Bullet Train Experience
 

My son and I will be in Tokyo end of July and will be staying in JW Marriott for one and half day.
Both of us want to experience the bullet train.

Is it possible to ride the bullet train from Tokyo to anywhere for 2-3 hours and come back?

This will be our first time in Tokyo.

Thanks

EDIT:
Pointed out by Pickles.
It is Westin Tokyo. Not JW Marriott. Sorry about that.

Why don't you fly into KIX and then take the train into Tokyo? That way it won't be a "trip to nowhere", but actually part of your travel...

PS There is no JW Marriott in Tokyo.

On my first trip to Japan as a grad student, we had a free day (mostly) to ourselves. A few of us wanted to ride the bullet train (Shinkansen).

We went to the station, went to the English-speaking window, and explained that "we didn't particularly care where we went, but that we wanted to go far enough for the train to get up to full speed" and get back in time for our evening obligations.

The ticket agents were very helpful, and ticketed us round trip from Nagoya to Toyohachi, also telling us she believed there was a local festival going on there. We went. We explored a bit. Had a great time. Easy to do.

You might have to venture a bit further out of Tokyo to really get up to speed. But, doable in one day.

2-3 hours on the shinkansen from Tokyo would be best done as a round trip Tokyo - Nagoya on the Nozomi, about 1hr45 minutes each way. The Nozomi is the fastest shinkansen and after making one stop a few minutes out of Tokyo, typically doesn't stop next until Nagoya.

This ride will cost you each Y10,780 one way (i.e. double that for a round trip).

If you are content riding a Hikari, the next fastest shinkansen, which basically runs about as fast as the Nozomi on this sector, you could probably do a trip from Tokyo - Shizuoka and back, about 1 hr 10 minutes each way, for Y6180 each person each way. This could be done with either a 3 or 63 minute layover time in Shizuoka. Three minutes IS theoretically possible, but maybe best you go get a cup of coffee and go for the longer layover!

QUOTE=Pickles]...
PS There is no JW Marriott in Tokyo.[/QUOTE]

My Bad. I edited my original post to correct my hotel in Tokyo. I have already ticketed and KIX is not an option.

Thanks. Both options looks good. Where can I get a timetable for the Hikari? Also I am assuming I can just buy the tickets from the station.

Better yet, you should take the 63 minute layover. In the intervening hour, 3-4 Nozomis in either direction will pass by Shizuoka without the slightest interest in slowing down through the center track between the two platforms. The sight of a 400 ton train flying by at 280 km/hr 5 meters from you is enough to give you the shivers.

Also, you should take one of the hikaris that goes non-stop from Tokyo/Shinagawa to Shizuoka. That'll give you a good feel for the speed of the thing.

You could do a daytrip to Nikko
 

you would also get to ride on a smaller more rickety train through some beautiful stands of forest.

Well, it would depends on what you want to do. Just riding the Shinkansen for the purpose of riding the Shinkansen I think is a somewhat waste of money. I personally would combine it with a trip somewhere as part of my travel plans, or at least try to incorporate it.

You say you are in Tokyo for 1 1/2 days will you be traveling anywhere else in Japan after Tokyo, or is this a short layover?

I would if you don't want to spend a fortune is to take the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Odawara Station (about 35 minute ride). Get out at Odawara visit Odarawa Castle. Or if you have a full day from Odawara Station you can explore Hakone.

Most trains that stop at Odawara Station are "Kodama Shinkansen" services, these are the "slowest" of the Tokaido Shinkansen services, however they are much faster than regular trains taking 35minutes vs. 1.5-2hrs from Central Tokyo by regular trains, and they are Series 300 Shinkansen trains.

Where can I get a timetable for the Hikari? Also I am assuming I can just buy the tickets from the station.[/QUOTE]

That's the beauty of the Shinkansen. You don't really need a timetable. On my last trip, I took a picture of the English phase of the flashing departure sign over the Shinkansen turnstile at Nagoya. The trains to Tokyo were leaving every three to eight minutes.

