Annie's Excursions

Japan has such a great and efficient public transportation that they’ll apologize if your train is going to be even a few minutes late. It’s also extremely easy to navigate, if you can read English or Japanese and more so if you have a wifi connection. Google Maps works really well in Japan; just plug in your destination, and Google will give you a variety of ways to get there, along with how much it’ll cost and time it will take, and tips as to how to make the fastest transfer. (Not sponsored by Google, but I’ll take it if they want to!)

Get an IC Card!

Speaking of money, before I talk about anything else, I strongly recommend getting an IC Card when you arrive in Japan (note that there was a shortage of new IC cards in early 2023). It’s basically a prepaid card you can get at most stations (will usually have a 500 yen deposit fee), so you won’t have to worry about getting a physical ticket each time and figuring out what ticket to buy, or getting exact change for one. Just tap and go! The most famous one is the Suica (with the penguin!) used in the Kanto area, but there’s also Pasmo (by a different company), Kitaca (Hokkaido, has a flying squirrel), among others. If you want, you can collect them all I guess. As a side note, you can also use IC cards at a lot of stores and restaurants to pay, as long as they have the IC card sign at the register. You can also transfer your IC Card to your phone wallet if you’re afraid to lose the actual card, but be warned there are far fewer places to reload/charge it than with an actual card. I personaly transferred to my Apple Wallet out of convenience, and usually charge at a 7/11.

Trains and Subways

Train or subway stations are pretty easy to navigate, as there’s usually signs in English everywhere you go pointing you in the right direction (so long as you know where you want to go). Timetables, which are now mostly digitalized in big cities, also alternate between English and Japanese with when the train is supposed to arrive/depart, how many cars it has, and if it stops at every station or if it’s a limited express. There’s also usually English, Chinese, and Korean text and speech in the train cars giving directions and alerting you of the next stop. If for whatever reason you don’t want an IC Card or you’re buying a special ticket, the ticket vending machines at stations are pretty easy to navigate, and most nowadays have language change options and accessibility in English.

Busses

Buses are a little different. Most bus stops will just be a stand with a timetable; in the countryside you might see it accompanied with a shack to wait at, or you might see a bench in the city. If you’re getting on at the first, last, or major stop, the stop might be an actual building with proper platforms per bus line, and also a ticket machine. Usually the ticket machines are only for buying tickets from to a major stop along the way or last stop (they’re helpful if you’re making a round trip, usually there’s a tiny discount!), so if you plan on getting off at a random stop or one that isn’t the same fare as a major one, don’t bother with the ticket machine. Most take IC card (if you see a giant blue scanner), but otherwise be prepared to pay in cash (there’s usually a change machine on the bus if you don’t have exact change on you). Here’s how bus fares can work:

1. The easiest ones to navigate are busses with a flat fee no matter how close or far you go. If you’re paying with IC, just scan your card when you get on, and get off on whatever stop you need to. If they don’t take IC, just get on and pay when you get off.
2. The other type is that your fare depends on what stop you get on and what you get off at. You won’t have to worry about the fare if you’re paying with IC. Just scan your card when you get on, and scan it again when you get off. Typically there’s two different scanners, so be careful you scan the right one and actually scan it. If you’re not paying with a card, you can insert your prepaid ticket in the money box when you get off if you have one. If you’re using cash, assuming you have the amount, there’s a few more steps. When you get on the bus, there should be a number slip machine, and make sure you take one. If you don’t, you’ll have to pay the most expensive fare. When you’re about to get off, match the number on your slip to the number on the signboard at the front of the bus. That will tell you how much you owe, and then you put all of your change in the money box when you get off.

Beware that some buses might have two doors. Some busses you can enter and exit freely with either door, and some busses you only enter through the door on the side and exit through the door next to the driver. Don’t forget to ring the bell if you plan on getting off at the next stop! Most busses will also have at least English to announce the next stop.

Shinkansen / Bullet Train

The shinkansen could be considered public transportation as it’s kind of lumped together with the train system, so I’ll touch on it briefly here. I’d highly recommend buying and reserving tickets ahead of time, and picking them up at any major station instead of buying them right there (there’s various sites online in both English and Japanese, if you need recommendations let me know! I’ve used a couple). For one, it can save you the hassle, since if you’re going by shinkansen it’s probably major travel, and another, you can purchase reserved seats, and those tend to sell out early, especially during busy periods. There’s unreserved seats which are first come first serve, normal reserved seats, and green car reserved seats, which are the premium seats.

JR Pass / Japan Rail Pass

If you’re a foreign tourist, you’re probably elligible for a Japan Rail Pass, and any of its variations (basically valid nationwide as opposed to a certain area). Essentially, you can ride for “free” on any JR line, some JR busses, and most shinkansen, except the fastest ones. As of October 2023, I believe the price for the main pass itself went up about 10,000 yen compared to before, which may make it less worth it. Speaking of, is it? It seems that it’s only so if you really plan to make a ton of shinkansen trips during your limited stay, or just spend all your time riding trains. Beware it won’t work on the subway, which may work like trains, but since it’s not the JR system (different company), it won’t work.

If the JR Pass or any of its siblings is too expensive for you but you still want to ride the train a lot and attempt to save money, there’s various all-you-can-ride passes sold around the country. Some are seasonal, some are not valid within peak travel season, and some are limited to a certain region. I believe some are called the U-18 pass, the Seishun ticket, and I know in Hokkaido there’s a Furano/Biei one.

As an aside, I’ve seen trolley cars in Hakodate and Sapporo. The one in Hakodate worked essentially the same as a bus with IC scanners and getting on from the side door and leaving from the front door.