Train travel in Japan . . .

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The railways are the way to get around Japan.  On this page you'll find an introduction to train travel in Japan, plus:

How to check train times & fares in Japan

Map of Japan train routes

How to buy and use a Japan Rail Pass

Staying in Ryokans & capsule hotels...

Things to see in Japan...

How to travel from the UK to Japan overland by Trans-Siberian Railway

Ferry links from Japan to China, Korea & Russia

Everyone has heard of the 'bullet train' lines, known in Japan as 'shinkansen'.  These are high-speed lines, built to standard gauge (4' 8½").  The first shinkansen opened in 1964, and there are now several 'shinkansen' lines linking all the most important cities in Japan, including Niigata, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Hakata.

There remains an extensive network of original 3' 6" gauge lines, covering the whole of Japan and taking you to almost every city and town of any size.

There are some impressive sleeping-car trains, too, for example Tokyo-Nagasaki and Tokyo-Sapporo.  These run on the original narrow-gauge lines, but they can save time compared with daytime travel, even using shinkansen.

Travelling by train in Japan is easy, as the stations have signs and departure boards in English as well as Japanese.

Two classes of seating are provided, ordinary class and 'green car' (1st class).  Green cars are indicated by a green 'clover' symbol next to the entrance door.

Japanese trains are very clean and modern, and are amazingly punctual.

Top  picture:  On the platform at Tokyo main station.  A 'Hikari' Shinkansen express (a Series 100, which has a couple of double-deck green class cars, seen here) about to leave for Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Hakata (from where there are narrow-gauge connections to Nagasaki).

Above left:  Green car seating on a 'Series 300' train on the Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka - Hiroshima - Hakata Shinkansen.  As you'd expect, green car seating has more legroom and seats are arranged 2+2 across the coach, standard class seats are normally arranged 2+3.  However, travelling standard class is perfectly adequate.

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You can easily check train times & fares for any train journey in Japan at www.hyperdia.com (the English button is upper left).  There is a good map of Japan train routes map here.

Another useful resource is www.japanrail.com.  The famous Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable is also a key source for Japanese train routes and train times in printed form, price £13.99 from branches of Thomas Cook or www.thomascooktimetables.com.  Alternatively, you can buy the twice-yearly  Independent Traveller's edition at Amazon.co.uk also with shipping worldwide.

In Japan, children aged 0 to 5 travel free, children aged 6 to 11 travel at half fare, children aged 12 and over pay full fare.

Rail fares in Japan are expensive, and if you are an overseas visitor a Japan Rail Pass can be the cheapest way to travel even if you are only planning one return trip from (say) Tokyo to Hiroshima.  See the 'Japan Rail Pass' section below.

A Japan Rail Pass will probably save you money...

Train fares in Japan are very expensive even by UK standards, and even if you are only planning one return inter-city journey, a Japan Rail Pass can save you money over buying a normal ticket.  For example, the normal return fare from Tokyo to Kyoto is about £140, and from Tokyo to Hiroshima about £200.  A Japan Rail Pass costs around £160 for 7 days unlimited travel..!   You can see that a rail pass saves money for one return journey between Tokyo and any station beyond Osaka.  You can use www.hyperdia.com to check point-to-point fares for the journeys you intend to make, then compare these with the Japan railpass prices at the Seat61 RailShop.

May 2009:  Sorry, the Japan Railpass links on this page are temporarily out of action, the agency tell me they are trying to sort the problem.

Japan Rail Pass...

Japan Rail Passes covering the whole of Japan are available for 7, 14 or 21 consecutive days unlimited travel on the national Japan Railways (JR) network, in a choice of ordinary class or 'green' (first) class.  You can use any JR train service, both high-speed Shinkansen and ordinary slower narrow-gauge trains, except for the very fastest 'Nozomi' expresses on the Tokyo-Osaka-Hakata Shinkansen (this is not a problem, as you can use the 'Hikari' expresses on this route, which are only slightly slower).  A green class rail pass is great if you can afford it, but standard class on Japanese trains is perfectly adequate, there's no real need to pay more.  You can also use overnight sleeping-car trains with a Japan Rail Pass, if you pay the rather large sleeper supplement. Tokyo to Nagasaki by sleeping-car costs ¥9,700 (about £51) one-way for a basic 'B' category bunk in addition to your pass.  The Japan Rail Pass does not cover lines that are run by private rail operators.

