Selecting Your Mode of Transport
Short of full on sci-fi teleportation, Japan’s rail system is second to none. It is, however, a very long country with intriguing destinations for the entire 1600 mile (2500 km) expanse of the main islands from Hokkaido to the southern tip of Kyushu. Your choice of transportation depends entirely on where you are going and how long you have to get there.
AUTOMOBILES: DRIVING IN JAPAN
Useful links:
American Automotive Association (AAA)
United States Embassy – Driving In Japan
I love to drive. I love to drive in new countries, as often as possible. That said, for a first sojourn to Japan and boasting only very modest local language skills, we opted not to drive. If you choose to, driving in Japan requires an International Driving Permit obtainable in the U.S. through AAA. (For other countries, check with your home country’s embassy website.)
Conveniently, most highway signs are in both Japanese and English, though this is not the case on rural routes or in small towns. Next trip to Japan, we will drive, if for no other reason than rising to meet the challenges it will present and access to the harder to reach locales it will afford. For this Trip it’s trains, planes, and taxis.
TRAINS: WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!
Useful links:
JapanRail Pass Shinkansen Bullet Train
Trains in Japan are notoriously excellent, efficient, and ubiquitous. It’s true. The shinkansen or “bullet train” is even faster. Sadly, however, the shinkansen does not yet go all the way to Sapporo. Even if it did, the journey from Hokkaido to Kyoto would still take all day. By conventional train it takes at least 24 hours and requires a ferry crossing, which would no doubt have its charms.
Traveling exclusively by train with a JRailPass was going to be impractical given the distance from the northernmost island to the south-of-central city of Kyoto.
PLANES: Affordable, Efficient Solutions for North-South Travel in Japan
Useful Links:
Traveling Between Kyoto Station and Kansai International Airport (KIX)
The flight from Hokkaido’s Chitose (CTS) airport lands you in Osaka Kansai (KIX) airport in about two hours. From there it is an easy transfer by train to Kyoto. Alternatively, you can hire a car service that will take you directly to your hotel door. We took the train to Kyoto Station and then a taxi to the hotel. Not painful at all and it still managed to take the better part of a day to get from Hokkaido to Kyoto.
LIMO SERVICE: LUXURY DOOR-TO-DOOR TRANSFERS
If you don’t have the inclination to make the train transfer to Kyoto Station to access downtown Kyoto and have transit funds to spare, consider a limo service. There is much to be said for not lugging your selves or suitcases through the terminal to the trains and then the streets to your hotel. Door to door service is a nice treat we didn’t indulge in on this transfer.
We Booked The Fastest Bullet Train From KYOTO to TOKYO—The Nozumi Shinkansen
Useful Links:
Overview: Rail Transport in Japan
Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka by Shinkansen: Which Trains Are Include with JRailPass
If I said that sorting the logistics of train travel in Japan is intuitive, I’d be lying. It can be complicated. Be aware that there are many train companies operating in Japan (16 major regional companies and dozens of local ones). Not all trains that run on a particular track are owned by the same company. Similarly, not all Shinkansen ‘bullet trains’ that run between the same cities are operated by the same company and the JR Rail Pass is not valid for every train. This is critical to understand and though it would be ideal if one pass worked on all lines for all trains throughout the country, his is just not the case.
Choosing A Shinkansen
For example, between Osaka – Kyoto – Tokyo there are 3 bullet trains (the Hirari, Kodama, and Nozumi) that make the trip. Only one of them runs express from Kyoto to Tokyo, the Nozumi. The Nozumi bullet train is not part of the JR Group and does not accept JR Rail Passes. This is of course the train we intended to take from Kyoto to Tokyo and was another reason why the JR Rail Pass ended up not working for our route.
Purchasing Tickets
You can now buy your tickets in advance online. We, however, purchased our tickets in person at the station with little difficulty, once we found the correct ticket office for the correct rail line.
Kyoto Station was fully prepared for confused travelers and had many helpful station employees on hand to point us in the right direction. If you are traveling during a holiday and need confirmation of a seat reservation in advance, online reservations are your best bet.
We purchased our Nozumi Shinkansen tickets at the JR West Ticket Counter at Kyoto Station on the same day we intended to travel. To guarantee a seat it requires an extra ticket purchase, be sure to ask for a seat reservation if you want that guarantee.