Around this time of year (Winter), many good deals are out there for those wanting to travel to Japan in the near future. Here is a brief summary of some of those.

First there are deals in place with airlines traveling to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, which is located closer to Tokyo than Narita Airport is. Haneda Airport is the world’s busiest airport for domestic traffic, as several major Japanese carriers operate flights from Haneda to other destinations in Japan. Recently Haneda opened up slots for international air carriers during the night hours, along with a new runway and new international building to boot. Airlines offering new flights are starting to promote this with bonus mileage for their frequent flier members.

American Airlines’ AAdvantage frequent flier program is offering bonus miles for their new service from New York JFK to Tokyo Haneda that starts on January 20, on top of the miles that are already earned for flying the route: 5,000 bonus miles for discounted Economy, 10,000 for full fare Economy, and 15,000 for First or Business class. A round-trip purchase is required and travel must be completed by April 30, 2011. Visit the special offer page at American Airlines for more details.

Delta Air Lines has an attractive offer for its Skymiles members, myself included, on their flights between Detroit and Haneda, and between Los Angeles and Haneda. Fly in Economy Class and earn double miles for the trip, or fly in Business Class and earn triple miles. A round-trip purchase is NOT required… you can fly as many legs as you want (a single one-way journey, five round-trips, etc.) Both routes begin operating on February 19, and all travel must be completed by May 31, 2011. Visit the special offer page at Delta for more details.

The best offer out of these is on Delta, flying from Detroit to Tokyo Haneda. The distance between the two airports is 6,428 miles, so for flying that route one-way you would earn 6,428 miles. Fly a round-trip and you earn 12,856 miles. With the bonus mileage promotion, you would earn 25,712 miles for the round-trip in Economy Class, or 38,568 miles in Business Class.

CONGRATULATIONS! You now have enough miles for a FREE, round-trip economy ticket on Delta within the United States. See what I mean?

American and Delta are not the only airlines offering bonus mile campaigns… similar campaigns are being offered by All Nippon and possibly others, while Japan Airlines is offering a discounted mileage upgrade to business class on its flights from San Francisco.

Of course, the good news is that you can get all of this bonus mileage. Now for some not-so-good news: These flights all land at night, at around 10:30 or 11 PM. Land, and then pass through immigration and customs… If you make it out of the airport past midnight, chances are you won’t have a train ride into Tokyo as midnight is the time when most train services stop. Your best bet then is to take a Taxi or one of the few Limousine Buses that run into Tokyo after midnight in order to reach your hotel.

Besides the mileage bonus offers, some companies are offering inclusive travel packages.

Right now one of the best – and least expensive – is from American Airlines Vacations, offering an Air+Hotel package starting at $965 from Los Angeles that includes round-trip air transportation and six nights in a Tokyo hotel. Packages from Chicago start at $1,035, New York $1,065 and Dallas $1,085. Prices are per person, double occupancy. The deal is good for travel in January or February only. You have until December 31 to purchase the package.

If you want to spread your horizons a bit, IACE travel is offering a trip to the world-famous Sapporo Snow Festival from February 7-15. Packages are $2,150 from Los Angeles and $2,265 from New York, and include round-trip transpacific air travel, air travel from Narita to Sapporo, four nights at a hotel in Sapporo, air travel from Sapporo to Tokyo Haneda, and three nights at a hotel in Tokyo. Land packages (no round-trip transpacific air) cost $1,485. Prices are per person, double occupancy.

JTB is also offering discounts on a few of its inclusive travel plans during January and February. This includes their 7-day/5-night Tokyo Osaka Free Plan (Round-trip airfare, 3 nights in Tokyo, bullet train to Osaka, 2 nights in Osaka) starting at $1,525 from Los Angeles and $1,645 from New York. The package does not include any guided tours, but you can book such tours at additional cost if you wish.

Also discounted is the 9-day/7-night JTB Heritage Tour, which includes stops in Tokyo, Hakone, Takayama, Shirakawago, Kanazawa and Kyoto plus round-trip airfare, guided tours and intercity transportation starting at $2,875 from Los Angeles and $3,000 from New York. These prices are per person, double occupancy.

These deals and others can be found on the offical website, for Japan tourism, http://www.japantravelinfo.com/. They have done an excellent job providing information on Japan’s major tourist destinations and I highly recommend combing every nook and cranny of that website to see if any destinations and offers appeal to you.

I would first like to express my thanks and gratitude to everyone that has read my blog and has asked me questions regarding travel in Japan. I by no means consider myself an expert on this subject… but I have done a lot of research through guide books and the Internet regarding the culture and its transportation. So I am happy to share my love of Japan and my travel advice to people one-by-one, and to everyone through this blog.

Today’s topic will be about Japan’s efficient Shinkansen network, which is going to get bigger over the next four months with the opening of two important extensions. These extensions will make traveling in Japan faster and easier, bringing major cities closer to each other. The first, opening this Saturday December 4, is an 81.8 km (50.8 mile) segment in northern Japan between the cities of Hachinohe and Aomori. The second, opening on March 12, 2011, is a 130 km (80.7 mile) stretch in Kyushu between the cities of Fukuoka and Yatsushiro.

The first extension opening December 4 will reduce travel times to northern Japan by a small margin… yet, any sort of time savings is a plus, in my opinion, because it’s just more time on your hands to enjoy the wonderful country. The Tohoku Shinkansen line will extend north to the city of Aomori, known for its hot springs, mountains and Aomori Nebuta festival. Near Aomori is a historical site where you can view remnants from the Jomon period (10,000 BC-300 BC).  Aomori is also a top producer of Japanese apples known as Obokoi apples.

Before the shinkansen network existed, Aomori was easily an overnight trip from Tokyo.  Today, thanks to the Shinkansen, it takes 4 hours: 3 on the bullet train to Hachinohe, then one hour on a Tohoku Line limited express train to Aomori. When the extension opens December 4, the trip will be reduced by about 20 minutes or so. The fastest trains from Tokyo to Aomori will take 3 hours, 20 minutes… but note that the station where the bullet trains arrive will be at Shin-Aomori (literally New Aomori) station. From Shin-Aomori, it’s a 6 minute ride or so to (plain) Aomori station. So the overall travel time, including transfer and waiting times at Shin-Aomori, will be about 3 hours and 40 minutes.

