Rail/Trains in Japan - What are the differences?
Jul 26, 2014, 5:55 am
#31
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Another tip that is often overlooked is that the start of the pass does not need to coincide with the date of exchange (although it usually does). You might want to, for example, turn in your exchange order and get the actual pass at the JR ticket office upon arrival in NRT, even though you might spend a few days in Tokyo and not want to have the 7-day validity start until the day that you leave Tokyo for points south (er, west). Just tell them the first date that you want the pass to be valid. This has several benefits, including allowing you to start your journey on the first day of validity at any JR station and not have to pay to get to a station that can do the pass exchange/activation (which are only major stations).
Jul 26, 2014, 6:03 am
#32
Join Date: Dec 2009
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[QUOTE=TrojanHorse;23138608]
(to add to the many good things already said)
You don't really need to speak to the staff much to use the train. Station announcements are bilingual, as are the displays in the train and most of the announcements. Station staff often speak a little (or a lot of) English but you can write down your destination (in English) and that can help. The young ladies (I don't think I've ever seen a man) operating the drinks trolleys on the train are extremely polite but may not speak much English, it helps to try a word or two for "tea" or "beer" and "thank you" but pointing and smiling works fine. Japanese pronounciation is not tricky. You can hear Japanese words at forvo.com, for example Hiroshima. I don't speak any Japanese worth noticing but I get around fine.
You may find this bilingual atlas of Japan to be quite handy. Overall people you run into when travelling are helpful and some are extremely nice. Note that the Shinkansen station is often out of town in many cities, called Shin-foo for the town of Foo (Shin-Osaka, Shin-Aomori etc) because there was no room to fit Shinkansen tracks into older city centres. It is always easy to get into the centre of the city from the Shinkansen station. Speed difference between the fastest and next-fastest Shinkansen is not great.
The drinks trolleys have water, tea, beer, sometimes sake, chips, other snacks. You can also get food and drinks either in the station or at a convenience store nearby. Every station has at least a convenience store and stations for large towns and cities have many. As mentioned it's common to buy an eki-ben, a railway bento (meal) box, and there are many to choose from. There are pictures or plastic demo versions of them so you can work out what they are - the ones with fewer ingredients tend to be higher quality than the ones with many, as the price is relatively fixed. You can also get sandwiches and so on. The eki-ben are often regional specialities (outside Tokyo). Food in both convenience stores and railway stations is very fresh; I've had a convenience store refuse to sell me a cold ready meal because it was out of date by one hour, "sell before 18:00 on this day". If you don't know how to use chopsticks, get some practice in before you go (including your kids)
I wouldn't bother with the Green Car. The seats in the normal car are fine. Particularly the legroom in the Shinkansen and other express trains is awesome, think "airline exit row" or more, because each set of seats can be turned around to face both ways in the carriage so there has to be room for them to rotate.
The JR pass is excellent value. Trains in Japan are good, but they are not particularly cheap when you buy the ticket in Japan. The flexibility to go extra places just by waving your card is invaluable - for example from Tokyo to Osaka I once left my hat on the train when we got off at Osaka, and I found out it had gone to the end of the line and was in another station's lost property department. We simply used our JR Pass to go the extra hour to get my hat (it is a nice hat!) which would have been something like US $60 each to buy a ticket. Not only are reservations free but you can get as many as you like, and you can even get one just before you get on the train as long as there is space. Just stop by the ticket office (green sign of a person on a reclined seat) and ask for a ticket on the next train to where you want to go. I have often gone somewhere in the morning, decided when I want to go back after arriving there, and got the reservation for the train back from the ticket office before leaving the station and touring the place for the day. Trains at rush hour can be busy so it's good to get your reservation earlier in the day.
One gotcha for some Japanese ticket machines in metros and places like that is that they offer you what you can buy with the money you put in, as compared to most ticket machines in the world which offer you everywhere you can go and then ask for the right money. So you need to feed in money until your destination lights up, then hit the button. On JR with a pass you will not encounter this.
I like Osaka. A bit of a change from Tokyo. The first time I (+1) went to Japan we had JR passes and stayed in Tokyo/Osaka/Hiroshima with trips to Himeji (awesome Samurai castle), Kyoto, Nara, Miyajima (JR runs the ferry and JR passes are valid), etc. The Shinkansen is so fast that it's completely feasible to day-trip it quite long distances.
Japan's great, and very easy to get around even without speaking Japanese. Many things are very structured so just look for the obvious way to do something or how other people are doing it and go with the flow. For example there are places to wait on the train platform for your train, marked out on the floor with a number for each train carriage and you see people queueing up - so it's pretty easy to work out what to do. The people are tolerant of polite, if bumbling, foreigners. Don't worry and have a good time!
