In this post, we’ll hop aboard an overnight service that carries passengers on a 500-mile journey across Japan – all whilst they’re sleeping soundly in bed. (Or as soundly as they can manage on a moving train, anyway!) Welcome aboard the Sunrise Seto.
Tag Archives: Japan Railways
Japan Rail Pass Guide: How to use a JR Pass at a ticket machine (updated 2023)
In this illustrated guide, we’ll go through the process of using a Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass) to make free seat reservations on a ticket machine.
Japan Rail Pass Guide: How to reserve Shinkansen seats with oversized baggage space on a ticket machine
In this guide, we’ll go through the process of reserving seats with oversized baggage space on a ticket machine. Such reservations are now mandatory for Shinkansen services covered by the new rules on large luggage that took effect in 2020. The information presented here is meant to be used in conjunction with my detailed step-by-stepContinue reading “Japan Rail Pass Guide: How to reserve Shinkansen seats with oversized baggage space on a ticket machine”
Oversized baggage on the Tōkaidō, San’yō, and Kyūshū Shinkansen: A summary of the current rules
In this post, we’ll go over the regulations around oversized luggage that were introduced in 2020 for some of Japan’s Shinkansen lines. The key element of these new rules: seat reservations are now required to use the extra space at the back of each train car.
Japan Rail Pass Guide: How to use a JR Pass at a ticket machine
In this illustrated guide, we’ll go through the process of using a Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass) to make seat reservations on a ticket machine.
Rail-Bus Report: Travelling to and around the Kiso Valley from Nagoya, Japan
In this report, I’ll describe how I travelled to – and between – the wonderfully scenic Edo-period post towns of the Kiso Valley using public transportation, with Nagoya (the nearest major urban centre) as my base.
Rail Report: Travelling by Train between Nagoya and Ise-Shima, Japan
In this report, we’ll explore two options for travelling by train between Nagoya and the Ise-Shima area: one operated by Kintetsu Railway, the other by Japan Railways.
Rail-Bus Report: From Tōkyō to Kusatsu Onsen and back with a Japan Rail Pass
There’s more than one way to travel between Tōkyō and the famous hot spring town of Kusatsu Onsen. Moreover, it’s possible to do the entire journey for free with a Japan Rail Pass. In this report, we’ll try two different routes that rail pass holders can use at no extra cost.
Rail Report: Beppu to Fukuoka on the Yufuin no Mori, Japan (25 September 2018)
Think of Japanese trains, and the high-speed shinkansen will probably come to mind before anything else. But some of my favourite journeys were on much slower rolling stock, like the service that brought me from the onsen town of Beppu to the bustling centre of Fukuoka in nearly three and a half hours. Welcome aboardContinue reading “Rail Report: Beppu to Fukuoka on the Yufuin no Mori, Japan (25 September 2018)”
Rail Report: From the Shinkansen to the City on the Hakodate Liner, Japan (02 October 2017)
The long journey from Tōkyō to Hakodate isn’t as time-consuming as it used to be, thanks to the newly opened first segment of the Hokkaidō Shinkansen. That said, the shinkansen terminus serving one of the biggest urban centres in Japan’s northernmost prefecture is located about 16 kilometres from the heart of the city: hardly aContinue reading “Rail Report: From the Shinkansen to the City on the Hakodate Liner, Japan (02 October 2017)”
Within striking distance 