When arriving at Shin-Aomori station, you will have to wait for the next regular train to “shuttle” you to Aomori station… a special rule being introduced will permit travelers to use non-reserved seats of Limited Express (i.e. long distance) trains between Shin-Aomori and Aomori stations, so if a Limited Express comes first, you can use that. Speaking of Limited Express, trains bound for Hokkaido will now start at Shin-Aomori station, go to Aomori, then reverse direction for the trip to Hokkaido. Journey times to Hakodate, the major city on the southern part of the island, will be reduced by an average of 15 minutes.

Overall journey times will be reduced further in March 2011 when new, faster “Hayabusa” trains will be introduced on the Tokyo – Shin-Aomori route. These trains will reduce travel times by an additional 15 minutes.

The regular, one-way fare between Tokyo and Aomori will be 16,370 yen in ordinary class and 21,860 yen in green class… so an excellent way for tourists to save is to buy a 7-day Japan Rail Pass, or better yet, a JR East Rail Pass which costs 20,000 yen for 5 consecutive or 4 non-consecutive days and covers all journeys north of Tokyo into the Tohoku region, including the Tohoku Shinkansen. If you continue to Hokkaido, however, the Japan Rail Pass will generally be the better deal.

The second shinkansen line, opening March 12 2011, will be very significant as it will be a missing piece that will cover an entire shinkansen network stretching from Tokyo through Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka to the main city in the southern region of Kyushu, Kagoshima. This will reduce one hour from the current travel times between Fukuoka and Kagoshima to 1 hour and 20 minutes. The Kyushu Shinkansen will link to one of Japan’s major bullet train networks, the San’yo Shinkansen. Hourly trains, called either “Mizuho” or “Sakura”, will run from Osaka west to Fukuoka then south to Kagoshima. From Osaka you’ll be able to reach Kumamoto – home to one of Japan’s most famous castles – in as little as 3 hours, and you can travel from Osaka to Kagoshima in as little as 3 hours 45 minutes. More details about timetables and fares should be made known later this month.

To wrap up this blog entry, a note about the segment opening in northern Japan, which was sort of referenced in my last post: The local railway between Hachinohe and Aomori will be taken over by a private railway, now that Japan Railway will operate the bullet train line between those two cities instead. This means that if you have a Japan Rail Pass and were to take one of those overnight trains up to Hokkaido, you will have to pay more in extra fees since you would now travel over a longer section of railway that is not operated by JR, and therefore is not included in the rail pass. Fees for traveling over this line will now increase from 3,700 yen up to 6,560 yen… Not to mention you will also have to pay for your accomodation on the train as well.

With this in mind, using a Japan Rail Pass, we return to my idea of an overnight trip with a rest stop. In a day and age where the yen is strong, this might work out better, and cost less: Take the bullet train north, stop somewhere to spend the evening, and in the morning continue the journey to your destination. Sendai, Morioka, Hachinohe and Aomori are some good locations where you can rest at reasonably-priced business hotels such as Toyoko Inn.

The most up-to-date version of this article (from March 2016) can be found here.

Greetings everyone. I figured that I would spend this post – in the shadow of the Japanese Yen checking in at a whopping 81 to the US Dollar (which must be the ___th time in the last few months that a 15-year record low has been established) – to talk about traveling Overnight by train in the land of the rising sun.

Have I travelled overnight by train in Japan? No. Have I read a lot about it on many different websites? Yes. Can I share what I’ve learned with you? Yes. Can I share one suggestion that may make your overnight travel a little bit easier? Yes. Will I do something like this on my next trip to Japan? I might.

Overnight trains were once a staple of the country. Many stories have been told – real and fiction – about traveling life on these trains. Regular services peaked in the 1970’s, but then came the bullet trains – then cheap overnight highway buses – then aging train equipment – that sapped most life out of these so-called “Blue Trains” (nicknamed for their color).

These days, only ten main overnight train services remain in the entire country, compared to the plethora of overnight highway buses that are now the routine.

From Tokyo, five trains are available. Three run to northern Japan from Ueno Station: The Akebono, which runs north to Akita and Aomori (and sadly appears to be the next blue train to be axed in the near future), the Hokutosei, which runs north to Sapporo in Hokkaido, and the Cassiopeia, a deluxe sleeper train that also runs to Sapporo. Going west from Tokyo are two trains coupled together: the Sunrise Seto and Sunrise Izumo. Both arrive at Himeji and Okayama during the early morning hours. At Okayama, the Izumo goes to Kurashiki and terminates at the city of Izumo, home to Japan’s oldest Shinto shrine, while the Seto crosses to the island of Shikoku, terminating at the port town of Takamatsu.

From Osaka and Kyoto in the Kansai region, two trains run to northern Japan: The Nihonkai, which runs to Aomori, and the deluxe Twilight Express. The Twilight Express makes the run from Osaka to Sapporo in about 21 hours, making it Japan’s longest journey on a single passenger train.

There are also three trains that are not technically classified as sleeper trains, but still operate overnight: The Hamanasu, from Aomori to Sapporo; the Kitaguni, from Osaka and Kyoto to Niigata; and the Dream Nichirin, running from Fukuoka along the eastern coast of Kyushu to Miyazaki.

Most of these overnight train services offer bunk beds and private rooms, some of which have a private sink, toilet and/or shower. A few trains have public showers that can be used for a small fee. The Twilight Express and Cassiopeia also have diner cars and lounge cars. Other trains have carpet space – where you pay for the privilege of sleeping on the floor – and comfortable seats that can be found on many of Japan’s other high-end train services.