(to add to the many good things already said)
You don't really need to speak to the staff much to use the train. Station announcements are bilingual, as are the displays in the train and most of the announcements. Station staff often speak a little (or a lot of) English but you can write down your destination (in English) and that can help. The young ladies (I don't think I've ever seen a man) operating the drinks trolleys on the train are extremely polite but may not speak much English, it helps to try a word or two for "tea" or "beer" and "thank you" but pointing and smiling works fine. Japanese pronounciation is not tricky. You can hear Japanese words at forvo.com, for example Hiroshima. I don't speak any Japanese worth noticing but I get around fine.
You may find this bilingual atlas of Japan to be quite handy. Overall people you run into when travelling are helpful and some are extremely nice. Note that the Shinkansen station is often out of town in many cities, called Shin-foo for the town of Foo (Shin-Osaka, Shin-Aomori etc) because there was no room to fit Shinkansen tracks into older city centres. It is always easy to get into the centre of the city from the Shinkansen station. Speed difference between the fastest and next-fastest Shinkansen is not great.
The drinks trolleys have water, tea, beer, sometimes sake, chips, other snacks. You can also get food and drinks either in the station or at a convenience store nearby. Every station has at least a convenience store and stations for large towns and cities have many. As mentioned it's common to buy an eki-ben, a railway bento (meal) box, and there are many to choose from. There are pictures or plastic demo versions of them so you can work out what they are - the ones with fewer ingredients tend to be higher quality than the ones with many, as the price is relatively fixed. You can also get sandwiches and so on. The eki-ben are often regional specialities (outside Tokyo). Food in both convenience stores and railway stations is very fresh; I've had a convenience store refuse to sell me a cold ready meal because it was out of date by one hour, "sell before 18:00 on this day". If you don't know how to use chopsticks, get some practice in before you go (including your kids)
I wouldn't bother with the Green Car. The seats in the normal car are fine. Particularly the legroom in the Shinkansen and other express trains is awesome, think "airline exit row" or more, because each set of seats can be turned around to face both ways in the carriage so there has to be room for them to rotate.
The JR pass is excellent value. Trains in Japan are good, but they are not particularly cheap when you buy the ticket in Japan. The flexibility to go extra places just by waving your card is invaluable - for example from Tokyo to Osaka I once left my hat on the train when we got off at Osaka, and I found out it had gone to the end of the line and was in another station's lost property department. We simply used our JR Pass to go the extra hour to get my hat (it is a nice hat!) which would have been something like US $60 each to buy a ticket. Not only are reservations free but you can get as many as you like, and you can even get one just before you get on the train as long as there is space. Just stop by the ticket office (green sign of a person on a reclined seat) and ask for a ticket on the next train to where you want to go. I have often gone somewhere in the morning, decided when I want to go back after arriving there, and got the reservation for the train back from the ticket office before leaving the station and touring the place for the day. Trains at rush hour can be busy so it's good to get your reservation earlier in the day.
One gotcha for some Japanese ticket machines in metros and places like that is that they offer you what you can buy with the money you put in, as compared to most ticket machines in the world which offer you everywhere you can go and then ask for the right money. So you need to feed in money until your destination lights up, then hit the button. On JR with a pass you will not encounter this.
I like Osaka. A bit of a change from Tokyo. The first time I (+1) went to Japan we had JR passes and stayed in Tokyo/Osaka/Hiroshima with trips to Himeji (awesome Samurai castle), Kyoto, Nara, Miyajima (JR runs the ferry and JR passes are valid), etc. The Shinkansen is so fast that it's completely feasible to day-trip it quite long distances.
Japan's great, and very easy to get around even without speaking Japanese. Many things are very structured so just look for the obvious way to do something or how other people are doing it and go with the flow. For example there are places to wait on the train platform for your train, marked out on the floor with a number for each train carriage and you see people queueing up - so it's pretty easy to work out what to do. The people are tolerant of polite, if bumbling, foreigners. Don't worry and have a good time!
Last edited by flatlander; Jul 26, 2014 at 6:06 am Reason: fix typos
Jul 26, 2014, 6:19 am
#33
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Off the rail topic, when you are in Hiroshima, try to find a place that serves Okonomiyaki particularly the simpler style where you cook it yourself on a hot griddle. Somewhere in Hiroshima, I think near here is a building with a boring table service okonomiyaki restaurant in the ground floor and a set of smaller DIY ones on the 5th floor, take the lift up.
When we got up there, there were about 5 different places. One was rammed full of salarymen, one was about 3/4 full of people, and the rest were pretty deserted. We went to the 3/4 full one since there had to be some positive reason why it was more popular. The proprietor looked surprised to see foreigners but after a moment's thought he dug out an English menu from the distant past ("1994 Friendship Games") to help us out. He was very welcoming. After a bit ofhandwaving we got 2x okonomiyaki, water, and beer. It was very tasty and felt like a genuinely local experience.
