Pseudo Nim

And all of these combined - in Japan - are still lower than the likelihood of you, for example, forgetting something and going back to the hotel to pick it up, or oversleeping, or there being a rocket attack from North Korea, or anything really. So I wouldn’t worry too much

[edit] sorry. except Kaiju. Don’t mess with kaiju.

hailstorm

Fight the real kaiju!

https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/res...ras-jellyfish/

It even looks like a mushroom cloud...

jlparkerart

This is great! Thanks for this schedule and all the information.This is really helpful, very thankful for all the great replies.

We have already booked our flights in and out of Tokyo with points, so we are kind of locked in. Ill see if I can make some changes with ANA.

Had not thought about staying in Osaka. Might be a cool option.

Fly Me To The Moon

jbeckett

I have also done this on the day of the flight with no issues, changing train at Tokyo to the Narita Express, both of which were included in the Japan Rail pass. Just allow some time for the transfer in Tokyo (maybe 30 minutes, more if you want to pick up something for lunch at Tokyo) as from what I remember, the platforms were not close to each other,

pWei

Just remember shinkanshen is still subject to delays, in the event of breakdown or accidents.

Pseudo Nim

Sure but it’s almost zero percent likelihood. I’ll bet on Kaiju before that if I’m hoping for a delay.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

I have heard that if heading back to tokyo to get the narita Express it might be easier to change at shinagawa station (the stop before tokyo station) as the distances between platforms may be less than at tokyo. I think there are details on the japan forum also.

Also if worried about kaiju you need a jager (Pacific rim movie reference)

Regards
tbs

OsakaWino

With so many trains running each day, I guess the probability of a delay on a specific train might be mathematically pretty close to zero, but actually delays are most certainly not impossible.

The shinkansen between Osaka and Tokyo is usually delayed several times each year due to snow, fortunately most of these delays are just 5-10 min. However, with climate change, heavy rains are a more frequent cause of delays and have even been shutting down the shinkansen for as long 1-2 days. And An earthquake that is not even severe enough to damage buildings can shut the the train lines down for anything from several hours to a full day for track inspection

And there are an increasing number of weird people that cause delays, sometimes it is just someone spotted on the tracks or someone prying open a door, but then there was the guy who set himself on fire in 2015 and the one who stabbed 3 people, killing one, in 2018, and the one that was killed on the tracks in 2018.

Pseudo Nim

Everything you say is absolutely true, but planning for eventualities like the occasional self-immolation, earthquake and the like seems just a little bit too much safety margin (like what happens if one makes the extra effort to stay one night in Tokyo to mitigate that, but then the elevator gets stuck and all this effort is wrecked). I guess I can’t argue with one’s risk tolerance … all I wanted to say was, in many years of using the Japanese rail network, it’s far more reliable than anything (and yes, there was a brief stoppage due to North Korean missile launches), but overall statistically, it remains less than a few minutes late per year - including stoppages due to earthquakes and kaiju - which is why my risk tolerance is high enough I’d spend the extra night in Kyoto just because it’s one of the best cities in the world. Something like that.

Pickles

Although I do agree that it's reasonable to assume that Japanese trains will run on time, delays can happen. As a matter of fact, in my experience, most of my train delays have been on the NEX. For some reason, the complicated mating dance at Tokyo station plus the fact that it's an express train that is tightly schedule-woven in a busy corridor where most trains make many stops means that the margin of error there is not very high.

hailstorm

In light of the latest state of emergency, Park Hyatt Kyoto will once again be suspending operations, this time from April 25th until the end of May.

pWei

I'd make sure to have enough margin such that 1-2 trains behind won't cause you to miss your flight. It's not a trivial chance for sure. There's also the more traditional suicide by train, track jumpers. IME, an almost perfect 1 train delay that I took an earlier train that arrived at the exact time at my original train and lost my reserved seat.

ne0ven0m

Is there an event going on in the second week of April 2022? I see some dates already have award availability at 30k/night, but most of the second week is blocked off.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Maybe blocking rooms for the sakura (cherry blossom) season?

Regards

TBS