The fare structure for the sleeper trains consists of the BASIC FARE (the normal fare that you would have to pay to get from origin to destination over the local railway), the LIMITED EXPRESS FARE (which is also from Point A to Point B), and the ROOM/LODGING FARE which is a fixed fare no matter where you start or end your journey. (For example, if you were to take the Tokyo-Sapporo “Hokutosei” and board it in Sendai for a trip to Sapporo, the Basic and Limited Express fares would be less than from Tokyo, but the lodging fare would remain the same.)

The Japan Rail Pass covers the basic fare on all JR Railways. If you take an overnight train and stay in a bunk or a room, your responsibility would be for the Limited Express Fare and the Lodging Fare. If you stay in a seat or sleep on the floor, your journey is covered and you do not have to pay additional charges. In addition, you will have to pay for travel on non-JR operated Railways… for overnight trains this affects the Cassiopeia and Hokutosei from Tokyo to Sapporo. This payment for non-JR railways arose from 2003… when JR East extended its Shinkansen services north from Morioka to Hachinohe, it ceased operations of local trains over that same route and turned the right of way over to private railway companies, even though overnight sleeper trains continued to use it. This will continue in December of this year, when the bullet train is extended further north to Aomori and the Hachinohe-Aomori segment of the local JR line is transferred over.

So how much does an overnight trip on a train in Japan cost? Here are a few examples, courtesy of Island of Hodo, a Japanese website dedicated to overnight trains in Japan (with an English section that hasn’t been updated in a LONG time).

Nihonkai from Kyoto to Aomori (northern tip of Japan)

21,740 yen for a B-type Bunk (Basic Fare 12,290 + LEX Fare 3,150 + Lodging Fare 6,300) (Japan Rail Pass: 9450 yen)

Shared bunk accomodation. Each bunk has a privacy curtain. Shared sink and toilet nearby.

Sunrise Seto/Izumo from Tokyo to Okayama

13,850 yen for Nobinobi Carpet Seating (Basic Fare 10,190 + LEX Fare 3,660) (Japan Rail Pass: No charge)

Carpet accomodations where you sleep on the floor. Shared sink and toilet nearby.

Sunrise Seto from Tokyo to Takamatsu

27,510 yen for an A-Class Single Deluxe Private Room (Basic Fare 11,010 + LEX Fare 3,150 + Lodging Fare 13,350) (Japan Rail Pass: 16,500 yen)

A private room for one person on the upper level of the train. Keypad lock entry for the room. Bed with nearby lighting controls, audio channels and alarm clock. Shared toilet in same car. Shower in same car shared with other A-Class passengers.

Twilight Express from Osaka to Sapporo

89,620 yen for an A-Class Private Suite for two adults (Basic Fare 16,170 [x 2] + LEX Fare 3,150 [x 2] + Lodging Fare 50,980) (Japan Rail Pass: 57,280 yen for 2 passengers)

This is the most expensive overnight fare. Choice of one of two A-Class Private Suites on the 21-hour Twilight Express, one of which is at one end of the train. On the northbound trip to Sapporo, when the suites are toward the back of the train, the five windows command an unparalleled view of the train line and surrounding scenery. Double bed with table and seats located next to the windows. On-board television, with a private sink, toilet and shower.

Kitaguni from Niigata to Kyoto

15,440 yen for Green Car seating (Basic Fare 9,030 + Express Fare 1,260 + Green Car Fare 5,150) (Japan Rail Pass: 5,150 yen; Green Car Japan Rail Pass: No Charge)

Reclining Green seats that are typical on other major train services in Japan, comparable to first class seating. This train also has hard-back unreserved seats which can be used for Free with the Japan Rail Pass, and bunk accomodations which will incur a charge.

Hamanasu from Aomori to Sapporo

9,750 yen for “Dream Car” reserved seating (Basic Fare 9,750 + Express Fare 1,260 + Seat Fare 510) (Japan Rail Pass: No charge)

These trains have comfortable reserved seating with a mini-lounge. Shared toilets nearby.

As you can see, charges vary on all ends of the spectrum. And most of them might be out of the range of the average tourist. Don’t get me wrong though… if you have the money to spend, then experiencing a journey by overnight train can be memorable.

So what do you do with a Japan Rail Pass? Well as you’ve seen with at least one example, it is still possible to travel over SOME routes at little to no cost. For example, if you really wanted to go overnight from Tokyo to Sapporo, you could take a bullet train up north to to Aomori, then pick up the Hamanasu train to Sapporo. This journey is fully covered under the rail pass and you’d get to Sapporo at 6 AM the following morning. Or you could pony up some extra yen to take any of the overnight sleeper trains that run to the northern Japan region.

But what if you wanted a good place to rest, with access to your own private toilet, and even your own shower if you wanted to? And what if you could do it while reducing your lodging costs while visiting Japan? I have an untested answer, but I’m sure at least ONE person has done this in Japan – Japanese or non-Japanese – and I’m pretty sure this will work if you consider the logic. Especially if you have a JAPAN RAIL PASS.

In fact, I’ve already explained this idea in an earlier post… Ah, here it is. But I’ll explain this in a little more detail here.

The idea is to simply split your journey up into two parts. Take a train (yes, bullet trains work here) to an intermediate station along the way to where you are going. Get out at that station, find a hotel to stay at, and rest there for a while. When you wake up in the morning – rested and perhaps showered – hop back on the train again towards your destination.

This, in most cases, will reduce your lodging costs. You’ll more than likely find cheap accomodations in an intermediate, out of the way city, compared to larger, major cities such as Tokyo. And your rail fare? No sweat… as long as your rail pass does not expire for two days (the day of departure and the next), your trip is fully covered. So for those who plan to use their Rail Passes to the fullest, this is something you might want to think about. Plus, you’ll have the added benefit of spending *some* time in a Japanese city you probably didn’t think about checking out in the first place. And with some extra yen you could forward some luggage to your destination with a luggage delivery service such as Yamato, making the journey easier.

You’ll have to do the homework – find out what trains cater to your travel schedule for the destination you want to travel to – and find out what hotels are near some cities and train stations along the way. You’ll especially want to find out, for cheaper hotels, whether there is a curfew or the reception is open 24 hours.