This is the timetable specific for the Tokaido Shinkansen:
http://jr-central.co.jp/eng.nsf/english/timetable

www.hyperdia.com will also give you timetables, but the search results might have other trains (non Shinkansen) listed as well.

It's been a few years since I was in Japan, so your mileage may vary.

As others mentioned, there are several levels of bullet trains - make certain to pick the level you'd like to experience. There are three levels of shinkansen (Nozomi, Hikari, Kodama).

You can use a Japan Rail pass on the Hikari, but not the Nozomi. Purchasing a JR pass in the US cost less than purchasing the same pass when in Japan.

There are a lot of smokers in Japan. I recommend that you reserve seats in a non-smoking car, at least a few days in advance.

If you do the Tokyo to Nagoya route, you will pass Fuji-san. From Tokyo to Nagoya, I remember Fuji in the distance on the right side of the train.

On the shinkansen, snack/sake/beer vendors routinely rolled carts through the aisles. There are snack bars/restaurants in most stations. Nagoya's is part of an underground mall type area.

There's not much room for luggage.

In my travels in Japan I found the english speaking Japan Rail phone number to be invaluable. I've forgotten it, but you may consider calling the NY office of Japan Rail and asking them for the number that you can dial in Japan for assistance in English. The JR website is http://japanrail.com and the NY number is listed there.

I would call them from Nagoya and tell them where I was, where I wanted to be, and they told me exact transfer times. In Tokyo, you'll be fine - many of the signs are in English, In Nagoya many of the signs are in kanji, hiragana and katakana.

As you whiz through Japan, keep an eye out for rice paddies (any place that's flat there's water and a rice paddy). In the hills, those shrubs are tea plants.

Take your son to a grocery store in the US. Save the itemized receipt, and then go to a grocery store in Japan. It's quite an eye opening experience.

I agree with the poster above. The rice paddies are INCREDIBLE and a sight to behold when flying past them at 200km/h! Same goes for when you get near a motorway near the shinkansen tracks -- you literally pass them like it was no effort to pass at all. :)

And I like the itemized reciept idea. Really opens one's eyes when they see how much things cost in Japan. I keep several itemized reciepts from restaurants also likewise to demonstrate the costs between countryside dining and cityside dining. :)

Sanosuke!

*You cannot purchase the nationwide JR pass inside Japan. The other regional passes cost the same if bought overseas or in country.

You can work around this buy ordering from an overseas office and having it mailed to you in Japan (but is time consuming because you have to wait for mail)

It is on the right. Ask the conductor and he will tell you exactly what time you will pass.

If it is visible at all, it is impossible to miss.

Do NOT plan on seeing Mt. Fuji as you whiz by, it's not visible or only partially visible almost all the time. You have to be quite lucky.

I thought some of the strange looking Pachinko Parlors you zoom by were more interesting than the rice paddies, but I suppose that's because of my weird sense of humor.

The Westin is in Ebisu so it is easier (and maybe marginally cheaper) to board the shinkansen in Shinagawa. You know, the shinkansen lines other than the Tokkaido are not quite as fast but they are a good experience too. For Y20,000 each, you could get a JR East pass that is good on all Tokyo shinkansen EXCEPT the Tokkaido line and, including the Narita Express both ways, could possibly be modestly more cost effective. In fact, if you were stopping over in Japan in both directions of your trip, you could get the "flex-pass" JR East pass for the same price and very possibly work it so you had train access included on both stopovers on one pass.

Bullet train is an odd experience: it's SO smooth, I didn't have any real sense at all how fast we were moving.

Oh, and it's awfully expensive.

I did find the rail system in Japan an engineering marvel. Coordinating trains leaving every few minutes, at speeds up to 200+ mph, is an amazing achievement.

I'm afraid that's my experience too, it was only when we passed a shinkansen going the other direction whilst at full throttle (WHOOOOMPHFF!) that I got reminded of the speed at which were pelting - must admit that I've only travelled on shinkansen after sunset.

