Travelling in Japan

 1. General Information

There's three key ways to get around in Japan:

By Car: This is most likely the least recommended way, unless you travel through very rural areas with little traffic or you drive through the less populated streets of the island of Okinawa. Keep in mind that Japan has left-handed traffic (just like in the UK!). So not necessarily easy for everyone to get used to :) Additionally, as you would expect, traffic on the roads in the bigger cities is substantial.

By Plane: If you travel to some of the more distant islands, particularly Okinawa, this is pretty much your only option. Except for this, there's not really a reason to take planes necessarily, simply because the fast train system in Japan is exceptionel.

By Train: Both within big cities (trains, subways, etc.) and between them (Shinkansen - super fast trains), trains usually are the quickest way to get from A to B in Japan. Since we recommend this the most, we go into more detail on this.

2. Travelling by Trains

Similar to Germany, there's plenty of different ways to get around the country, from local trains and subways, to regional trains connecting cities closeby (e.g. Kyoto and Osaka), to super-fast trains connecting distant cities (e.g. Osaka and Tokyo).

Now, first of all: Keep in mind that some cities in Japan are ridiculous in scale, at least from a central European perspective. Tokyo is the biggest metropolitean area in the world and as you can imagine, there's not just "the one" main station. All major cities in Japan, including Osaka and Tokyo, have multiple big travel hubs and stations that serve different purposes. The best advice we can give you: Use the public transport route planning you know within Google Maps! Not only are they incredibly accurate and include all important information (e.g. colours of train lines, directions, etc.), but they even tell you which specific coach to get on, so that your connection or exit is done the quickest!

Second of all: I (Tim) have never seen a train sytem run as smoothly and as timely as the one in Japan. Trains are virtually never late, they have specific entry and exit spots marked on every train platform so you know exactly at which door you have to queue before the train is even there, etc.! Because of this accuracy, the planning and instructions on Google Maps are very reliable.

There are two key things you need to know when considering exploring Japan by train: The JR Rail Pass, and local train connections.

3. The JR Rail Pass

We highly recommend that you read through the following section carefully, since the JR Rail Pass might be the best travel option for you:

The Japan Rail (JR) Pass is exclusively for foreigners visiting Japan for Tourism purposes. With it, you can ride almost all Shinkansen (super fast) trains and most local trains throughout Japan, as many times as you want within either 7, 14, or 21 days. Yes, you read it correctly: Pretty much any train, as many times as you want. As we mentioned on other sites on this Blog before, the Shinkansen is perhaps the quickest and easiest way to get around between major Japanese cities. You can find a full PDF map of all major citities connected within the Shinkansen network here. This map includes all Shinkansen lines.

The pass can be a very good (and economical) option if you plan to travel through many different cities in Japan, particularly when you compare it to either flying or buying single tickets (particularly Shinkansen tickets can quickly cost 20,000 Yen for a return-trip). Obviously, you cannot reach the far distant Okinawa islands by trains, but almost anything else :) Also, if you only plan to take the Shinkansen once or twice from let's say Osaka to Tokyo, it will potentially be cheaper to buy single tickets. The pass is particularly good for travellers who plan to visit multiple bigger cities in Japan that are farther apart.

The pass is available in multiple different options, e.g. first-class (called "Green" in Japan) and second-class (called "Ordinary" in Japan). The Prices for the 2nd class tickets are:

- 7 days: 50.000 Yen (~320 Euros currently)

- 14 days: 80.000 Yen (~515 Euros currently)

- 21 days: 100.000 Yen (~645 Euros currently)

There are a lot of conditions and options with the Rail Pass. For example, specific super-high-speed train connections are excluded (namely the MIZUHO and NOZOMI line). That's why you can find everything you need to know about the Japan Rail Pass here on their official website (available in English and even German I believe). Additionally, there are more limited Rail Passes available, that e.g. only cover a certain province.

Now the key thing to know about the JR Rail Pass is: You cannot buy this after you've arrived in Japan!! You already will need to apply/ register for this before you come to Japan if you want to buy it. In fact, if you're interested in the pass and intend to buy it, you have to make sure that you fulfil the conditions outlined here on their official website. The summary is:

You have to be a foreign national entering Japan under a Tourism visa. Key here is that you do not (!!) use the machines at the border to conduct an automated check, but go through the classical manual border patrol checkpoint where an officer checks your passport and stamps your temporary visa into your passport. The rail company will want to see that stamp - and you wouldn't get that if you used the machines.

And you will already need to purchase it before you go to Japan! So check it out to find out if this is a good option for your travels :)

4. Local Train Travel Passes and Tickets

Most local cities or provinces have their own train network of trains, subways and busses. You can buy tickets at every single subway or train station. All ticket machines can be changed to English (and other languages) and are fairly easy to understand.

The ticket itself you put into one of the gates at the station before going through: Make sure to get your ticket again on the other side of the gate, you'll need it. After you've taken the train, you simply put the ticket into the gate again and go out. You will not receive your ticket back.

If you don't want to buy single tickets all the time, and particulary if you plan to stay at a certain place for multiple days, we highly recommend you check out the local chargeable cards: In the Kansai region (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, etc.), this card is called ICOCA. This is a bank card looking plastic card that can be topped up with money at the ticket machines. You simply tap the card at the gate (there's a big ICOCA symbol on one part of the gate) as if you'd pay wirelessly, and you do the same at the station you get off - the fair is automatically calculated and subtracted. Very easy and convenient. And as an added bonus: You can often use these cards to also pay at smaller shops or e.g. vending machines to get water. If the cash on the card is not enough, the gate will block you from leaving the train station - there's always a top-up machine almost right next to the gates so you can charge up your card, and then go through the gate again.

The ICOCA (or the respective versions of it in other provinces and regions), you can also get at ticket machines or the station masters' office. We're happy to help you out in getting one once you're in Osaka :)

Keep in mind that there are normal "on-the-ground" trains - their stations are abbreviated with "JR". And there's also subway trains - their stations are abbreviated with "M" for Metro (at least in Osaka). Here's an example from Osaka: Both Metro and usual trains have multiple lines going to different directions, each having it's own unique name and colour (e.g. "Tanimachi Line", abbreviated with T, and the colour purple). This is very helpful, since for all stations where you can switch from one line to the other (including from Metro to train and vice verca), there's usually coloured markings to point you where you need to go. Google already knows all of this and will navigate you accordingly. Sounds complicated, but it's very easy to get around once you've experienced it :)