A business hotel chain that is opening hotels all the time in Japan – many near train stations – is Toyoko Inn. I can’t officially endorse them because I haven’t stayed in a Toyoko Inn before, although I am tempted to do so one day… but Toyoko Inns seem to have a very good reputation and they have online booking services in English. They have 24-hour reception, and from what I have researched, check-in times for Toyoko Inns are between 16:00 and 24:00, so you can arrive during the late hours. A cancellation charge is applied if you do not arrive by your scheduled time and do not contact the hotel.

So using my idea and using Toyoko Inns as an example, let’s see what we can do for some overnight trips.

TOKYO – KYOTO

The essential trip that a foreigner must take when visiting Japan for the first time. Let’s use the Japan Rail Pass and leave Tokyo at 9:30 PM on one of the final Hikari train services of the day. This train stops at Hamamatsu at 10:48, where we could go off and rest at the Toyoko Inn there (6,000 yen single; 4,200 yen p/p double occupancy)… or perhaps we could exit at Toyohashi at 11:01 and stay at the Toyoko Inn there (6,090 yen single; 4,095 yen p/p double occupancy)… Say, why don’t we just go all the way to Nagoya and stay at the Toyoko Inn that is closest to the bullet train exit? (6,905 yen single; 3,940 yen p/p double occupancy) In the morning we can leave at our leisure… if we choose to take one of the first bullet trains of the day, we could get into Kyoto before the first trains of the day from Tokyo pull in! Leave Hamamatsu at 6:32 or Toyohashi at 6:45 and we can get to Kyoto at 7:58 in the morning… or we could leave Nagoya at 6:35 and reach Kyoto in just 45 minutes!

TOKYO – HIROSHIMA

A long journey to a city of important significance, for Japan and for the world. We could go overnight on the Sunrise Seto/Izumo train, changing in Okayama for a bullet train to Hiroshima.  The Rail Pass covers this trip with no additional charges… but do we really want to sleep on the floor? Nah, not unless we stay in a ryokan and sleep in a futon… so, let’s leave at 7 PM on a Hikari service that will bring us into Himeji station at around 11 PM… yes, that Himeji, with the castle? After staying at the Toyoko Inn there (5,880 yen single; 3,990 yen p/p double occupancy), we could leave the next day as early as 6:36 in the morning, and reach Hiroshima as early as 7:38.

TOKYO – SAPPORO

We can already do this for free anyway, using the bullet train and the Hamanasu. But what if you need to shower, or what if a 6 AM arrival in Sapporo is too early? We can address that. Let’s pull up the timetables for the bullet train effective December 4, when the line is extended to Shin-Aomori… aha! Leave 6:56 PM on the Hayate and arrive in Shin-Aomori at 10:24. Ride the shuttle train one stop to Aomori station and park at the Toyoko Inn there (5,460 yen single; 3,780 yen p/p double occupancy). In the morning we leave from Aomori at 8:15, change in Hakodate to another train, and we’re in Sapporo by 2 PM in the afternoon. All we paid for the trip was 3,780 yen each for a party of two. No paying for expensive accomodations in Tokyo and no spending extra, precious yen for a plane ride to Sapporo the next day.

2 PM too late an arrival? Then let’s do an afternoon and evening trip to Hakodate instead: Leave Tokyo at 3:56 PM, and change in Shin-Aomori to a train that will take us to Hakodate, on the southern end of Hokkaido, at 9:41 PM. There’s a Toyoko Inn nearby (5,460 yen single; 3,990 yen p/p double occupancy), and when we get up the next morning, the first train to Sapporo goes out at 7 AM, reaching Sapporo at 10:18.

OSAKA – SAPPORO

Ah the longest railway journey, and a classic one too… but we don’t have extra thousands of yen for a room on this train, so we’ll use the rail pass and Toyoko Inn concept once again.

We leave Shin-Osaka, the bullet train station, at 3:13 in the afternoon and reach Tokyo at 6:10 PM. This gives us about 45 minutes in Tokyo to do whatever we wish before taking the 6:56 PM Hayate train to Shin-Aomori. The rest of the instructions are the same as in the first Tokyo-Sapporo itinerary above, which will get us into Sapporo by 2 PM, nearly 23 hours, a room, a bed and a shower later. Under the second plan we’d leave Shin-Osaka three hours earlier at 12:13 PM and reach Sapporo at10:18 AM the next day… which is only about an hour more than the Twilight Express takes for its complete journey.

Okay, the moral of the story is that I am officially, certifiably, a lunatic. But by now you get the idea. As you can see, be it short or long, the possibilities are endless. Once again, find out what you want to see, where you want to go, what your timetable is like. Of course, do comparisons between hotels to see if this is something that you’d be willing to do, or CAN do for that matter. And remember, the more you use the Japan Rail Pass in the time you have, the better value you will get out of it.

One more thing that I failed to mention: During high peak periods, such as the Golden Week and New Year’s holidays, and during summer months, extra overnight trains are added. Some of these trains cater to budget travelers in Japan who are using a Seishun 18 ticket… the most popular is a train called the Moonlight Nagara which runs between Tokyo and a city called Ogaki, halfway between Nagoya and Kyoto. Your rail pass is valid on this train, but then again, so are Seishun 18 tickets because the train is classified as a Rapid service. This service sells out very quickly and tends to get crowded as well. Just something to keep in mind 🙂

As always I welcome your questions or comments. Feel free to leave your thoughts here or you can e-mail me at jrsideproject@aol.com.

Usage of Jose’s Japan Tips is subject to the usual DISCLAIMER, which you can read by clicking the DISCLAIMER tab.

This post is out of date. Please read the updated article from September 2014.

It’s becoming tough to plan a trip to Japan these days… the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Japanese yen has soured. At last check today, it was 83-84 yen to the dollar, a 15-year record rate. So a trip to Japan now is more expensive than it was two years ago – my last trip to Japan, when the yen averaged around 100 to the dollar.

