Guide to Using Tickets

Before tickets are used

• Tickets (except commuter tickets, coupon tickets, and discount tickets (Toku Toku tickets)) that have not been used and are still valid can be changed only once to the same type without a fee. In such a case, you will be asked to pay if there is a shortage to the charge, and you will be refunded if there is a surplus.
• If you are making a change for the second time, please go to a station or travel agency to get a refund and buy another ticket of your choice.
• Reserved-seat tickets can be changed only before the train’s departure time. Please note that tickets may not be changed once the train departs.
• To make changes to reserve-seat tickets, please ask at station’s ticket counter (Midori no Madoguchi) during the business hours.
• Non-reserved-seat Limited Express tickets and special Limited Express tickets can be changed to the same type or reserved-seat tickets.
• Tickets purchased with credit cards are handled differently depending on the companies from which the tickets are purchased, so please ask a station attendant.

After tickets are used

• If you change tickets after they have been used, you will be required to pay fare and fee shortages but not be reimbursed for the excess. However, basic fare tickets will be refunded if there is an untraveled section over 101 km per one-way ticket.
• If you ride past your section of travel, you will be required to pay the fare for the extra distance you have traveled. If you change the direction of your destination or the route to your destination, you will be charged the difference in the fare between the section you have changed and the section you did not travel to. However, if you change your destination on a basic fare ticket with a one-way operating distance of 100 km or less, you will be required to pay the difference in the fare between before and after the change.

Missing reserved seat train

• Reserved-seat Limited Express, Green car, Sleeper car, and reserved-seat tickets (including discount tickets (Toku Toku tickets)) become ineligible for a refund once they depart at their specified times.
• If you miss a Limited Express train with a ticket for a reserved seat, you can use the ticket to ride an ordinary train in an non-reserved seat, as long as you travel on the same day. If you wish to travel on a reserved seat, you must pay the full reserved-seat Limited Express fare.

• Tickets are refunded at station ticket adjustment counters, JR Shikoku Tour branch (JR Shikoku Travel Service Center), and major travel agencies. For group tickets and some discount tickets (Toku Toku tickets), please ask the original vendor of your tickets.
• Tickets purchased with credit cards are handled differently depending on the companies from which the tickets are purchased, so please ask a station attendant.

Unused and valid tickets

• Unused and valid tickets are refunded with payment of the following handling fees.

• A 30% handling fee will be charged when refunding reserved-seat tickets that have been changed on the day or the day before the train’s departure.
• If a reserved-seat ticket is issued as a single ticket, such as a Limited Express and Green car or a Limited Express and sleeper car, the handling fee for only the Green car and Sleeper car tickets will be charged.

Used tickets

• Tickets are refunded only if the distance not traveled within the validity period exceeds 100 km per ticket. In such a case, the refund will be the amount remaining after deducting the fare for the section you have traveled and the 220 yen handling fee. Please ask at the station where you ceased your travel.
• Unused coupon tickets you no longer need can be refunded within their validity period. In such a case, the refund is the amount remaining after deducting the basic fare for the number of tickets you have already used and the 220 yen handling fee. However, there may be cases where there is no refundable amount.
• Commuter tickets no longer required will be refunded if they have more than one month of validity period remaining. The refund in such a case is the amount remaining after deducting the commuter ticket fare for the number of months used (one month if the days are less than a month) and the 220 handling fee from the money paid. However, there may be cases where there is no refundable amount.

Lost tickets

• If you lose a ticket, notify a station attendant at the station ticket counter or a train crew to purchase the same type of ticket (if you lose a discount ticket (Toku Toku ticket) including Zipang Club and Rail & Car Rental discount tickets), a full-price ticket for the same section, train, and facilities) as a replacement. (The ticket will be labeled "Reissue") Reissued reserved-seat tickets must be for the same train. If you re-purchase a ticket, please get a proof of re-receipt at the station where you alight and take it home with you.
• If you find a lost ticket within a year, please bring both the lost ticket and the ticket with the proof of re-receipt to the station. If a ticket is found (if the lost ticket is a discount ticket (Toku Toku ticket), the full-price ticket subsequently purchased), a refund is issued for the fare and fees of the ticket with the proof of re-receipt after deducting the 220 yen (340 yen for reserved tickets) handling fee. If the lost ticket is a discount ticket (Toku Toku ticket), a refund may not be payable depending on the usage status of the ticket subsequently purchased. Please ask a station attendant for details.
• The same treatment applies if tickets are stolen.
• Commuter tickets, coupon tickets, and some discount tickets (Toku Toku tickets) are not treated the same way.

If trains are out of service

Before buying tickets

Ticket sales will be suspended for the sections where the trains cannot operate, depart from, arrive at, or pass through. However, if alternative transport, such as a bus, is provided to take a diversion, tickets may be sold as if the section is open.

If you already have tickets

You will receive a full refund for the fare and fees if you decide to abandon your journey. If you cancel your journey en route, you will receive a refund for the section you have not traveled. In such a case, you will receive a full refund for the Limited Express fare of the train that has gone out of service.

Others

• You will also be able to return to your departure station free of charge. You will receive a full refund for the fare and fees in such a case.
• Commuter tickets and coupon tickets will have their validity extended or refunded if services are suspended over five days in a row.
• Refunds for discount tickets (Toku Toku tickets) are treated differently depending on the product, so please ask a station attendant for details.

If trains are delayed

• If Limited Express trains arrive more than two hours late, you will be issued a full refund of the Limited Express fare.
• In the case where you abandon your journey en route or return to your departure station due to a missed connection caused by a train arriving more than two hours later than scheduled, it will be treated the same as the case of an out-of-service train.
• Unless you use your berth until 6:00 a.m., the full amount of the sleeper fare will be refunded if you cannot use the berth for any section of your journey.
• Refunds for discount tickets (Toku Toku tickets) that can be used on Limited Express trains are treated differently depending on the product, so please ask a station attendant for details.