Yufuin no Mori - questions

Hi all,

Will be in Fukuoka in December and plan to visit Yufuin for a day trip taking the YnM train

We have a national JR pass and understand that we can’t use it to make an online reservation. We’ll only arrive in Japan 3 days before the planned trip to Yufuin.

I peeked at the JR Kyushu site and the tickets for YnM 1 & 2 are sold out 30 days out

Been reading old threads from this forum and some suggested to ‘bite the bullet’ (no pun intended) and pay to reserve the ticket

The web says total fare of fare 5690 yen consisting of 2860 yen fare +2830 yen express ticket

If we want to reserve the ticket online, can anyone advise if we have to pay the full 5190 yen out of our pocket ?

Thanks !

(We also looked at the Yufu and Sonic options but want to experience the joyful train)

JR Jyushu website has a online booking site.

Jr West version also does the JYushu area.

Probably others also.

I peeked at the JR Kyushu site and the tickets for YnM 1 & 2 are sold out 30 days out

I also checked their site.

https://train.yoyaku.jrkyushu.co.jp/jr/pc/inbound/TopInitAction.do;jsi...

For example, 7th Nov, Yufuin-no-Mori 1 and 3 have vacant seats. Probably you hitted the peak days due to autumn folliage. Though Yufuin-no-Mori is popular train, there might be vacant seats on your day of travel.

If we want to reserve the ticket online, can anyone advise if we have to pay the full 5190 yen out of our pocket ?

If you proceed to the "Select a ticket combination" page you can select "only express ticket option" (2830 yen). After you entered to Japan, you may be able to refund it and reserve the same train with your Japan rail pass if there are still vacant seats. You may ask the cheapest option you can take at the ticket office at the JR Kyushu stations.

I peeked at the JR Kyushu site and the tickets for YnM 1 & 2 are sold out 30 days out

I also checked their site.

https://train.yoyaku.jrkyushu.co.jp/jr/pc/inbound/TopInitAction.do;jsi...

For example, 7th Nov, Yufuin-no-Mori 1 and 3 have vacant seats. Probably you hitted the peak days due to autumn folliage. Though Yufuin-no-Mori is popular train, there might be vacant seats on your day of travel.

If we want to reserve the ticket online, can anyone advise if we have to pay the full 5190 yen out of our pocket ?

If you proceed to the "Select a ticket combination" page you can select "only express ticket option" (2830 yen). After you entered to Japan, you may be able to refund it and reserve the same train with your Japan rail pass if there are still vacant seats. You may ask the cheapest option you can take at the ticket office at the JR Kyushu stations.

Thanks for the replies

Just checking if there are any additional steps required once we reserve the ticket after paying the ‘express ticket option" (2830 yen)?

does this mean we can ride the train and if being checked by the train officer, all we need to do is to show the reservation (express ticket) receipt and our JR pass which covers the base fare. Is that it?

Thanks again