Willer Express, which in the last few years has become one of Japan’s major highway bus operators, is now offering a new Japan Bus Pass, which caters towards the budget traveler. Is the new Bus Pass worth its cost, and how does it compare to the more frequently-used Japan Rail Pass?

First, here are the specifics of the Bus Pass: ANYONE can use it, even Japanese people, however it can only be purchased outside of Japan. Most of the highway buses on the Willer Express network can be used, which includes connections between Japan’s major cities. The cost of the pass is 8,000 yen for 3 days or 10,000 yen for 5 days. For each day that you use the pass, you are permitted to take the bus a maximum of two times, on two different routes (i.e. you cannot travel round-trip on the same travel day). The trips can be used on non-consecutive days, but all travel must be completed two months after the date of purchase. The Bus Pass is blacked out during Japan’s major holidays, and on other certain weekends. It is non-transferrable and you must show Photo ID (i.e. Passport) when boarding.

What do I think about the new Bus Pass? It is a tremendous deal, if you are willing to travel to several major cities in Japan, have time on your hands, and are willing to sleep on the bus during certain parts of your trip. The more times you use the Bus Pass, the more cost-effective it will be.

Let’s say that you plan on visiting Tokyo and Kyoto on your trip to Japan, and you want to use a Japan Bus Pass. With Willer Express you must make the trips overnight, which would involve sleeping on the bus. Each trip would then cost 4,000 yen based on the 3-day Bus Pass purchase. That isn’t too bad; many other bus operators in Japan operate the Tokyo-Kyoto route starting from more or less the same price. Willer, on the other hand, has the benefit of allowing reservations to be made in English.

But let’s say that you want to explore more of the country. Let’s say you wanted to add Hiroshima to the list of cities to visit. With a 3 day Bus Pass, you could, for example, travel overnight from Tokyo to Kyoto on Day 1 of the pass, stay in Kyoto, use Day 2 of the pass for a daytime OR nighttime trip to Hiroshima, stay there, and use your final day of the Pass for the overnight run from Hiroshima back to Tokyo. That’s three trips, which would reduce the cost of each trip to about 2700 yen. Even better! Remember, Bus Pass days do NOT have to be used consecutively.

But to squeeze every yen’s worth out of the Bus Pass, you must travel more. Remember that for each day of validity you can take up to TWO bus trips that are not on the same route. So in order to maximize the value of the Bus Pass, you must be willing to take SIX trips on a 3 Day pass, or TEN trips on a 10 Day pass.

So let’s try to build a sample itinerary using the three-day Bus Pass that would allow for some good coverage of major Japanese destinations.

3 DAY JAPAN BUS PASS SAMPLE ITINERARY

Bus Pass Day 1: Depart Tokyo’s Shinjuku Bus Terminal in the morning for the city of Sendai, a major city located within close vicinity of the Pacific Ocean. Spend the afternoon in Sendai, perhaps wandering over to Matsushima, one of Japan’s most important sites. In the evening, board an overnight bus bound for Osaka and spend a few nights there. Use Osaka as a base for visiting Kyoto.

Bus Pass Day 2: Take a bus back east from Osaka in the morning and spend the day in Nagoya, Japan’s third-largest city. In the evening, board a night bus to Hiroshima. Spend some time in the city where the first atomic bomb was dropped.

Bus Pass Day 3: Take a morning bus from Hiroshima to Kobe, in the region synonymous with beef. In the evening, return by night bus to Tokyo.

BUS PASS: 8000 yen / 6 trips = 1333 yen per trip

Wow. Now that’s a good deal.

My take on all of this… well, I’m not sure if I’d be the type of person who’d rush from one city to another in order to make the Bus Pass more valuable. I’d also need to have a lot of time on my hands, since a good portion of my trip time will be spent on a bus. If I wanted to cover a lot of ground, I’d rather try to save whatever time I have for the trip. So I would personally stick with a Japan Rail Pass. Besides obviously covering Japan’s entire network of bullet trains, there is the added benefit of NO blackout dates with the Rail Pass. You can travel on any date that you wish, as long as you are able to obtain a seat. But if I were to travel on the cheap and sacrifice time and comfort, and I had an idea of what major cities I’d want to visit in Japan, I would definitely give the Bus Pass serious consideration.

The face of airport travel will change next month in Japan (July 17 to be exact) with the complete upgrade of the Keisei Railway SKYLINER train service. Once a ride that took 51 minutes from Narita Airport to Tokyo, new trains with a top speed of 160 km/h (100 miles per hour) traveling over new and refurbished track over a more direct route (when will this run-on sentence end) will make the nonstop run from the Airport to Tokyo’s Nippori station in only 36 minutes. The overall travel time from end to end is less than 45 minutes.

The new Skyliner service will better compete with the Narita Express service offered by Japan Railways. Skyliner trains will now be the outright fastest trains operating into the Tokyo area, while Narita Express trains will continue to offer direct one-seat train rides to the bullet trains and to most of Tokyo’s major train stations.

With one month or so to go before the start of this new train service, and with the information about the train trips available, I offer my suggestions on how to tackle the new Skyliner service… as well as provide information about the new line the Skyliner will travel on, and how it will cause direct competition with another major transit route out of Narita.

I’ll be focusing only on the services operated by Keisei Railway, a private railway operator, out of Narita Airport. I’m sure that there are other places in my blog where I talk about the JR airport trains…. Ahh, here it is!

With the introduction of new SKYLINER services comes another train route into/out of Narita Airport: The Narita Sky Access Line. This means Keisei will run their trains on TWO lines to/from the airport: The Sky Access, along with the existing Keisei Main Line. The new Sky Access train uses most of the Hokuso Railway which runs in the most direct path from Tokyo to Narita Airport; the Keisei Main Line is a less direct path, and the JR lines basically take a path that doglegs in Chiba city. The new segment of track, which extends from the end of the Hokuso Line into Narita Airport, completes the Sky Access Line.

