JR

JR, short for Japan Railways, is the primary railway operator in Japan and was owned by the government until the 1980's. It is now split up into a few different flavors based on region.

The JR sub-company that is active in most of Mie is JR Central (ＪＲ東海 JR Tōkai), with its official name being Central Japan Railway Company (東海旅客鉄道 tōkai ryokyaku tetsudō). JR Central is headquartered at Nagoya Station and runs the vast majority of the trains in Aichi, Mie, Gifu, and Shizuoka Prefectures (the Tōkai region). They also operate the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka -- Japan's most-travelled bullet train line.

JR West is active in a small part of Mie as well. The parts of the Kansai Main Line west of Kameyama Station (Seki, Tsuge, Iga, etc) are owned and operated by JR West.

Lines

Kansai Main Line (関西本線)

A line that connects Nagoya and Osaka. In Mie, it runs from Kuwana ~ Iga.

The Nagoya-Kameyama portion of this line is considered part of the Nagoya metro railway network and so trains run fairly frequently along this part. West of Kameyama trains run only once an hour and are notoriously slow. The line's name implies that it has great significance, however in reality it is a line with extremely low ridership (particularly west of Kameyama).

Kisei Main Line (紀勢本線)

A giant line that snakes all the way around the Kii Peninsula. The portion in Mie is from Kameyama ~ Kihō, it runs almost the entirely vertical length of the prefecture and is the only train service available in southern Mie.

The name is based on a kanji compound meaning the "Kii-Ise Line". It refers to the old province names, with Kii Province (紀伊) being modern-day Wakayama Prefecture and much of south Mie and Ise Province (伊勢) being what is today northern, central, and part of eastern Mie Prefecture.

Trains on this line are infrequent, maybe once an hour or less. The "Nanki Limited Express" runs down much of this line, connecting Nagoya and northern Mie to Owase, Kumano, Mihama, and across the border into Wakayama at Shingū and the onsen at Kii-Katsu'ura.

Sangū Line (参宮線)

This is the JR line that runs between Taki and Toba via Ise. It is as a branch line off the Kisei Line for the purpose of providing transport to Ise Grand Shrine.

Trains on this line are more frequent than along the Kisei Line south of Taki, and the "Mie Rapid" (to and from Nagoya) runs along this line.

Meishō Line (名松線)

A sad and tragic line that was never completed and, due to a typhoon in 2009, lost the final portion of its track. Due to low ridership, JR has no intention of repairing the track, and will instead run a bus between these stations now.

It was originally designed as a line to connect Nabari and Matsusaka (hence the 名 and 松 kanji in the name) to compete with Kintetsu but was only completed as far as Ise-Okitsu in Tsu.

Trains run very infrequently, maybe once every two hours.

Train Types

Standard Trains

•  Local  (普通 futsū)

  Local trains stop at every stop. The vast majority of JR trains in Mie are local -- if a train sign doesn't specifically say otherwise you can assume a train is a local. Locals are usually only a car or two long, but maybe be up to three or four during rush hour.

•  Semi-Rapid  (区間快速 kukan kaisoku)

  Within Mie, these trains only run on the Kameyama-Nagoya section of the Kansai Main Line. About half of the morning and evening rush hour trains are classified as semi-rapid instead of local. However, inside of Mie, they behave exactly the same as locals -- the difference is that the skip a few stops in Aichi-ken between Kuwana and Nagoya.

•  Rapid  (快速 kaisoku)

  Similar to the Kintetsu express, this train tends to only stop at major stops however does not require an extra fee. Within Mie, they run just a few times per day on the Nagoya-Kameyama section only during rush hour, and then there is also the Mie Rapid (see below).

Mie Rapid

•  Mie Rapid  (快速みえ kaisoku-mie)

  This is a rather unique train service that was enacted by JR within the last decade or two specifically to compete with Kintetsu. It runs almost the exact same path between Nagoya and Toba that Kintetsu limited expresses run, however it is classified as a standard train (kaisoku) and not an extra-fee train (tokkyū). In terms of both speed and its basic price, it is lower than a Kintetsu limited express that runs the same route but is greater than a Kintetsu express that runs the same route. It is generally a two-car train, with half of one car being reserved seats (指定席 shitei seki) and the remainder being unreserved seats (自由席, jiyū seki). Reserved seats cost an extra ¥250 per person.

  Stops at the following stations:

  • Nagoya • Kuwana • Yokkaichi • Suzuka • Tsu • Taki • Iseshi • Futaminoura • Toba
  • In the mornings and evenings, some trains will stop at a few extra stops along the way, particular those between Taki Station and Iseshi Station

Four-ticket Discount

The Mie Rapid Four-ticket Discount (快速みえ得ダネ４回数券 kaisoku-mie toku da ne yon kaisū-ken) is an extra-notable train ticket discount because it saves a good deal of money and is available all-year round. It is especially convenient for people living in Tsu, Taki, Matsusaka, Ise, and Toba. Tickets can be purchased at any major JR station along the line that the Mie Rapid runs (including all of its normal stops).

There is a deal for people riding the Mie Rapid where if you buy a coupon book of four tickets, you can get them a lot cheaper than normal. Other than the inability to get off the train before arriving at the destination (the same as regular tickets), there are basically no restrictions placed on this book of tickets:

• No restriction on who uses them. One person can use them for two round-trips, two people can use them for a round-trip each, or four people can use them all for a one-way.
• Either direction is OK. The ticket covers you over the interval between one station and another so it can be used in either direction -- thus the four tickets could be used for four one-way trips in either direction, or two round-trips.
• You have a month to use them. The only real restriction is that they have to all be used within one month, however they do not need to be used on the same day like regular tickets so it is quite convenient.
• They can be used during peak holiday periods as well.

The only real drawback of the Mie Rapid is that it only runs once an hour and the last train home out of Nagoya is much earlier (8:30pm) than its Kintetsu counterparts. However, if you are able to take advantage of this train and these discount tickets, it is the cheapest way to get to Nagoya.

Wideview Nanki Limited Express

•  Wideview Nanki Limited Express  (特急ワイドビュー南紀 tokkyū-waidobyū nanki)

  This is a nice train that connects Nagoya, northern Mie, and central Mie with southern Mie. The extra fee required to ride this train is quite expensive but is quite worth it considering that it can cut the time from Kumano to Matsusaka in half and the time from Kumano to Nagoya into a third. It is a life-saver for those living in the deep south. It runs four times per day in each direction.

  Each train is four cars long with one car being unreserved seats (自由席, jiyū seki) and the rest all being reserved seats (指定席 shitei seki). The unreserved seat fare is of course a bit cheaper but not a huge difference between the reserved seat fare and so if you expect a crowd it is probably better to go for the reserved seat.

  Stops at the following stations:

  • Nagoya • Kuwana • Yokkaichi • Suzuka • Tsu • Taki • Misedani • Kii-Nagashima • Owase • Kumanoshi • Shingū • Kii-Katsu'ura