乗Japan Train Trips
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How to ride trains in Japan

Kyushu

How to ride the Kagoshima city tram: board in the middle, pay ¥200 at the front

鹿児島市電（路面電車）の乗り方

Get on through the middle door and pay a flat ¥200 (child ¥100) at the front as you get off. Suica and the other nationwide IC cards do NOT work — pay cash, tap a contactless credit card, or use a day pass (¥700).

  • Board in the middle
  • Exit at the front
  • Pay when you get off
  • Local IC card only
  • Flat fare
↑ OUT↓ IN◀ Front (driver)Rear ▶
Board in the middle Exit at the front

Kagoshima's trams are run by the Kagoshima City Transportation Bureau and link Kagoshima-Chuo Station with the Tenmonkan shopping area and the city centre.

Every ride costs ¥200 for adults and ¥100 for children (primary-school age and under). You board in the middle and pay at the front as you leave.

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乗り方の流れ

Step by step

  1. 01Get on through the middle door

    Board through the door in the middle of the tram. Cash and day-pass users don't need to take or tap anything when they get on.

  2. 02Press the stop button

    When your stop is announced, press the nearest stop button.

  3. 03Cash: exact fare into the fare box

    As you get off, put the exact fare into the fare box by the driver so the driver can see it. No exact change? Use the changer on board first — it takes ¥1,000 notes and ¥500, ¥100 and ¥50 coins only.

  4. 04Contactless card: tap on and tap off

    Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, Diners Club, Discover and UnionPay contactless cards (or a phone or watch with one set up) work on every tram. Tap the card reader at the boarding door for at least a second — it's a different reader from the Rapica one — and tap again at the exit door. Paying for several people or a child fare? Tell the driver before you tap.

  5. 05Get off at the front

    Leave through the front door next to the driver. Day-pass holders show the pass clearly to the driver instead of paying.

IC cards: only the local Rapica

Kagoshima's trams and city buses take only the local Rapica IC card — tap it at the boarding door and again at the exit. The transport bureau states that nationwide IC cards such as Suica and SUGOCA cannot be used. For a short visit, a contactless credit card or a day pass is the easier choice.

Day pass, 24-hour pass and night pass

The one-day pass costs ¥700 (child ¥350) and covers the city trams, city buses and the Kagoshima City View sightseeing bus (including its night-view course) for the day printed on it. Paper scratch-card passes are sold on trams and buses, at transport bureau sales points and at the Kagoshima-Chuo Station tourist information centre; a smartphone version is sold in Jorudan's Norikae Annai app (free sign-up and a credit card needed).

In the same app you can also buy a 24-hour pass (¥900, child ¥450, from the moment you start using it) and, in March–April, July–August and December–January only, a night pass (¥300, adults only) valid from 17:00 to the last service. Showing a pass also gets you discounts at listed sights and shops.

Good to know

  • At ¥200 a ride, the ¥700 day pass pays off on your fourth ride — or sooner if you also use the City View bus.
  • The day pass no longer gives a discount on the Sakurajima ferry (that ended on 30 June 2024) — see our Sakurajima ferry guide for its fare.
  • The JAPAN RAIL PASS covers JR lines only, so it isn't valid on the city tram.

Sources

Rules differ between railways and change from time to time — last checked 10 Nov 2026. Follow signs and staff on the day.