The Sky Access Line and Keisei Line operate on TWO different fare tables, with the Sky Access being the more expensive one. To enforce the separate fares, the platforms at Narita Airport’s two train stations (Narita Airport station for Terminal 1, Airport Terminal 2 station for Terminal 2) are being segregated – so one part of the station will be for Sky Access trains (Skyliner included) and the other will be for regular Keisei Main Line trains. Upon entering the train system at the airport, you will pass through a ticket barrier. If you are going to Sky Access you then proceed down to the platform, otherwise you must go through ANOTHER ticket barrier in order to access the Keisei Main Line trains.

The comfortable, fast, all-reserved Skyliner trains cost 2400 yen per person, and only operates from the Airport to Nippori and Ueno stations with no intermediate stops. At Nippori there is an easy connection to the JR Yamanote Loop Line… a better connection at that, now that the platforms at Nippori station have been completely rehabilitated. Keisei’s station at Ueno is separate from the JR Ueno station but you can still access two subway lines (including the Ginza Line) with relative ease.

If you are on a budget and want to sacrifice speed for money in the wallet, then you should use a commuter train. During the morning and afternoon hours, Keisei Main Line trains depart for Nippori and Ueno stations every 20 minutes. In the same timeframe, Sky Access commuter trains, known as ACCESS EXPRESS (Tokkyu) trains, depart every 40 minutes and run into the subway. During the morning and afternoon hours, the best way to reach Nippori or Ueno by commuter train is to use the Keisei Main Line. Commuter trains take about 80 minutes to cover the journey at a cost of 1000 yen. The reason is that Access Tokkyu trains are infrequent for the most part, plus you’ll have to end up changing trains anyway at a station like Aoto for a train that will bring you to Nippori and Ueno.

When it gets to the evening hours, then ACCESS EXPRESS trains start to make direct runs into Nippori and Ueno. The fare structure is higher, so a one-way trip would cost 1200 yen. But at the same time it’s easier, since it is just a one-seat ride – not to mention the ride is one hour, too.

ACCESS EXPRESS trains, upon reaching the subway, are the best way to reach the Asakusa and Nihombashi districts of Tokyo… Ginza is also close by changing trains at Nihombashi.

If there is one more secret about the ACCESS EXPRESS trains, it’s that the trains can operate directly from Narita Aiprort (Tokyo’s International Airport)  to Haneda Airport (Tokyo’s Domestic Airport closer to the city center) multiple times a day. The fact that this service exists may give Airport Limousine buses a run for their money. If you’re willing to carry your own luggage on the train and brave the crowds, it is possible to reach Haneda from Narita in 1 hour, 45 minutes at a cost of only 1760 yen. This compares with approximately 1 hour, 30 minutes and 3000 yen by airport limousine bus. Limousine buses are prone to traffic…. so a train trip from Narita to Haneda is now a viable, and perhaps a quite logical, option.

There are a few more options that you COULD consider depending on the time of day, so I encourage you to visit Keisei’s revamped Skyliner home page for more details. The Wikitravel Narita page will also be updated with information once July comes around.

Have fun landing at Narita, weaving through the ticket barriers, and enjoying the Land of the Rising Sun!

Wow, 3 months since my last post. So I’m due to write something. This’ll be quick, too. This coming Monday I will be hosting a radio program where I will take questions from anyone who is interested in visiting Japan one day. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’ve been to Japan twice, and although I really can’t brand myself as an ‘expert’, I’ll do my best to answer your queries. (Of course if you are reading this, you may wish to read the posts on this blog first!)

The show is the “JRHorse Side Project”, a program that I host weekly on Keiichi.net Radio. It normally airs on Sundays, but this week only it will air on Monday. Start time for the show is 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central/5 PM Pacific. If you do the GMT thing, the start time is Midnight GMT going into Tuesday. To listen to the show, click on the Keiichi.net Radio link above and select “LISTEN” from the home page. Don’t forget to also select the “CHATROOM” link to send me your questions.

THIS POST AND ATTACHED CHART ARE OUT OF DATE

Today I am offering a chart for users of the Japan Rail Pass who wish to travel long-distance over the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen in a single trip.

As has been stated before, the national Japan Rail Pass does not permit the use of “Nozomi” trains over this heavily-travelled corridor, so JR Pass users will be forced to use slower Hikari and Kodama trains. This increases travel times, and consequently, lessens the time that a pass user has for sightseeing and exploration. I’ve always felt that JR Pass users should be permitted to use Nozomi trains because they are faster and more frequent than the others… but since it looks like that situation will not change for a while, I have decided to come up with a simple chart so that Rail Pass users can travel as quickly as possible.

Over the Tokyo-Nagoya-Kyoto-Osaka-Hiroshima-Fukuoka corridor the “Hikari” service, with some exceptions, generally operates in two segments – a segment over the Tokaido Shinkansen (Tokyo-Osaka) and a segment over the Sanyo Shinkansen (Osaka-Fukuoka). What this chart does is lists the appropriate connections that one should take when making long-distance journeys. For example, Tokyo to Hiroshima, Nagoya to Hiroshima, or even Tokyo all the way to Fukuoka.

The connection chart lists major stations that foreigners will likely use on the line: Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shin-Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka, Shin-Kobe, Himeji, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kokura and Hakata (in Fukuoka). For long distance journeys that require a change of trains, the chart will show you what train to take and where you should transfer so that your connection time is as short as possible, and more importantly, that your overall travel time is as short as possible. Trains are listed in pairs, and any stop highlighted on the chart in RED or GREEN indicates the location where you should transfer to continue with your journey.

The chart is valid for daily travel by bullet train as of Saturday, March 13, 2010, the date that the new timetables will be put into effect. On this day several Hikari runs between Osaka and Fukuoka will be removed from daily service… this is another reason why I decided to put this chart together. Previously Hikari trains were matched up very closely to continuing departures… this continues during the middle of the day, but now at other hours you will likely have to change at Shin-Osaka… a few trips even require changes at Hiroshima, as indicated on the chart.