Highly recommended.
When we got up there, there were about 5 different places. One was rammed full of salarymen, one was about 3/4 full of people, and the rest were pretty deserted. We went to the 3/4 full one since there had to be some positive reason why it was more popular. The proprietor looked surprised to see foreigners but after a moment's thought he dug out an English menu from the distant past ("1994 Friendship Games") to help us out. He was very welcoming. After a bit ofhandwaving we got 2x okonomiyaki, water, and beer. It was very tasty and felt like a genuinely local experience.
Highly recommended.
Jul 26, 2014, 7:05 am
#34
Join Date: Jun 2005
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(Jus' kidding. Funnily enough, I remember those games. I think I threw away the T-Shirt a couple of years ago).
Jul 26, 2014, 9:36 am
#35
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Flatland
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Most of his menu had changed so he managed to make it clear that this was only an approximate menu and the prices were different, but I appreciated the effort - typical, I think, of how shop and restaurant staff in Japan will try to help you out even if they don't speak enough English.
Jul 28, 2014, 2:16 pm
#36
In memoriam
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Near Jacksonville FL
Posts: 3,987
A good place to buy bento boxes in Tokyo Station IMO:
http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/venue/23174
If you have a lot of luggage - you might want to ship your luggage to your next destination on one or more legs of your trip. It's something that's very common in Japan (trains don't have tons of room for luggage). Costs about $25/bag IIRC.
If you use the JR pass from Narita to Tokyo on the Narita Express - I suspect the "clock" on the pass will start to run. Whether or not that's the case - you might consider taking the limo bus into town (my husband and I have taken the Narita Express back to Narita - but we were so dead on our feet on arrival that I don't think we could have handled it). Also - if you decide not to get a rail pass - your hotel concierge can buy you individual train tickets a few days in advance (assuming you won't be traveling on a major holiday or the like). And - if you do get a rail pass - your hotel concierge can make reservations for you.
We liked Osaka for a few reasons. First - there are 2 food regions in Japan where tons of people live and where there are tons of restaurants - Kanto (Tokyo area) and Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto/etc.). (Note that there are other food regions as well - http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/attraction.../jfood_07.html). We wanted to try some of each.
BTW - here's a good English guide to dining in several cities in Japan:
http://www.bento.com/
We also liked some of the Osaka attractions - like the aquarium and the Cherry Blossom and flower festival that were going on there during our trip (don't know if anything special will be going on in Osaka in August) . OTOH - I don't think you've mentioned Kyoto. If I had to choose between Osaka and Kyoto (I didn't) - I'd definitely pick Kyoto.
One thing to consider is all of these cities are really hot in the summer. If you're getting a rail pass - you might consider spending a few days in a cooler part of the country. If at all interested - I'm sure people here can give you some good ideas.
I think everyone here is right about the train travel. It is easy. And the system is so efficient it's almost frightening
. The only thing that I recall being somewhat challenging was getting from our Kyoto ---> Tokyo train to the Narita Express train (Tokyo Station is HUGE and can be somewhat confusing). Allow sufficient time to get lost at least once in terms of any connection times.
Finally - my husband and I took the first class Nozomi from Tokyo to Osaka and from Kyoto to Tokyo. We did it because we wanted to - it was within our travel budget - and because we knew it would be our only chance to do it ever. It was worth it for us - like an amusement park ride. Whether it's worth it for you is your personal decision (I'm sure the other trains/classes of service are all fine). Robyn
http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/venue/23174
If you have a lot of luggage - you might want to ship your luggage to your next destination on one or more legs of your trip. It's something that's very common in Japan (trains don't have tons of room for luggage). Costs about $25/bag IIRC.
If you use the JR pass from Narita to Tokyo on the Narita Express - I suspect the "clock" on the pass will start to run. Whether or not that's the case - you might consider taking the limo bus into town (my husband and I have taken the Narita Express back to Narita - but we were so dead on our feet on arrival that I don't think we could have handled it). Also - if you decide not to get a rail pass - your hotel concierge can buy you individual train tickets a few days in advance (assuming you won't be traveling on a major holiday or the like). And - if you do get a rail pass - your hotel concierge can make reservations for you.
We liked Osaka for a few reasons. First - there are 2 food regions in Japan where tons of people live and where there are tons of restaurants - Kanto (Tokyo area) and Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto/etc.). (Note that there are other food regions as well - http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/attraction.../jfood_07.html). We wanted to try some of each.
