Narita Airport to Osaka

Hi Sidney!

Here are some answers to your questions:

1. How can I get to Osaka (Shin-Osaka) from the Narita airport?

This should be a fairly simple combination of Narita Express + Hikari bullet from Tokyo. How about this sample itinerary?

1. How much will be the cheapest round trip JR ticket (by Hikari or Kodama trains) in Sept 2012 i.e. from Narita airport to Osaka and from Osaka to Narita airport as I need to go back to the Narita airport to take a flight?

The cheapest round trip in September will be ¥31,700 (as per this itinerary). The pricing on these lines is very standard, with returns costing double the single fare.

1. I tried to check the ticket fares online through http://www.jreast.co.jp. and the following information comes up. It said the total amount is 13,750 yen for one way. And the total is included Basic fare: 8,510 yen + Express charge (regular season): 5,240 yen. What is meaning of basic fare and express charge? If I just need the non reserved seat (in September - low season), does it mean I only need to pay the basic fares, which is 8,510 yen?

The basic fare you would have to pay in September for one way from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka via Hikari is ¥13,500.

On the bullet train JR likes to fully itemise the costs for the consumer. A fare is made up of a base charge for the train (aka - basic fare), and the charge for the seat class you occupy (aka express charge). The basic fare is standard across all ticket types for a given leg, but as there are reserved and non-reserved, green and normal class seating, the seat fee, or express charge can vary depending on the seat type you choose to use. As you always need to buy a seat, the fare will therefore consist of the base charge + the charge for your seat type.

For example, here are some possible costs for trips from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka using different seat types and a base charge of ¥8510.

• Green car (first class): ¥9,880 + ¥8510 = ¥18,390
• Normal reserved class: ¥5040 + ¥8510 = ¥13,550
• Normal unreserved class: ¥4739 + ¥8510 = ¥13,240

I hope this makes it clearer - I agree the naming of the different parts of the ticket is pretty bad...

You can look up train timetables and costs at the Hyperdia travel planning website and learn how to use Hyperdia for Japan Rail Pass holders through our video blog.

Hope this helps!