{"id":5819,"date":"2013-07-25T07:03:30","date_gmt":"2013-07-25T07:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=5819"},"modified":"2017-07-25T07:26:19","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T07:26:19","slug":"travelling-by-rail-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/travelling-by-rail-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Travelling by Rail in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Before I make a start on what we actually did while we were away, I thought somebody somewhere might find this useful!…<\/p>\n

Apart from the plane to get there and the odd taxi ride, almost every journey we took in Japan was by rail.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is a country obsessed by trains – home to some of the fastest in the world, and where almost every aspect of the network is both immaculate, and runs like clockwork! \u00a0 Japan also has one of the most punctual rail services there is, so there’s no need to worry about any feeble excuses for delays!<\/p>\n

If you are considering any length of journey at all whilst you are in the country, you really should get yourself sorted with a Japan Rail Pass<\/a> beforehand.\u00a0 \u00a0 It’s available only to non-residents, and covers a huge section of the network.\u00a0 At around \u00a3190 per adult for a seven-day pass and \u00a395 per child – the cost is easily recovered by a couple of trips on the Bullet Train (Shinkansen) alone.\u00a0\u00a0 Bullet train lines serve most major cities, and our trip from Tokyo to Kyoto took just under 3 hours.\u00a0 Not bad for a distance of 320 miles!<\/p>\n

Once you’ve ordered your passes, you will be sent a document that must be exchanged for a validated pass.\u00a0\u00a0 You can do this easily at most Japan Rail Offices in the major stations and airports when you arrive.\u00a0 Be prepared to hand your passports over to have them checked for the required visitors stamp…<\/p>\n

The main restrictions with a JR Pass are on overnight trains, first class carriages on the Shinkansen (by the way with a pass you can reserve seats for every journey for free beforehand!), Nozomi and Mizuho trains (non stop services basically) any private line trains (around 30% of trains in Japan are owned privately, and there are some pretty “unique” ones about!) and the Metro Service in Tokyo.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For this it makes sense to get yourself a Suica pass (similar to London’s Oyster Card), with each journey costing around \u00a31.\u00a0 You can top up your fare as you go along at the machines in the station – just make sure you swipe the cards properly at the barrier, or you could suddenly find yourself without much fare left thanks to a penalty somewhere along the line!<\/p>\n