Yamagata Shinkansen Fare Chart – Quick Reference (March 2026 Update)

JR West partners with JAL and ANA

Railways and airlines have traditionally been competitors, competing for the same passengers. However, in recent years, collaboration has been increasing alongside the growth of inbound tourism demand in Japan.

For example, in 2021, overseas JAL Mileage Bank members became able to exchange their miles for the JR-WEST RAIL PASS. This marked one of the initiatives jointly promoted by JR West and JAL to encourage travel across western Japan.

Looking ahead to the 2030s, the two companies are working to directly integrate their booking systems, allowing travelers to arrange both rail and air transportation in a single booking process.

Previously, travelers needed to book flights first and then separately reserve Shinkansen or limited express trains. With this new system, international visitors to Japan will be able to organize their entire journey on one platform.

As an early example, dynamic package products combining flights between Haneda and Nanki-Shirahama with JR West’s Limited Express Kuroshio and regional rail passes are already being introduced.

While flights are generally slightly faster in terms of travel time, how do they compare on price?

For example, on the Osaka–Fukuoka route, last-minute airfare and the standard Shinkansen fare are roughly similar, both costing around ¥16,000. However, if flights are booked early and outside peak travel periods, airfare can sometimes drop to around ¥9,000, making air travel the cheaper option depending on the conditions.

Under the Japanese government’s goal of attracting 60 million international visitors by 2030, stronger integration between transportation and tourism is becoming increasingly important.

One key challenge will be how to combine and coordinate relatively stable Shinkansen fares with airline prices, which can fluctuate significantly depending on timing and demand.

Currently, around 70% of inbound travelers’ overnight stays are concentrated in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Kansai, and Nagoya, making regional distribution another major issue.

Attention is now focused on whether collaboration between railways and airlines can help solve this challenge by encouraging international visitors to travel beyond Japan’s major urban centers.

Yamagata Shinkansen Fare Chart – Quick Reference (March 2026 Update)

Things About Trains

2026.04.142026.04.26

Top row Base fare
Bottom row: Shinkansen surcharge (reserved seat)

Tsubasa Shinkansen Fare Chart – Quick Reference

Fares and surcharges are shown separately.
Add the top and bottom amounts to get the total price.

Distance from Tokyo (km)	Station Name	Tokyo	Ueno	Omiya	Oyama	Utsunomiya	Nasushiobara	Shin-Shirakawa	Koriyama	Fukushima	Yonezawa	Takahata	Akayu	Kaminoyama-Onsen	Yamagata	Tendo	Sakuranbo-Higashine	Murayama	Oishida
421.4	Shinjo	7,480 5,850	7,480 5,640	6,930 5,640	6,270 4,750	5,720 4,750	5,060 4,750	4,180 3,980	3,520 2,990	2,750 2,110	2,090 2,110	1,790 1,660	1,790 1,660	1,410 1,660	1,230 1,660	910 1,290	810 1,290	720 1,290	440 1,290
399.5	Oishida	6,930 5,850	6,930 5,640	6,600 5,640	5,720 4,750	5,390 4,750	4,620 4,750	3,850 3,980	3,190 2,990	2,420 2,110	1,600 1,660	1,410 1,660	1,410 1,660	1,040 1,660	720 1,290	530 1,290	350 1,290	260 1,290
336.5	Murayama	6,930 5,850	6,930 5,640	6,270 5,640	5,720 4,750	5,060 4,750	4,180 4,750	3,850 3,980	2,750 2,990	2,090 2,110	1,410 1,660	1,230 1,660	1,040 1,660	720 1,290	530 1,290	260 1,290	200 1,290
393.3	Sakuranbo-Higashine	6,930 5,850	6,930 5,640	6,270 5,640	5,720 4,750	5,060 4,750	4,180 4,750	3,520 3,980	2,750 2,990	2,090 2,110	1,230 1,660	1,040 1,660	1,040 1,660	620 1,290	440 1,290	210 1,290
373.2	Tendo	6,600 5,850	6,600 5,640	6,270 5,640	5,390 4,750	5,060 4,750	3,850 4,750	3,520 3,980	2,750 2,990	2,090 2,110	1,230 1,660	1,040 1,660	810 1,290	530 1,290	260 1,290
359.9	Yamagata	6,270 5,400	6,270 5,190	5,940 5,190	5,060 4,300	4,620 4,300	3,850 4,300	3,190 3,530	2,420 2,540	1,600 1,660	910 1,290	720 1,290	620 1,290	260 1,290
344.2	Kaminoyama-Onsen	6,270 5,400	6,270 5,190	5,720 5,190	5,060 4,300	4,180 4,300	3,520 4,300	3,190 3,530	2,420 2,540	1,410 1,660	620 1,290	530 1,290	350 1,290
329.1	Akayu	5,940 5,400	5,940 5,190	5,390 5,190	4,620 4,300	3,850 4,300	3,190 4,300	2,750 3,530	2,090 2,540	1,040 1,660	350 1,290	210 1,290
322.7	Takahata	5,940 5,030	5,940 4,820	5,390 4,820	4,620 3,930	3,850 3,930	3,190 3,930	2,420 3,160	1,790 2,170	910 1,290	210 1,290
312.9	Yonezawa	5,720 5,030	5,720 4,820	5,390 4,820	4,180 3,930	3,850 3,930	2,750 3,930	2,420 3,160	1,600 2,170	810 1,290

Yamagata Shinkansen “Tsubasa” Overview

The Yamagata Shinkansen “Tsubasa” connects Tokyo with Yamagata and Shinjo.Between Tokyo and Fukushima, it runs coupled with the Yamabiko Shinkansen.
At Fukushima Station, the trains are separated, and Tsubasa continues toward Yamagata and Shinjo.
From Fukushima onward, Tsubasa operates on a “mini-shinkansen” section, using conventional railway tracks on the Ou Main Line.
All seats on Tsubasa are reserved. There are no non-reserved seats, and a reserved seat ticket is required to board.
If all seats are sold out, a special ticket may be available that allows passengers to stand in areas such as the deck.This ticket does not include an assigned seat, and passengers are expected to stand for the journey.