Getting around Japan

OK. Feeling much better today after managing to shed most of whatever it was I picked up yesterday, and am going to carry on with another hopefully helpful article. Again, based on my own personal experience here in Japan, rather than huge amounts of in-depth research.

As many people know, Japan is a crowded country. an archipelago of islands roughly the same size as California. It is, however, made more tricky by a fairly severe chain of mountains running up the spine of the country (I cant complain too much, they did recently deflect a typhoon from striking Kashiwazaki directly as predicted!).

So, travelling the length of the country is easy. Crossing it tends to find very congested corridors with lots of methods of transport cutting through at strategic points along the nation.

So. How can you move around the country.

Well, most people reading this will be new to the country, the first thing to investigate are, of course, the trains.

Unless you live in a cave, you are all well aware of Japans much vaunted Shinkansen network. However, the Shinkansen network does not serve every town and village. The gaps get plugged by a pretty good network of local rail.

Before you travel to Japan, look at buying a JR travel pass. You can pick up a voucher for this off the internet, or from travel agents. You bring the voucher with you to Japan, then upon arrival, go to the nearest JR office. My advice would be at the airport since they will most likely have people speaking foreign languages to help you. The office at Narita is excellent.

The pass itself allows you free travel on pretty much every train in Japan. There are some limitations, such as the Nozomi Shinkansen service.

The N700 Shinkansen is the latest train to operate the Nozomi service. The Nozomi is the Super Express Shinkansen service between Tokyo and Osaka, doing the run in 155 minutes. This is the flagship service, and you cannot use the pass on these.

But dont worry! On the run from Tokyo to Osaka, you have the Hikari, which is about 40 minutes slower, and the Kodama, which does the run in 4 hours. The Kodama is almost the local stopping service on this run! In fact, on the picture above, you can just make out a Kodama on the left of the picture!

There are also regional passes offered by the constituent parts of the JR network.

To get on the platform, you have to pass through a ticket barrier. For most of us, that means feeding the ticket in, passing through a barrier, and picking up the ticket. However, if you have the JR Pass, then you take it to the manned office to one side of the barrier, wave it, and through you go.

The JR network can get you pretty much anywhere you want to go. Of course, there is the impressive Shinkansen network...

This is a purpose-built high speed line built to the internationally used standard gauge to help give the trains more stability. Whilst the French hold the record for speed, the Japanese network has never had an accident (OK, 1 train DID fall over, but that was nothing to do with humans, it was an earthquake, and no-one was hurt!), JR is capable of running the trains closer than anyone else, boosting capacity, and run trains that are bigger than anyone else. Including the E1, which is the biggest high speed trainset in the world!

However, off the Shinkansen network, you drop down to the local network that is divided into Expresses and Local services.

The Expresses run a limited stopping service, or a very limited stopping service. Somewhat akin to the Intercity network in the UK, but at lower speeds. If you have the rail pass, there is no problem getting on these, unless you plump yourself in the green car. This is first class, and you will be asked to move.

The local service does what it says on the tin. Stops everywhere. It can get you where you want to go, but quite slowly. These are usually pretty old trains, especially away from the main cities. However, they are well maintained and quite clean, so it is not an unpleasant journey!

A word of warning. The regional JR network is a narrower gauge than the Shinkansen network, and this does make it vulnerable to weather. Outside the cities, these networks can experience delays. Usually during the winter months. Round us here in Kashiwazaki, the lines snake out to the coast to get round the mountains. This means that when the winter winds pick up, or a rain storm passes through, the trains have to slow down. The good thing is, each city has a PA system, and if the rail network is compromised in any way, there are public announcements.

Finally, the metro services. These are long, large capacity trains in cities. The most famous being the Yamanote loop line in Tokyo.

The Yamanote line trains have flip up benches that are flipped up during rush hour to allow for the vast numbers of people that use the system. These trains are designed to get people on and off at high speeds, and can get crowded.

Finally, JR does operate sleeper trains. These are a little on the pricey side, but offer a nice alternative to haring around the country at breakneck speed. The cheap tickets are for benches, and the most expensive gives you a bunk.

These trains allowed people to get to Tokyo and other major cities before the offices opened in the morning. However, with the advent of the Shinkansen, people can now stay in their own bed, and still arrive at the same time. So, many services are being withdrawn. The services that remain are ones that dont have direct competition with the Shinkansen network, such as the

Kitaguni, from Niigata to Osaka. There is no Shinkansen, so the serivce operates at pretty high capacity.

The service itself uses pretty old rolling stock. So, if you opt for the cheap seats, then I hope you can sleep on the proverbial "washing line!"

However, many of the remaining overnight expresses operate almost as tourist attractions in their own right. So the price reflects that. For example, the Cassiopiea service, from Tokyo to Sapporo.

OK. To move on. Another way to get round Japan is by bus. Japan has a pretty extensive bus network as well.

Local buses are frequent in the city, and convenient. In rural areas, their timing is scheduled to carry people at convenient times for shopping. Usually. But not always. If you take a bus, you will find 2 doors. 1 in the middle, for getting on, and 1 by the driver, for getting off. You are supposed to take a ticket upon getting on, but after 3 years in Japan, I think I can count the number of people who did, on 1 hand! I never have, and never been shouted at.

