Travel by shinkansen

- In October, you are going with us to Sato - my boss declared to me. I was a bit surprised, as at the time he said this, there was nothing indicating a decrease in Covid-19 infections. I was happy to finally travel a bit. It was just a business trip, but still - a trip! I looked up Sato on map. The journey looked to be quite long, over 600 kilometers. However... that was a great opportunity to travel with shinkansen! The high-speed train, or shinkansen (新幹線, also called super-express trains), is the main topic of today’s entry. These Japanese trains are famous all over the world. A name that is well deserved, as such a train can speed up to 320 km/h. But let’s take it step by step…

Before boarding the shinkansen, of course, we had to get to the right station. Since it was a business trip, luckily I had colleagues from work with me. I could simply follow them and look around along the way. When we arrived at the Tokyo Ueno station, I was impressed. This place reminded me more of an airport than a train station. And because of Covid pandemic, it was my first time on Japanese train station. Everything was fascinating... however, due to a very tightly packed travel schedule, I didn’t have the opportunity to take a closer look at everything or take photos. What surprised me a bit was the ticket system. It worked similarly to the metro. The ticket is validated when entering the platform, and during the train ride, no one checks it. It is handed over only when exiting at the final station.

Each shinkansen has its own name. The ones I traveled with were called Hikari (ひかり) - which means "Light"; and Nozomi (のぞみ) - "hope/wish". The train looks magnificent from the outside, but what absolutely won me over (besides the enormous speed, of course) was the way the seats are arranged in the train. The seats are comfortable and there is ample legroom - I could stretch out freely. The journey went smoothly. The only downside I encountered was that the train moves so fast that sometimes it was hard to take a good picture...

Japan's diverse landscape. Unfortunately, capturing some interesting views as difficult due to high-speed...

As I mentioned earlier, the itinerary was very tight- our transfers between different trains and buses ranged from two to five minutes! Initially I doubted we would manage to stick to the plan. However, as it turns out, Japanese public transport system works perfectly. Every arrival and departure was exactly on time. A true feat and something other countries should envy!

Super-express trains are tourist-friendly - announcements are made in both Japanese and English, so there's no fear of missing your station. At this point, it’s also worth mentioning the JR Pass. It is a card that allows to travel with trains for a selected period (from 7 to 21 days). This offer is aimed exclusively at tourists. The prices of such passes may seem high... until you look at the prices of individual shinkansen rides. For example, a round-trip ticket on the Tokyo - Himeji route costs about 28,000 ¥ which is more or less 180 Euro!

What about other means of transportation? In general, prices are not too high. Traveling 60 kilometers by train or bus costs about 1,300¥ or 8 Euro (of course, this is an approximate price... it may vary depending on the region). Before my journey started, my colleagues encouraged me to get a prepaid "Pasmo" card. You can use it to conveniently pay for train/bus rides ( you can also use it in some convenience stores!) Of course, someone can ask... Can’t you just use a debit card? :) Unfortunately, contactless bank cards are not as popular in Japan as in Europe. Moreover, it is considered that Pasmo is a safer option - and that is indeed true. After all, you don’t keep all your savings on such a card, just small amounts to enjoy a stress-free journey from time to time. So if the card is lost, you don't have to worry. Another point is that Japan is an exceptionally safe country, and if the card is personalized (the Pasmo card can be purchased in two variants - registered, which is personalized, and unregistered), it is quite likely that we would get it back after losing it. In fact, Pasmo is a convenient option - as in buses, payment for the ride is made upon getting off, paying with this type of card allows you to avoid the annoying rummaging through your wallet...

Two glimpses of Tokyo from the bus window....

To summarize, shinkansen trains are a wonderful, but not necessarily cheap means of transport. Certainly, while staying in Japan, it’s worth using them at least once. Nevertheless, other public transport options work just as well, and the punctuality of Japanese public transport is exceptional.