I hope this chart will be useful as travelers to Japan – or those who are thinking about making a trip – do their research and make their preparations for travel over this very important route.

https://myjapantips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/jrpassconnection.pdf

With much of the Olympics out of the way, and with my job off tomorrow because of our third (?) big snowstorm of the year, I figured I would chip in on my MONTHLY post to this blog… wow I don’t post much do I? But I hope that by now the advice that I have published here so far has helped at least one person in their trip plans for Japan.

I’d like to share with you some tips on the Japan Rail Pass. This came about as I came across a posting on a Japan Travel bulletin board with regards to itinerary help. The person who wrote, whose name I shall keep anonymous for obvious reasons, wanted to know if, with her itinerary, the Japan Rail Pass was right for her.

First, another recap: The Japan Rail Pass covers just about all train travel in Japan that is operated by Japan Railways, with a few exceptions, notably the “Nozomi” service which is the fastest service operating on the Tokaido and San’yo Shinkansen – the line that links Tokyo with Kyoto and Osaka, and continues onward to Hiroshima and Fukuoka. It is essentially available in six different versions: There are 7-day, 14-day and 21-day passes, all consecutive, and each of these has a standard class version and a first class version (in Japan first class is called the Green Car).

To see if the Japan Rail Pass is right for you, there are a few things in my opinion that must be established. Namely, your travel dates,  and the long-distance travel that you intend to make. There will be some local rail travel that you might take around big cities, especially around Tokyo, but unless you do LOTS and LOTS of trips on the Yamanote Line, local trains within a specific area are just a very small slice of the big pie. With a little bit of research you can find out if it’s worth purchasing a Japan Rail Pass. In one specific area, you can see if the cost of purchasing a Rail Pass would be less than purchasing rail tickets individually. And as pointed out, your travel dates also play a factor.

This person’s itinerary consists of the following: Tokyo from Mar 27 – Apr 2, Kyoto from Apr 2-9, Tokyo from Apr 9 – 13. Her travel dates are fixed, so they cannot be changed. She would like to take day trips to Nikko and Kamakura (both near Tokyo) and Nara (near Kyoto). She was concerned about her budget and wondered if it was worth paying about $500 to get a 14-day rail pass. Perhaps she would be able to save more if she went for a 7-day rail pass?

So let’s see what sort of long-distance travel she’ll be using. Well in this itinerary I only see 2: Tokyo to Kyoto, and Kyoto to Tokyo, which would be done on the bullet train. The Nozomi costs 13,500 yen each way, so that’s 27,000 yen round-trip. A 7-day ordinary rail pass costs 28,300 yen so with some expected local travel in Tokyo and Kyoto she’s all set, right? WRONG. Look at the dates that she will travel: Tokyo to Kyoto April 2, and then Kyoto to Tokyo April 8. That’s eight days, and the travel days are fixed. Which means that a 7-day rail pass would be no good since one of her trips would not be covered. A 14-day pass would cost 45,100 yen for ordinary class, which would be too much. Also factoring into this call are the three side trips, all of which could be done by taking cheaper private railways.

My recommendation to her therefore was to purchase regular tickets. Nozomi tickets both ways from Tokyo to Kyoto, side trip Kyoto to Nara by Kintetsu Railway, Tokyo to Kamakura by the Odakyu Railway Enoshima/Kamakura Free Pass and Tokyo to Nikko by Tobu Railway’s World Heritage Pass. The total budget comes to 37,000 yen which is right now around $410 in US Dollars. If she’s willing to sacrifice a little speed and willing to test some Japanese ability, she could opt for the discounted Puratto Kodama Economy Plan, mentioned in an earlier blog article. This will cut about 7,000 yen, or almost $80, out of her travel budget. As for local travel… I suggested to her (and to you as well) a stored fare card. No need to figure out fares on a chart and go to the ticket machines every time. Simply buy a stored fare card and tap your way in and out of the trains – the cards act as a debit card and deduct the appropriate fares automatically. In Tokyo the stored fare cards in use are SUICA and PASMO.

The moral of the story: Travel research helps in many different ways! You can learn more about the places you are going – before you get there, and while you are there – and you can save some cash too. Of course in the Japanese tradition, that means you have to use that cash to buy gifts for your relatives back home! 🙂

For more information on what I have discussed in this article, just click on the respective links.

Well it’s about time I wrote something new in this space… so I’ll dedicate this time to writing about an interesting way to plan for your next trip to Japan. Sure, you’ve read tour books and you’ve done your research on the Internet… but have you looked at ALL of the places yet?

One interesting way of bringing the Japanese culture to you is by viewing video presentations. Whether it’s through the Japanese Government, various Prefectures throughout the country, or by looking through how people live in and travel around Japan by searching YouTube… you’re bound to find ways that will make you crave more for a visit to the land to the rising sun.

There are various ways to go about finding such videos. We’ll start at the top, with the Japan National Tourism Organization, or JNTO for short. They just started a big campaign for visiting Japan in the year 2010. Yes, 2010 is a special year in Japan… particularly in the ancient city of Nara, which was founded way back in 710 AD… so Nara is celebrating its 1300th birthday this year. JNTO’s “Visit Japan Year 2010” campaign features a video series called “Revalue Nippon” featuring former professional football (that is, soccer) player Hidetoshi Nakata, as well as “Love Japan 50”, brief video clips from 50 residents around the country explaining why they love Japan. You can view more at http://www.vjy2010.jp.

JNTO also maintains a Youtube channel showing regular tourism videos highlighting destinations around the country: http://www.youtube.com/user/visitjapan

Now let’s go to the next level, the prefectural and city governments. Prefectures may or may not have websites dedicated to tourism, which in turn may or may not have videos, so it’s wise to use two methods of search: First, the Wikipedia article where you can find a list of all of Japan’s prefectures, and then Google to search those prefectures out. And of course you can do the same search for Japanese cities.

Here are a few that I found: Yokohama’s Convention and Visitors Bureau has flash videos featuring the famous harbor city’s main attractions. Kochi prefecture, which covers the southern part of the island of Shikoku, has two promotional movies on its site. There are many movies on the website for the Hokkaido Tourism Organization which feature how Japan’s northmost island changes with the seasons.

