乗Japan Train Trips
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How to ride trains in Japan

Chugoku (Hiroshima)

How to ride the Okayama tram (Okaden): ¥160 flat, board at the rear, tap on and off

岡山電気軌道（おかでん）路面電車の乗り方

Board at the rear and pay a flat ¥160 (child ¥80) at the front when you get off. IC cards are tapped twice — at the door when you board and at the fare box when you leave. For Korakuen and Okayama Castle, take the Higashiyama line to Shiroshita.

  • Board at the rear
  • Exit at the front
  • Pay when you get off
  • IC cards OK
  • Flat fare
↑ OUT↓ IN◀ Front (driver)Rear ▶
Board at the rear Exit at the front

Okayama Electric Tramway — "Okaden" — has run streetcars in Okayama since 1912. Two lines leave from the Okayama-Ekimae stop in front of JR Okayama Station: the Higashiyama line to Higashiyama and the Seikibashi line to Seikibashi.

Since 1 October 2025 every ride costs the same: ¥160 for adults and ¥80 for children.

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乗り方の流れ

Step by step

  1. 01Pick the right line

    For Korakuen Garden and Okayama Castle, take a Higashiyama-bound tram to Shiroshita. Seikibashi-bound trams don't stop at Shiroshita. At Okayama-Ekimae, Higashiyama trams leave from the front right of the platform as you face the direction of travel.

  2. 02Get on at the rear door

    Okaden is board at the back, leave at the front. At the first stop of each line (Okayama-Ekimae, Higashiyama, Seikibashi) you can board through any door. Paying cash? Just get on — there are no numbered tickets.

  3. 03IC card: tap when you board, and again when you get off

    Tap your IC card on the reader by the door as you get on, then on the reader at the fare box when you get off. Hareca, ICOCA, PiTaPa and the other nationwide cards (Suica and so on) all work.

  4. 04Cash: exact fare into the fare box

    Drop ¥160 (child ¥80) into the fare box by the driver when you get off. No change is given — use the changer built into the fare box first.

  5. 05Changing lines at Yanagawa

    The two lines meet at Yanagawa. If you change trams there, you pay one through fare: with cash, pay as you get off at Yanagawa and ask the driver for a transfer ticket (乗継券), then put it in the fare box at your destination. With an IC card, just tap as usual — the transfer is applied automatically.

One-day pass

The tram one-day pass costs ¥400 (child, primary-school age, ¥200) — it pays for itself on the third ride. Scratch off the date of use with a coin; scratching more than one date makes it invalid.

Buy it on board the tram, at the public transport information centre at Okayama Station's east exit, or at Okaden's tram office in front of the Higashiyama stop. Showing the pass also gets discounts on admission at some sights. Okaden tickets are also sold in the RYDE PASS smartphone app.

Good to know

  • Nationwide IC cards (ICOCA, Suica and so on) can't be topped up on the tram. If your balance is too low, pay the difference in cash — or top up at a JR station before you board.
  • Transfers at Yanagawa don't count if you go out and back on the same line, or if your trip starts or ends at Okayama-Ekimae, Nishigawa-Ryokudo-Koen or Yanagawa.
  • The JAPAN RAIL PASS covers JR lines only, so it isn't valid on Okaden trams.

Sources

Rules differ between railways and change from time to time — last checked 6 Nov 2026. Follow signs and staff on the day.