The other poster's suggestion of standing at a platform whilst a nozomi hurtles past sounds (literally) awesome. ^ ^ ^

Being on a hikiari as the Nozomi passes by is nice :) You can feel the train sway a bit just after the train as a whole passes you. Be reminded, that there are SIXTEEN cars to per train. Makes them a LONG LONG "snake" train going through on the tracks to Osaka or to Tokyo. ;) I loved taking photos of them passing the ACT Okura Hotel Hamamatsu from my 32nd floor room.

Oh yeah, don't forget that the time shown on your ticket is the _departure_ time, not the arrival time of the train, when going to the station! Beware. :)

Sanosuke!

:confused: ... and don't forget to eat your sandwiches before the "consume by" date.

I still think the linear motor car from PVG to no where is much more of a wow experience, top speed was 440+- KMH :D !

More specifically, Fuji is on the NORTH side of the Shinkansen tracks, but your chances of seeing it in the summer, when the atmosphere is hazy, are slim.

In Shanghai, China, they have the "mother" of all bullet trains--the not-so magnificent Maglev. It's a 7-minute ride from a Shangahi subway station to the new airport. It gets up to about a 250 mph full speed (for about 2 minutes) before starting to slow down upon arrival. RT is $10. It's great if you're going to or from the airport with no more than carry-on luggage, but it's not worth it as a thrill ride as it almost seems that you're not moving becuase it's so smooth.

My weird sense of humor always led me to look for the 'hole in the wall' when walking by a Pachinko Parlor.

Cash payoffs are illegal, so one must exchange the steel balls/winnings for special tokens before leaving the Parlor. Outside, there will be a slot in a nearby wall or shed. Place the tokens in, and someone will pass back cash.

It's illegal, but arrests are very rare.

They look a bit more like bank tellers in Tokyo. It's your local neighborhood T U C shop. In fact, I don't believe it is illegal under Japanese law. They are an independent company which just happens to buy the little doohickys the pachinko parlor gives you in exchange for all those ball bearings, and then sell the doohickeys back to the pachinko parlor for a bit less.

Many Japanese seem to believe these cashiers' profits go straight to North Korea, incidentally.

Seems at least one Pachinko group is owned by born in Japan Koreans(Masayoshi Sohns family owns the Yuko Lucky group in Kyushu)..... and don't forget the Police Agencies benevolent fund!

I did 2 day trips from Tokyo several years ago -- one to Kyoto and another to Osaka. Not sure which class of bullet train they were on? Both times took the first one there from Tokyo station and the last one back -- made long but great day trips. Though the train was not that memorable... interesting at first, but once you get going you sort of adjust to the speed and except for passing Mt. Fuji the landscape seemed to repeat. Was sort of expecting it to be like my train rides in Europe (i.e. the TGV), but found it less scenic.

If you want scenic train rides in Japan its not going to be on the Tokaido Shinkansen.

The Shanghai maglev was out of the blue, JR Central is currently developing and testing a maglev train, with possible usage in a Shinkansen line in the future. The problem with Maglev technology is that is a lot more expensive to implement (you need new infrustucture), I could talk forever about this..

BWHAHA! :D

*hops away in chibi style while jib71 chases with mullet*

Sanosuke!

Looks like Sanosuke is frightened of your haircut, jib71!

Laplap, I am not afraid of anyone's haircut! :)

Sanosuke!

Even the Kodamas get up to 150mph or so on the Shinagawa - Odawara segment. I think a day trip to Odawara from Tokyo on the Shinkansen is an excellent idea. In fact, I did this very thing a few weeks ago with a group of first-time visitors to Japan. Many people were on a budget, but wanted to ride the "famous" bullet train. I looked at all the schedules and route maps, and Odawara seemed to be the best compromise between it not costing a lot, the train actually getting up to speed for a few minutes, and for there being something interesting to do at the destination. As others have mentioned, spend a few minutes on the platform after you arrive and wait for a Nozomi or two to pass through - it's quite amazing.