transport
Use the fare adjustment machine if you forgot to pay the full fare. If you don't know how much to pay for the train or subway, simply buy the cheapest ticket, when you arrive at the destination, insert your ticket to the fare adjustment machine, so you can exit the station without getting arrested.
The yellow line on the floor is for the blind people to follow (you don't have to follow the line if you can see).
Used to travel in countries where anything within plus or minus ten hours were supposed to be "on time". In Japan, on time means up to the minutes. It sure took some time to get used to. The trains are awfully efficient and on time. You would surely miss the train if you are only 1 minute late (I'm speaking from experience).
Mitaka is reachable from Kanda/Tokyo station (Chuo Line) or ShinJuku Station. The Kanji name for the train station translate directly to "Three Eagle".
Here's my travel log on trying to get to the Ghibli Studio Museum in Mitaka 30/10/06 10:19 am Kanda Station Waiting for JR train to Mitaka, there seems to be some unusual delay (chuo lline from kanda to Mitaka takes about 30 minutes)
30/10/06 10:49 am Somehow my train gave up on going too Mitaka and returned back to Kanda, now I have to give it another try. I missed the part when they announced the train would no longer travel to Mitaka. Of all those Japanese spoken, one of the sentences must mean "get off the train you idiot!"
Hmmm� this must be the right train since another old lady heading for Mitaka is also board
30/10/06 10:55 am It looks like even the locals have trouble finding the train to Mitaka (seems like some special incidents), I am going to try another one
30/10/06 10:58 am Board a yellow train following the locals, this train has the three big characters of mitaka printed on its head so it must be the right train
30/10/06 11:38 am On my way to Ghibli studio, after an hour of delay
as you can see, the trip is pretty confusing.
The bus connects the train station to Ghibli Studio, cost: 200Y Walking may be faster, it's only 1.5km or 20minutes.
Shinjuku is reachable by JR Yamanote Line (green color)
Time: 19:00 to 6:50 (from Ueno to Hakodate in Hokkaido)
The train station is located at the northern side of the city, a little bit east of the port area.
The most convenient transport in Hakodate is the tram. It's relatively fast and comfortable and easy for tourist to navigate
Noboribetsu can be reached from Hakodate. It's between Hakodate and Sapporo.
to figure out your fare, check the number you got when boarding the bus, then match the number on board
Bus to Noboribetsu: Bus to Noboribetsu onsen is right in front of JR Noboribetsu station, from 6:26am to 9:35pm fare 330Y
My bus trip: 1/11/06 12:28 pm depart from noboribetsu train station 1/11/06 12:42 pm arrived at noboribetsu on-sen
Press this button when you try to get off the bus
The electronic lockers are more expensive than the regular lockers. For a shorter period of time, the price is about the same.
Sapporo is reachable by JR train from UENO (sleeper train) or Hakodate (about 2 hrs)
Nara is reachable by JR train from Osaka (about 45 minutes) or Kyoto (about 35 minutes).
From Osaka, take the Osaka Nara Line on tack 1. From Kyoto, take the JR Nara Line.
It sounds simple but it's not... here's my travel log:
25/11/06 8:23 am Notes Train from Himeji to shin Osaka
25/11/06 10:20 am Notes Trying to get to Nara from shin Osaka The staff in JR ticket counter suggested some route that involved several switch in some station on some foreign planets...
After taking a couple of wrong trains, I finally decided to head to Osaka, from where a train goes directly to Nara.
The Osaka train station was quite confusing, many people, liked myself, stared at the route map, trying to decide the route to their destination. Many, I suspected from their outfit, had been glaring at the route map since the Edo era, and yet they still haven't figure a way out...
So it seems I could take the Yamato ji line at 10:25am, which goes directly to Nara. It is not because there isn't enough signs, there are many, big and clear. But there are simply too many trains, too many choices is not a good thing
How to get to Wakayama? Wakayama is reachable by JR train from Osaka. Make sure you sit at the back of the train (it's very important!!!) because the train will spilt into 2 as it travel (yes, split). The first part of the train will go to the airport and the second part will go to Wakayama.
How to go to Kada? You might want to visit the tourist information office first. The Wakayama tourist information center is located in the underground shopping arcade in front of the JR train station (not the restaurant arcade under the station), they have excellent English map and English speaking staff.
From JR Wakayama train station, you can take the JR train to Nankai Wakayama Shi Nankai station (but it is infrequent, only have 1 or 2 per hour), it is better to take city Bus (bus 0 leaves for Wakaymashi nankai station frequently and cost 220Y, other city buses will pass through the Wakayamshi station on the way), you can also walk, north west for about 2km or 30 minutes, passing along the Wakayama castle on the way.
From Nankai station, go to track 6 for Kada train, (2 to 3 trains per hour).
If you come from Osaka, it might be better to take the Nankai line from Nankai Namba Station. It goes directly to Nankaishi station, much less logistic complication. (Kada is only reachable by Nankai, not by JR) After you reach kada station, the Awashima shrine is about 2km south west of from the kada train station, along the coast, and a bit in the mountain.
The Kintetsu train station is close to the Wakayama JR train station