Pass. You'll need to buy a ticket up to Sakudaira (the ride is about 20 minutes). From there you can use your pass - you don't need to buy a ticket at all once you buy the ticket at Nagano.
    If you are solely talking about seat reservations (which are free with the pass), Nagano is under JR East, so you can get all your seat reservations done at Nagano if you want, provided that you know which train you are going to board. Use www.hyperdia.com to look at the schedules - Sakudaira is input as "Saku-daira".
    Some bullet trains require you to have seat reservations, others do not. If you use a bullet train that doesn't (Nagano to Sakudaira are usually Asama or Hakutaka trains which don't) then you could save a little money, about 520 yen, by getting an unreserved seat for just that leg. Seat availability at that time of year is usually not a problem.
    A sample plan might look like this:
    http://bit.ly/2zP3u3i
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