Travelling in Japan HANDBOOK OKU JAPAN belocal.jp Travel o-the-beaten-track Adventures in the Japanese countryside Travelling in Japan This handbook contains information for those travelling in Japan. You will find information about getting around, local cuisine, bathing in Japanese hotsprings, and how to navigate the world of Japanese etiquette. Travelling in Japan Handbook Contents Trains 2 Local buses 5 Luggage delivery 6 Accommodation 7 Staying at a Japanese inn 8 Eating 9 Drinking 12 Bathing 14 Toilets 16 Japanese customs and etiquette 16 Communications 17 Japanese Phrases 18 OKU JAPAN belocal.jp Travel o-the-beaten-track Adventures in the Japanese countryside 1 Travelling in Japan Trains You will travel by train on your self-guided tour. Japan’s railway network is famous for its punctuality and efficiency. Railway stations now have enough signs in English for most overseas visitors to navigate successfully. If you ask politely, you will probably find someone with enough English to help you. Japanese people are often shy about their language ability, but usually willing to assist foreign travellers. Trains are listed with departure time, arrival time and the name of the train operator. Where possible, we also include the name of the line and the train’s ultimate destination. JR denotes Japan Railways, the national network operator, which is now divided into regional companies (JR East, JR Central, JR West etc). A valid Japan Rail Pass can be used on all JR lines, with the exception of a few specific trains such as the ‘Nozomi’ Bullet Train. Each railway line has its own name - for example, JR Chuo Honsen refers to the JR line along the Kiso Valley where the Nakasendo Trail is located. In addition to JR, there are many privately-run railway lines, mostly regional commuter routes. Japan Rail Passes are not valid on them and separate tickets are required. If your journey involves two different operators (for example, JR and then the private Kintetsu railway), you need a separate ticket for each sector. We indicate in your itinerary where this is necessary. Example train transfer: Getting there: from Kyoto to Magome Train from Kyoto to Nakatsugawa by JR 08:54 Kyoto 京都 → 09:30 Nagoya 名古屋 by JR Shinkansen/bullet train Nozomi No.2 bound for Tokyo 10:00 Nagoya 名古屋 → 10:49 Nakatsugawa 中津川 by JR Wide-View Shinano No.7 bound for Nagano Seat reservations Where a train name is indicated in red, this indicates a Japan Railways (JR) express train which offers reserved seating. Express trains usually have a name and a number, such as ‘Wide View Shinano 9’. Seat reservations are usually optional, since most 2 express trains have cars/coaches for people without seat reservations, in addition to cars/coaches for people with reservations (there are a few special all-reserved services, such as the Narita Express, where you must have a seat reservation in order to board the train). Reservation office sign (Midori-no-madoguchi) If we are supplying individual train tickets for your tour, we will also make seat reservations for you on the longer-distance journeys whenever reservations are available (we will note any exceptions in your Day-by-Day Itinerary). If you are travelling with a Japan Rail Pass, we still recommend making seat reservations, which are free for Japan Rail Pass holders, since a reservation guarantees you a seat and the reserved cars/coaches are generally less-crowded than the others. To make a reservation, show your Japan Rail Pass at a JR reservation counter (‘midori- no-madoguchi’ denoted by a green sign, located at larger JR stations) along with the relevant train details from your itinerary. Local trains do not require seat reservations. Please show both your rail pass / individual train ticket and your seat reservation ticket when entering and exiting the station, and on board the train when requested. 3 Individual train tickets Tickets for longer-distance travel usually consist of two separate documents: 1. Fare Ticket (in Japanese: Joshaken 乗車券). This ticket covers the regular fare from point A to B and permits travel by any non-express train. This ticket must be kept until you have completed your entire journey, even if you are changing trains or breaking your journey en route. See illustration below 2. Express Surcharge Ticket (In Japanese: Tokkyuken 特急券): This is a supplementary fee payable in addition to the standard fare to permit travel by Express train or Bullet train (Shinkansen) for the whole journey or a specific portion of it. The ticket also confirms if a reservation has been made for a specific seat on a specific train: 4 Using your individual tickets Example: you are travelling from Tokyo to Nara, with a change of trains en route in Kyoto. Tokyo to Kyoto is by bullet