BTW - here's a good English guide to dining in several cities in Japan:
http://www.bento.com/
We also liked some of the Osaka attractions - like the aquarium and the Cherry Blossom and flower festival that were going on there during our trip (don't know if anything special will be going on in Osaka in August) . OTOH - I don't think you've mentioned Kyoto. If I had to choose between Osaka and Kyoto (I didn't) - I'd definitely pick Kyoto.
One thing to consider is all of these cities are really hot in the summer. If you're getting a rail pass - you might consider spending a few days in a cooler part of the country. If at all interested - I'm sure people here can give you some good ideas.
I think everyone here is right about the train travel. It is easy. And the system is so efficient it's almost frightening
. The only thing that I recall being somewhat challenging was getting from our Kyoto ---> Tokyo train to the Narita Express train (Tokyo Station is HUGE and can be somewhat confusing). Allow sufficient time to get lost at least once in terms of any connection times.Finally - my husband and I took the first class Nozomi from Tokyo to Osaka and from Kyoto to Tokyo. We did it because we wanted to - it was within our travel budget - and because we knew it would be our only chance to do it ever. It was worth it for us - like an amusement park ride
. Whether it's worth it for you is your personal decision (I'm sure the other trains/classes of service are all fine). Robyn
Jul 29, 2014, 10:06 am
#37
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Aug 4, 2014, 1:19 am
#38
Join Date: Aug 2014
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Posts: 1
First class service on the bullet train
I think the Green car on the bullet train is not that special, but there are some trains that have a special first class service- it's called Gran Class. The seats are amazing and even better than domestic first class on many airlines. You also have a choice between a (free) Japanese style or Western style meal and free alcoholic drinks, including red/white wine and Sake!
check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqjM03jtl_o
They even have a cute cabin crew member on board and a cabin crew call button in your seat!
check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqjM03jtl_o
They even have a cute cabin crew member on board and a cabin crew call button in your seat!
Aug 4, 2014, 1:36 am
#39
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Between AMS and BRU
Posts: 8,852
Gran Class is spectacular and it will be hard to find anything comparable in other countries. But unfortunately it's not particularly relevant for this thread since Grand Class is not covered by the JR Pass and the up-charge is rather steep....
Aug 11, 2014, 6:03 am
#40
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Ok guys,
I have my 7 day exchange orders
I am in Tokyo
I would like to do the following
Since Obon (which I had no clue about until I arrived) is this weekend, I've run into a problem with Lodging in Hiroshima. I've since taken care of that problem, however I'm worried about getting to Hiroshima.
I would like to make a reservation on the Shinkansen train to Hiroshima (I know I have to transfer at least once)
However I have a 7 day exchange order, I don't want to activate until Thursday the 14th which will allow me to use this the duration of our trip.
So can I do the following:
Go to a JR Station (Tokyo Station) tomorrow Tue, Aug 12th and turn in my exchange order for my 7 day pass but not have it activated until August 14 (Thursday)?
At the same time that I do this tomorrow, can I make a reservation for the Tokyo-XXX-Hiroshima train (round trip) as well even though my pass is not activated?
I have my 7 day exchange orders
I am in Tokyo
I would like to do the following
Since Obon (which I had no clue about until I arrived) is this weekend, I've run into a problem with Lodging in Hiroshima. I've since taken care of that problem, however I'm worried about getting to Hiroshima.
I would like to make a reservation on the Shinkansen train to Hiroshima (I know I have to transfer at least once)
However I have a 7 day exchange order, I don't want to activate until Thursday the 14th which will allow me to use this the duration of our trip.
So can I do the following:
Go to a JR Station (Tokyo Station) tomorrow Tue, Aug 12th and turn in my exchange order for my 7 day pass but not have it activated until August 14 (Thursday)?
At the same time that I do this tomorrow, can I make a reservation for the Tokyo-XXX-Hiroshima train (round trip) as well even though my pass is not activated?
Aug 11, 2014, 6:18 am
#41
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Between AMS and BRU
Posts: 8,852
Offcourse you can.... See it simply as paying for any ticket during the validity with your pass.
But step1 is exchanging the voucher and telling them on what date it needs to start, after you have the pass you can get any ticket you want for the validity of the pass. Do it a.s.a.p.
But step1 is exchanging the voucher and telling them on what date it needs to start, after you have the pass you can get any ticket you want for the validity of the pass. Do it a.s.a.p.
Aug 11, 2014, 6:28 am
#42
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Offcourse you can.... See it simply as paying for any ticket during the validity with your pass.
But step1 is exchanging the voucher and telling them on what date it needs to start, after you have the pass you can get any ticket you want for the validity of the pass. Do it a.s.a.p.
But step1 is exchanging the voucher and telling them on what date it needs to start, after you have the pass you can get any ticket you want for the validity of the pass. Do it a.s.a.p.
Looks like i know what i'm doing first thing tomorrow