{"id":2290,"date":"2020-03-16T18:33:35","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T09:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=2290"},"modified":"2020-03-24T13:43:20","modified_gmt":"2020-03-24T04:43:20","slug":"making-travel-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/local-area-guides\/making-travel-easier\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Travel Easier"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Japan is well\nknown for its excellent public transport systems as well as their ability to\nrun almost exactly on time. They tend to try to keep to the exact schedule as\nmuch as possible and will even go so far as to send out apology texts when\nthings run later than usual. That being said there are a few ways that you can\nmake all of your travel a bit easier and even more convenient. Here are a few\nthings you can do to help you get around the cities and the rest of the\ncountry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Timing is Everything<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can generally\nfind out the train and bus timing for most places by checking your phone apps\nor looking on the internet. You can get a basic feel for the timing of the\ntrains and buses in most areas. The trains will generally run every seven\nminutes, with the express trains being a few minutes more apart. Knowing this\nyou should leave early enough to make time for your departure and never count\non a train to be late as they generally run precisely on time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Buses, on the\nother hand, have the same kind of schedule set up but can’t be as exact. There\nis always traffic, the number of stops in between, and how many people are\nwaiting at bus stops or getting off the bus. They can be extremely late or\nright with the minute hand on the clock, but most of the time they will be an\ninconsistent form of transportation. Always try to be early to any\ntransportation as you can never predict accidents or small slowdowns from\npassengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Suica\/Pasmo<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many videos on the web show people tapping cards or their wallets at the ticket gates, and you would think it is all using their smartphones but it is mostly IC cards you can get at all train stations. They are called Suica and Pasmo cards, and you can purchase one at any ticket machine that has the card labels on them. These cards or extremely useful and can help speed up your ability to ride public transportation. You can charge money on the card to any amount of cash that you have on you. You can charge in amounts from one to ten thousand yen and it takes little to no time. You can use the card on any kind of public transport and all it takes is a simple tap of the card onto the sensor. You will always have your remaining balance displayed so you can keep track of your funds. You can use these cards at convenience stores, kiosks, some restaurants, and other stores that participate in Suica and Pasmo. It saves all the time and trouble of buying tickets each time you ride a train or counting your cash when riding a bus. If you’re visiting it would be best to get one and load it with 20,000 yen for all of your travel and small convenience store purchases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rail Pass<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The rail pass is\na great option for anyone who is traveling to Japan for vacation and looking to\nmake their travel during a visit as easy as possible. You have to apply before\ngoing to Japan and you have to have a tourist visa. Unfortunately, this one\ndoesn\u2019t really apply to residents. Once you have them you will have unlimited\nuse of the trains in any city in Japan. You can use is for a certain amount of\ntime and it allows you to move around with little to no hassle. It will cost a\nlittle bit more up front but it saves you from constantly having to check how\nmuch you need for basic travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are\nshinkansen rail passes as well, so if you plan to go to other parts of the\ncountry using the bullet trains for no extra charge. Shinkansen can be very\nexpensive, so this is a real lifesaver for elongated travel in Japan. You can\nuse it in the same way at the shinkansen ticket terminals and you can get your\ntickets with no problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bus Travel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want to\nhave easy and inexpensive travel over long distances you can use the highway\nbus system. The highway buses run at all times of the day, and there are even\nnight buses for longer travel. You can travel to different cities for as low as\nthree thousand yen. The Schedules are easy to understand and almost all of them\nhave an English version for foreigners to read. The people at the information\ndesks are very helpful if you have trouble understanding anything so never be afraid\nto ask for help from them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can be a little scary trying to use the means of transportation in a foreign country, and it can be compounded by the fact that you can’t fully use the native language. Thankfully there are smartphones and the inclusion of English at almost all of the locations in Japan that you will be using to get around. Using the Pasmo or Suica will be the easiest thing to do, and they are accepted nationwide at many of the stores that you will be using so it’s best to try and get one of them. Just take it easy and enjoy the scenery you will be experiencing while taking the main modes of transportation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japan is well known for its excellent public transport systems as well as their ability to run almost exactly on time. They tend to try to keep to the exact schedule as much as possible and will even go so far as to send out apology texts when things run later than usual. That being […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-area-guides"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}