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If you are flying into Narita Airport, as most people from outside of Japan going into Tokyo do, I would highly reccomend buying a JR Rail Pass. It can be used immediately on the Narita Express, which will get you into Tokyo and to Tokyo Station.
The Pass is also helpful if you plan to make day trips to places like Kyoto or Sendai. It is also much faster and much less expensive than taking a taxi from the airport.
A JR Rail pass can be purchased from the following web site Japan Rail Pass. The site offers passes for sale and has 7 different langauge pages to choose from. Leave a Comment
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With the combination of JR and other subway system, you can actually travel around Tokyo without taking other type of transportation. Yamanote (Loop) line should be the most used JR line for tourist as its simple and doesn't have several types of trains like other JR lines.
To NOTE: Most JR lines have 3 types of trains: 1) normal, 2) express and 3) rapid. Where "normal trains stop at every sations, express trains stop in fewer stations and rapid trains stop at ever fewer stations. So its important to know if you are getting the right type of train cuz not every train stops at every station~
Tickets: Buy an IO card for the value of 1,000, 3,000 or 5,000 and you dont need to purchase ticket everytime you take the JR. And you get to keep the card after the value's used up~
The Website: very useful! u might check how to get from one spot to another, where to get transited.. and also the price! Leave a Comment
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My last trip in April was the 16 th visit to Japan.
Best and most comfortable way to get to Japan is by air,
and Once you are in the coutry the best way to get around is by the most morden rail and train systems in the world
'THE SHINKANSEN' we in the west call it the BULLET TRAIN Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane
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The railway system is just great, probably the best I've seen in the world. Leave a Comment
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Like "All Roads Lead to Rome" - all railroads lead to Tokyo in Japan.
Better know to foreigners as the "bullet trains". These trains can reach average speeds of 280Kmp/h and serve all major cities on the island of Honshu and as far south as Hakata, the train stop which serves Fukuoka. Tokyo is well served by the shinkansen, they pass through en-route to either Osaka / Kyoto and as far south to Hakata or in the opposite direction north reaching Niigata and Akita, going almost every 30 min or so during the day.
The shinkansen is definately the best way to travel in Japan and can be even used by the "budget" traveller, that's being budget minded for Japan! It is important to know that discounted tickets for 7, 14 and 30 days unlimited travel can be bought, but must be purchased outside of Japan. This makes Japan a viable travel option as a short trip of 7 days for example from Korea. A seven days JR (Japan Rail) pass, valid for all JR train travel, including shinkansen, can be purchased at a number of travel agents / ferry booking offices in Korea for about 300,000won (US$260), a real bargin! Leave a Comment
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Japan Railways (JR) operates the biggest train network in Japan. There are smaller private train companies that operates smaller subways and train routes. For the normal traveller, JR is good enough to get you around.
The main hub for JR West is Oaska and the hub for JR East is Tokyo. Their URLs are here;
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/
http://www.westjr.co.jp/english/global.html
For JR, there are mainly two classes of trains;
Normal trains that comes as Local, Rapid or Express. And Shinkansen trains or Bullet trains that run really fast - more than 200km/hr sometimes.
If you travel inter-city, you can buy the Japan Rail Pass outside of Japan that is valid for 7 days, 14 days or 21-days. The pass gives you unlimited travel on local trains and the Hikari-class Shinkansen (Nozomi class NOT accepted). The tour agency can book one for you and give you a "exchange letter". This letter you must bring to exchange it into the actual rail pass at the following stations;
Tokyo, Shinjuku, Ueno, Narita airport, Ikebukuro, Kansai airport etc...Check the website.
If you opt not to buy the rail pass because it is NOT worth the cost, you can buy tickets as and when needed. It is not as troublesome as it might sound.
Shinkansen tickets can be purchased from JR ticket counters with the "green seat" signs. Just join the queue and speak to the counter staff in English about where you want to go, what time and the number of persons going. There are 2 types of Shinkansen tickets - reserved and non-reserved. Reserved means your tickets will have a reserved seat in a specific car on a specific train that will pull into the station at a certain time. You must board the right train at the right platform. Non-reserved means you can take any trains going towards your destination. But, you are NOT guarrantee a seat. Usually, car numbers 1 to 3 are for non-reserved seats. Cars from 4 onwards are for reserved seating only. Leave a Comment
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Keisei Line from Narita Airport Terminal 1 and 2 to Ueno or Nippori is the cheapest way to Tokyo. You can buy the ticket at Narita both Terminal 1F. An hour from Narita to Ueno Station with only 2000JPY. Leave a Comment
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Shinkansen - bullet train - although more expensive than the regular trains, they can be 3x faster.
I only travelled to/from Tokyo by train, as I flew into Japan at Osaka, and out of Japan from Nagoya.
The photo is of the 'Japanese-style' toilet on the shinkansen - caption should read: 'NOW what am I supposed to do?'
The subway is complex, but efficient. I never saw any of the crowd-pushers, even though I travelled a few times at rush hour - but it was never more packed than Toronto. Leave a Comment Theme: Train
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As a non-Japanese educated foreigner it is very daunting being confronted by the complexity of the Rail system around Tokyo area. You have enough trouble finding which line takes to there, but at least you dont have to worry about how much to pay with this tip. Buy a ticket at the machine just paying the minimum fare. When you arrive at destination (or when you have to change lines such as between JR line and local subway), before going though the turn-styles, there is a fare-adjustment machine to one side - look for it. Insert your ticket and it will tell you the extra you have to pay to exit the line at this point.
Also - most JR line ticket machines can accept many coins at once, so instead of slowly fumbling though unfamiliar lose change in your wallet - you can push in a hand-full of 'schrapnel' (loose change), the machine will count it and return back to you the excess! Leave a Comment
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Hello,
Tokyo is like a maze of Train lines...
It's sometimes hard to find which line to use and where to get off and such only on guide books or signs.
So, I'll introduce to you 2 websites where you can search train routes in English!
http://www.tokyo-subway.net/english/index.html
This site allows you to search routes within Tokyo and its neighbouring areas only by clicking on your mouse.
http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi
You can search routes anywhere in Japan on this site, but you can't use if you misspell the station names.
FYI. Leave a Comment Theme: Train
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