Nothing special today, since we had to come back from Osaka to Tsukuba, before flying to Ishigaki the next day. We thus took the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo, which was our last shinkansen journey with our JR pass :-(

Hence, let's make this post a special Q&A on trains.




1) JR PASS
We strongly recommend you get one if you intend to travel inside Japan. It can be bought only by tourists, and it is not sold in Japan, so you have to buy it in your country before leaving. You will get a coupon, that you have to exchange once you arrive in Japan (see the post "Day1").

JR pass is valid on all JR lines, but does not work on private lines, and you even have to pay if you take a JR train on a private line ! So you have to be careful.
JR pass is not valid for Nozomi Shinkansen (but ok for Hikari or Kodama).
You do not have to make reservations ; but use non-reserved (and well indicated) cars.
JR pass does not work for metro (Tokyo and Osaka), nor for Tokyo Monorail to Haneda Airport. But it works for JR ferry to Miyajima island.


JR pass is a bit expensive at first glance (45100 yens for 2 weeks in economic class), but it is definitely worthwhile when you see how expensive are train tickets in Japan, especially Shinkansen. For instance, return ticket Tokyo-Osaka is 17000 yens. Considering all the journeys we've made, it was a bargain!

JR pass is convenient in train stations as you do not have to go through automatic gates, but follow the "Tickets with white backs" sign (understand : non-electronic tickets) and show your pass to the agent. And you can go in and out the station as many times as you wish.








2) SHINKANSEN
There are 3 different kinds of Shinkansen trains, depending on the number of stops they make until the final destination. Nozomi is the fastest ad the only one going straight from Tokyo to Hakata (Fukuoka), but you are not allowed to take it with the JR pass. Hikari is the second fastest one, and Kodama stops at every shinkansen stations.
For the record, if a Hikari leaves 20 minutes later than a Kodama for the same destination, you'd better wait for the Hikari, which will arrive before the Kodama (happened to us between Shin-osaka and Tokyo)


Shinkansen have very spacious cars: large alleys to roll your luggage, a large space behind the last seat of every car where you can put your heavy luggage, and lot of space between each seats for your feet.
You will also never travel backwards, as all seats in every cars are facing forward. This is possible thanks to a very clever device: rotating seats. Look at the pictures, you'll get it!
For the record, in other trains than Shinkansen, seats do not rotate but you can flip the back of each seat. Look at the pictures again.

It should be noted that we never experienced any difficulties finding free seats in non-reserved cars.

For the record, shinkansen stations are sometimes in a different building and location than the classical station (eg: Osaka). But most of the times, it's inside the main station, but separated in a sepcial aisle of the building. You have to show your ticket (or your pass) to enter it.


3) SCHEDULES
To plan your trips, you should use this site: http://grace.hyperdia.com/
So convenient and easy to use !

Concerning schedules, we have to say we've been amazed by the respect of schedules of every trains we took. All trains arrive and leave right on time (the agent on the platform has a watch and no train leaves late, even a few seconds late !). It's very convenient to plan you day, but you can't be late !




4) FOREIGN TRAVELLERS
Train stops announcements are made both in japanese and in english on main lines.
Train stops names are written both in japanese and romanji on the platform (you can read it !)

In main stations, even the names of the stations where the train will stop are translated in romanji. but it's only in main station (eg: in Uno, everything in japanese)


5) OTHER FACTS
You have to queue before entering any train. A special mark is written on the platform to know where you should wait considering the car you want to board in, and the wainting line is clearly maked on the ground. So don't wait outside of the line and don't overtake the line of people waiting...

You can find coin lockers everywhere in Japan, and especially in train stations. Very convenient, easy to use. Different sizes exist. A must-know.

We noticed that each region (prefecture ? district ?) has its own special music when making announcements in the train station. Some of them are really funny...

Last remark: when you traval from Tokyo to Osaka, make sure you take a seat on the right side of the train: you will have an amazing view on Mt. Fuj! !