At the front of the bus you will see a big board of numbers. Each number is the cost of your journey. They correspond to the stop you got on at, and as the bus drives on, the price goes up. So, just look at the board for the lowest number, that will be you! When you want to get off the bus, press the button, and make your way to the front of the bus.

To pay, all you do is pour exact change into a small hopper, and off you get. If you dont have exact change, you can ask, or use the machine at the front to dispense change. They generally dont like notes, but if the bus is at the end of the line, and you have exact money (including a 100 yen note), then you can get away with it.

Running between cities, you have the express bus network.

These are mostly built in Japan, and the seats can be a little on the narrow side to accommodate the more slender average Japanese frame. There are some companies that buy foreign built buses, but these tend to be double deck buses.

This network can be broken into 2 groups. The regional express buses, lke I sometimes use to get into Niigata. Basically, it works in the same way as a local bus. You get on, spot your number on a big board, and pay when you get off. These buses generally operate on an hourly timetable.

Then there are the intercity long distance buses. These operate only a few times a day, and do require booking a ticket. These will be more modern buses, and be equipped with more facilities. Drinking water, toilet, tv, etc. Also, they will have better quality seats.

The next round of buses are the overnight buses.

These buses are designed with less seats than daytime buses to allow for a greater recline in the seat. You will also get a pillow and a blanket.

The longer distance buses that will run for more than 5 hours will encompass more "frills" than their shorter distance cousins. These will offer fully reclining seats, but in 3 rows, so each person effectively gets a private seat and their neighbour is at arms length.

There is one word of warning. These buses are popular. They can be half the price of the equivalent Shinkansen service, which means they can get booked up quickly! Also, in winter, many of the services turn the heaters on, and cook the passengers!

Next. Driving in Japan.

It can be done. But it does involve a little twisting. First of all, most people cannot roll in with just their licence. Japan does not recognise them. To get a car in Japan, you need an international licence. Unless you come from France, Switzerland, or Germany. In which case, you need a Japanese translation of your licence documentation before you arrive.

In Japan, it has proven hard for the likes of Hertz to get in, mainly because they have to buy their cars from the very same companies who also rent them out! Such as Toyota, and Nissan. Both have rental arms. There are also strong local companies such as Orix (who as part of a conglomerate, own the not-so-successful Buffaloes baseball team!) and Nippon rent a car.

Prices start at about 6,000 yen a day for a sub-compact (look above!), and can escalate quickly. But the good news is, there is PLENTY of choice. The Japanese companies do offer a massive range of cars, an nth of which the rest of the world gets to see.

If you are moving to Japan, like I did, then an international licence is only valid for 1 year. Once the licence has expired, you need to get a Japanese licence. This is where it gets difficult. Japan has signed reciprocal agreements with Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and The United Kingdom. This allows us to get a translation of our home nation licence, proof or residence at home for 3 months before moving to Japan, and we can 'swap' our licence and get a Japanese one.

Unfortunately, for the rest of you, you have to go through the test process. This involves a written test, in Japanese, and a driving test. This will be held in a centre which includes all sorts of examples of road types, and you get to sit in with another student as they take their test, so you get a bit of a go around before you go through YOUR test. There are organisations in Japan who will help foreigners with the tests, in English. They can be found on the internet.

Now, driving. Remember, its all on the left side of the road, but the good news is, the car works in the same way! Hurrah! Speed is in KMH, not miles, and usually maxes out at about 100kph. The police can be tough on foreigners, so be careful!

The other bit of good news is, the signs are bilingual. Except the English is in small text, so again, watch the speed, or you will overshoot your exit before you realise what the sign says!

Cities in Japan are notorious for heavy traffic, and its true. I really dont want to try driving in Tokyo!

The countryside is a whole new animal. Not all Japanese drivers are "good." Many choose to blithely ignore you, and go about their life without thinking of the consequences of their actions. I have nearly rammed cars by people who, for no real reason, slam their brakes on. Also, on the highway, not all know how to use their wing mirrors. Again, I vividly remember several occasions when I nearly got sideswiped when a car tries to change lanes straight into me, without looking!

Highways in Japan are, at the moment, toll roads. You either get a ticket on entry to the network, or use an ETC card/machine combo thing. The highways in Japan are in pretty good condition, but we will see what happens. There will be a boost in traffic, if the new government follows through on an election pledge to scrap toll fees.

Navigation. This gets tricky. I have not seen too many road maps available for purchase, because many people have sat nav in their car! It is very popular, and worth looking into. It is so popular, you can download accessories for for it! For example, using Disney characters to act as the "host" on your system.

Finally. Air travel. Japan has a well established domestic air network. However, it is expensive. Many places have an airport due to the local government wanting a signature project to "boost the image" of the local community, and many regions ended up with an airport.

Next, as the flag carrier, JAL was tasked to fly to these cities, offering links. Many of these flights cost JAL enormous amounts of money to run, and have definitely contributed to JAL's current financial concerns.

However, there are many domestic carriers flying to pretty much all major cities, so access is not a problem. The issue is price. They can get a little expensive. Flying from Tokyo can be reasonable. But between smaller cities, where demand is less, price goes up accordingly.

So, for me, flying is not really an issue, when you have the excellent bus network, or the Shinkansen to do the work for you.

So there you have it. Travel in Japan. Both easy, and confusing, cheap and expensive! There is something to suit everyones pockets and desires!