Japan East Rail Pass, Japan West (Sanyo) Rail Pass, Japan West (Kansai) Rail Pass: 

There are also three other Japan Rail Passes covering smaller areas.  The Japan East Pass covers Tokyo, Nagano, Niigata, Sendai, Morioka, Misawa & Akita.  The Sanyo area pass covers an area including Osaka, Himeji, Okayama, Hiroshima & Hakata.  The Kansai area rail pass covers Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara & Himeji and costs only around £12 ($24) a day, a pretty good deal.  See the Seat61 Rail Shop for more information.

How to buy a Japan Rail Pass online...

You need to buy your Japan Rail Pass before you leave your home country as you can't buy a pass once you're in Japan.  You can buy your Japan Rail Pass from a UK, US or Australian agency, depending on where you live:

If you live in the UK or Republic of  Ireland, click the button to check pass prices & buy a Japan Rail Pass online at the Seat 61 RailShop UK.  Prices in £, passes sent out from International Rail in Hampshire.

		If you live in the USA, Canada or central/south America, click to check pass prices & buy a Japan Rail Pass online at the Seat 61 RailShop USA.  Prices in US$, passes sent out from Railpass.com in Massachusets.
		If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Asia or Africa, click to check pass prices & buy a Japan Rail Pass online at the Seat 61 RailShop Australia.  Prices in AUD$, passes sent out from International Rail in Australia.

How does a Japan Rail Pass work?

When you buy a Japan rail pass in the UK, you will be given a voucher which needs to be exchanged for the railpass itself in Japan any time within the following three months.  Vouchers can be exchanged at all the most important Japan Railways stations, including Tokyo and its international airports, but unfortunately not including Fushiki if you arrive in Japan by ship from Vladivostok. 

Train reservations can be made in Japan at any ticket office once you have your rail pass, but they cannot be made from outside Japan before you get there.  However, except at the busiest peak times you are unlikely to have any problem getting reservations on the trains you want.  Good pages for further Japan Rail Pass information are www.japantravel.co.uk/jrp.htm and www.japanrailpass.net.

Top picture:   The business end of a 'Series 100' train on the Tokkaido Shinkansen, which runs from Tokyo via Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima to Hakata.

Middle picture:  The high-speed 'Shinkansen' will get you from Tokyo and Kyoto to Hakata, where it ends.  To reach Nagasaki, you'll need to change onto the 'Kamome' ('Red Express').  On of the original 'Red Expresses' is seen here at Hakata.

Right:  Nikko is a great day trip to make from Tokyo.  You can get there in less than 2 hours on the Tobu Railway's 'Spacia Express' from Tokyo Asakusa station.  Departures are frequent.

There are two unique types of overnight accommodation which you should try in Japan.  'Ryokans' are traditional Japanese inns.  The rooms don't have beds, but are covered with 'tatami' matting on which you place a bedroll.  You will probably be offered a hot cup of green Japanese tea when you first arrive.  'Ryokans' are the Japanese equivalent of B&Bs, so they are an inexpensive option compared with hotels, as well as an experience.

Another Japanese experience, which (purely incidentally) is an ultra-cheap option for staying a night in the heart of Tokyo or other big cities, is a night in a capsule hotel.  These are more civilised than you might think.