As I mentioned earlier, Youtube is an excellent resource for videos from people living in Japan, and from foreigners visiting Japan. Naturally I have to plug here my 21-chapter Jose in Japan video series, which details the highlights of my October 2008 trip. But there are many others videos that you can look at… one of my favorites is Cam Switzer, who has been video-blogging his life in Japan for several years and continues to post updates on a regular basis.

And of course you have to watch out for some nook-and-cranny websites like Channel J, which houses many tourism videos… slightly outdated by now, but nevertheless it’s a wonderful resource, particularly for videos featuring western Japan. You can easily spend an entire day enjoying all of the videos that branch out of their tourism video page.

Are you looking for hotel accomodations in Japan? If you search on Japanican, many of the major hotels and resorts offer brief video tours of their facilities. These videos are only in Japanese but at least you get a feeling for what to expect in individual accomodations.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan in 2009 dipped 18.7 percent from the previous year – the largest drop in 40 years – thanks in part to the economic downturn. This means that Japan will try harder – I hope – to bring more tourists into the country over the short term. So, armed with some knowledge about Japan – especially through Tourism videos – why not make 2010 the year you’ll pay a visit?

On a final note, here are some specials being offered for travel to/within Japan in the short term:

JTB USA continues to offer its $899 + tax deal which covers round-trip airfare on Continental Airlines from Newark-Liberty Airport, near New York City, to Tokyo, plus four nights’ hotel accomodations (double occupancy) and a half-day tour of Tokyo. You have the option of purchasing additional tours and additional nights while you are there. Round-trip airport transfers are NOT included.

JTB is also offering an Anime Otaku land package tour in March for $800 + tax which includes a 5-night stay at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, and daily trips to highlights of Otaku culture. Stops will be made at such places as the  Ghibli Museum, Akihabara, Nakano Broadway, and of course the topping on the cake: The Tokyo International Anime Fair. Airfare is NOT included but round-trip airport transfers ARE included.

Learn more about these and more JTB tours by visiting http://www.jtbusa.com

So if you need airfare only, Japan Airlines is offering the following economy class specials: New York to Tokyo $751 + tax, San Francisco – Tokyo $651 + tax, Los Angeles – Osaka $656 + tax, Chicago – Nagoya $656 + tax. Tickets must be bought by February 5 with return no later than 30 days after departure (45 days if traveling from New York). All Nippon Airlines (ANA) is selling Economy Class tickets to Tokyo starting at $705 + tax from Los Angeles, $805 + tax from Chicago and $855 + tax from New York. Travel must be purchased by January 31 and travel must be completed by September 30. And if you really feel giddy, Delta has a fare sale ending today from Portland, Oregon to Tokyo costing $918 round-trip, with all travel needing to be completed by March 18.

Last month I had written about ways that you could travel by train from Tokyo to Kyoto or Osaka, given that there are no more direct overnight trains that run between the two cities.

Alas, one of the options that I had mentioned is about to disappear. Today the Japan Railways group of companies released their timetable amendments to take effect in March of 2010. This is called, in Japanese terms, the “DAIYA”, short for diagram. As part of their announcement: The Hokuriku and Noto overnight trains will be discontinued. These will be the sixth and seventh overnight trains, respectively, that Japan has abolished since 2008 due to low ridership.

The era of the ‘blue trains’, as they are called in Japan, may be coming to an end… although the more higher-end and luxurious overnight services still remain popular. These include the Cassiopea from Tokyo to Sapporo, the Twilight Express from Osaka and Kyoto to Sapporo, and the Sunrise Seto from Tokyo to the island of Shikoku.

But we’re not dealing with those trains in this article… we’re trying to figure out how to get you overnight by train from Tokyo to the Kansai region. There’s only one option left for you to take… the Toki/Kitaguni combination, as I mentioned in a previous article.

Or, IS there only one option left?

There is another option, which may end up being a little hectic, may require a little bit of research, and will cost you – although if you are using a Japan Rail Pass, it won’t cost much. It’s pretty straightforward, and makes sense too… choose an inexpensive accomodation along your travel route, and stay there for the night. An interesting method of tackling overnight journeys, but think about it: while the trains are shut down for the night, you can get a little bit of shuteye at a hotel that’s located close to the train station – in most cases, with access to your own personal toilet and shower.

So the method I suggest is as follows: Going from Point A to Point B, take a late-night train from Point A in the direction of Point B. The train will terminate at some location along the way, which we’ll call Point C. Stay in a hotel at Point C, then when the trains begin to run again in the morning, hop on one of the first ones that go to Point B.

The advantages to traveling in this way are: LOCATION and MONEY. You will more than likely find good accomodations very close to a main train station in a smaller city, compared to a big city such as Tokyo, and it will more than likely be cheaper than hotels found in a metropolis.

For travel between Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka, for example, you can use the Tokaido Shinkansen late at night and sleep over at a hotel in Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Toyohashi or Nagoya; In the morning, grab one of the first bullet train departures in the same direction to continue your trip.

Here’s an itinerary that covers this idea.

1. Take one of the last bullet trains from Tokyo for the evening: Shinkansen Hikari 533, Depart Tokyo 22:00 (10 PM), arrive Hamamatsu 23:16.

2. Stay at the Toyoko Inn Hamamatsu-eki Kita, a 5 minute walk from the train station, where a Single Room costs just 6,000 yen.

3. Return to Hamamatsu station in the morning and take the first train – Shinkansen Kodama 693, Depart Hamamatsu 6:32, Arrive Kyoto 7:58, Arrive Shin-Osaka 8:13.

So, you can rest on the trains if you wish, and definitely rest in a hotel with access to your own shower and toilet. And with this method, you’ll get to Kyoto and Osaka BEFORE the early morning bullet trains of the day from Tokyo make their arrivals.

These are merely suggestions of course. With the right amount of planning, you can choose your own path – not to mention adventure – as you travel around the land of the rising sun! Merry Christmas!

(Travel suggestions are, as per usual, pursuant to the Jose’s Japan Tips disclaimer)