train/Shinkansen and Kyoto to Nara is by local train. Your Fare Ticket (Joshaken) is valid all the way from Tokyo to Nara; you show it as you enter the barrier at Tokyo station, retain it while you change trains in Kyoto and then surrender it as you exit Nara station. Your Express Surcharge Ticket (tokkyuken) is valid on the sector of the journey by bullet train/Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto; you show it as you pass through the secondary barriers inside Tokyo station to access the bullet train/Shinkansen platforms and surrender it as you exit the bullet train/ Shinkansen platforms inside Kyoto station. • Tickets can be used in the automatic ticket barriers but we recommend using the staffed barriers and showing them for manual inspection to avoid possible complications. • Tickets do not necessarily permit a break of journey at an intermediate point. • Seat reservations are only valid on the train specified and no refund can be made after the service departs. However, on JR trains they can be changed before departure if necessary at any reservations office (Midori-no-madoguchi). Private lines such as Kintetsu, Nankai (Mount Koya) are not changeable. Local buses Japan has an efficient and punctual network of local buses. We have indicated on your itinerary where you will use them. Most buses have the entrance at the back. Take a small paper ticket from the machine as you enter. This ticket shows the number of the bus stop at which you boarded. To calculate your fare, match the bus stop number on your ticket with the number on the display at the front of the bus. The fare payable in Japanese yen appears below it. The displayed fare changes during the journey, increasing gradually as the bus progresses. Check the final fare payable as you leave the bus. See right for a picture of the fare display on the bus. You pay when you exit and deposit the fare into the machine beside the driver. Please have your fare ready, 5 especially if the bus is crowded. You can obtain change from the machine to the left of the driver, but only from coins or JPY1,000 notes/bills; the bus does not accept JPY5,000 or JPY10,000 notes/bills. After changing your note/bill into coins, you still need to deposit coins into the machine beside the bus driver to pay your fare. Luggage delivery Several companies offer secure and efficient baggage forwarding inside Japan. Use these services to avoid having to carry all your luggage with you – especially useful while walking village-to-village on our self-guided walking tours. ‘Takkyubin’ is the Japanese brand name of the best-known service. The services are reliable, safe and economical. You can send luggage from most hotels and from many ryokan to any address in Japan. The hotel concierge will help you arrange the baggage forwarding and tell you how much to pay. Some smaller local accommodations may not offer the service, but they will direct you to the nearest location where the service is available. We suggest in your itinerary the occasions where you may choose to forward your baggage; if you are travelling light, then you may not need to use the service. Please note the following general rules: 1. Please do not put any breakable items in your luggage such as glass or pottery. 2. Do not send open bags or loose items. Everything should be in a closed suitcase, pack or bag. 3. You pay per bag, so it is more economical to send one larger bag rather than several smaller ones. You need the address to which you are sending your luggage, preferably written in Japanese. Delivery normally takes a minimum of 24 hours (but a minimum of 72 hours to an airport location – the luggage delivery companies have counters at airports where you can collect your bags and then check them in for your homeward flight). Please note you cannot receive your luggage on the same day that you send it, but apart from this limitation, you can specify the time and date you would like your luggage to be delivered. Please make sure that the delivery slip clearly shows your name and the date you will check-in, so the accommodation to which you send the luggage knows when you will arrive. 6 Accommodation Ryokan Ryokan (旅館) are traditional Japanese inns, and a visit to one is a highlight of a trip to Japan. Rooms are invariably simply but elegantly decorated, with tatami matting. Most ryokan have large, communal segregated baths, and it is common to bathe either before or after dinner. Dinner will usually be served in a dining room, but occasionally in your room. In most ryokan dinner is very elaborately prepared and presented from carefully chosen seasonal ingredients; one of the high points of travelling in Japan, particularly for the Japanese, is to try the local specialities.