The hotel reception looks like any other hotel reception - just remember to take your shoes off before you walk in, and place them in one of the lockers in the lobby.  Upstairs, there will probably be several floors of fibreglass sleeping capsules, each floor with its own locker room and shared showers.  You change in the locker room and put your clothes and bags into your locker.  Your capsule has radio, alarm clock and TV, and a screen or curtain pulls over the capsule entrance for privacy.  Unfortunately, the main clientele for these hotels is Japanese businessmen who have missed their last train home, so they don't tend to cater well for women or couples.

The picture shows 'end-loading' capsules, but some capsule hotels have 'side-loading' types..!

It's impossible to mention every sight or attraction Japan has to offer, but here are some highlights of a visit to Japan that might give you some ideas.

Tokyo

One of the world great cities... Stay in a capsule hotel;  visit the site of the Tokyo castle (now just foundations) near the entrance to the Emperor's palace;  shop till you drop in Tokyo's busy Shinjuku district; take a JR suburban train out to Kamakura to see the Great Buddha, the second largest bronze Buddha in the world.

Nikko

A not-to-be-missed day trip from Tokyo, Nikko's history as a sacred site began in the middle of the 8th century AD.  There are many temples and historic buildings spread through woodland in the hills around this small town, including the famous three monkeys:  'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' (pictured, left).

Frequent trains of the Tobu Railway link Tokyo Asakusa station with Nikko in less than 2 hours  (Japan Rail Passes don't cover the Tobu Railway).

Kyoto

Capital of Japan from 794AD until 1867, Kyoto should be on every visitor's itinerary.  Office blocks and pinball arcades in the modern city rub shoulders with tiny wooden houses in the older parts of town.  There are several important temples in and around the city, including the famous Kiyomizu-dera Temple, and the Kimkaku-ji Temple or 'Golden Pavilion', pictured right.

Nara

A worthwhile day trip from Kyoto, Nara is home to the Great Hall of the Buddha, the world's largest wooden building, housing the world's largest bronze Buddha.  The train trip from Kyoto takes just 35 minutes, and there are usually two trains each hour.  This line is run by the Kesei Railway.

Himeji

The best-preserved traditional Japanese castle (pictured, left) is to be seen at Himeji, on the Shinkansen between Osaka and Hiroshima - well worth a stop.

Nagasaki

The second atomic bomb exploded in Nagasaki three days after the Hiroshima one - although this time not quite in the centre of town, but in a suburb called Urakami.  However, Nagasaki has much more to offer than reminders of 1945.  Nagasaki has a long and fascinating history, and many beautiful temples and historic buildings have survived.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima needs no introduction.  It's a large modern city, but you'll never forget your visit to the Peace Park, site of the epicentre of the atomic bomb explosion, or a tour of the museum there.  You can see the 'T' shaped bridge (or rather, it's modern replacement) at the top of the Peace Park - this was allegedly the aiming point of the bomb-aimer of the 'Enola Gay'.  Pictured right is the 'atomic bomb dome', previously the Industrial Promotions Hall, and one of the few buildings not completely flattened by the bomb.

The best place to find train, bus and ferry times in Japan and every country in Asia, Africa, America and Australasia is the famous Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable, published every two months.  It's essential for every serious overland traveller, and an inspiration for armchair travellers!

This costs £13.99 from the bureau de change section of any branch of Thomas Cook, or you can order online at www.thomascooktimetables.com.  Alternatively, you can buy the twice-yearly  Independent Traveller's edition at Amazon.co.uk also with shipping worldwide.

Paying for a guidebook may seem an unnecessary expense, but it's a tiny fraction of what you're spending on your whole trip.  You will see so much more, and know so much more about what you're looking at, if you have a decent guidebook.  The Trailblazer 'Japan by Rail' guide is specifically aimed at train travel around Japan, with both city and train information.  For the serious independent traveller, the best guidebooks to take are either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.  I personally prefer the layout of the Lonely Planet, but others prefer the Rough Guides.  Both guidebooks provide excellent levels of both practical information and historical background. 

Click the images to buy online at Amazon.co.uk...

Or buy the Lonely Planet guide direct from the Lonely Planet website, shipping worldwide.