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Advice on traveling within Japan

Rumpltzer

Rumpltzer

Diamond Member

I'm going to a conference next month in Kagoshima, Japan. It's in the very, very southern part of the mainland. I'll spend a few days before the conference traveling south from Tokyo, and I'm hoping that people here might have some advice. I've never been to the mainland before, and I don't speak Japanese.

I'm flying into Tokyo. I could get a flight to Kagoshima, but the fiancee will be meeting me in Tokyo, and we plan to make a mini-vacation of it. We'd like to travel south by train.

I found this Web site for the Japan Rail Pass system. What I understand is that it's an all-access pass to trains and some bus systems for some set period of time (7 days, in my case). It appear that the railroads are extensive and that it connects me (in some parts using bullet trains) to the places I want to go.

Anyone have any idea about how long it would take to travel from Tokyo to Kagoshima by train?

Is the upgrade to "green class" worth the price over the "ordinary class"?

We plan to stay in Tokyo for a few days and then head to some other city between Tokyo and the south. Any suggestions as to where to stop?

There's a map of the train system here.
 
This is only one way, and we need to know what station in Kagoshima you want to go to. So we just picked Kagoshima Chou Eki. You'll need to know the exact station in Kagoshima where your conference is located.

Plan:

From Narita Airport Station to Tokyo Station takes 80 minutes. (express Bus, not train) ~ 3000 yen each ($27.50)



From Tokyo Station to Hakkata Station (city = Fukuoka) is 328 minutes. (this leg passes through 13 stations, using Nozomi bullet train)

From Hakkata Station to Shinyatsushiro Station 102 minutes. (passes 11 stations, using JR Express Relay Tsubame)

From Shinyatsushiro Station to Kagoshima Chuo 42 minutes. (3 stations, using JR Bullet Tsubame)

From Tokyo Station to Kagoshima Chuo it will cost you ~ 15,960 Yen each ($146.50)
 
Originally posted by: poopygood
This is only one way, and we need to know what station in Kagoshima you want to go to. So we just picked Kagoshima Chou Eki. You'll need to know the exact station in Kagoshima where your conference is located.

Plan:

From Narita Airport Station to Tokyo Station takes 80 minutes. (express Bus, not train) ~ 3000 yen each ($27.50)

From Tokyo Station to Hakkata Station (city = Fukuoka) is 328 minutes. (this leg passes through 13 stations, using Nozomi bullet train)

From Hakkata Station to Shinyatsushiro Station 102 minutes. (passes 11 stations, using JR Express Relay Tsubame)

From Shinyatsushiro Station to Kagoshima Chuo 42 minutes. (3 stations, using JR Bullet Tsubame)

From Tokyo Station to Kagoshima Chuo it will cost you ~ 15,960 Yen each ($146.50)
Click to expand...

We? Who are (all of) you?

There's a map with tiny print of the conference venue area at this site. If you are able to deciphering which station I'm looking for in Kagoshima, that would be helpful to me.

I found a link here that gives me all sorts of ways to get from whereever to whereever using the train system. It's not clear to me, though, whether the site is only for the JR (Japanese Rail) company, or if it includes other company's trains as well.

The reason I'm interested in using JR is that they have an all access 7-day "ordinary" class pass for Y$28300 (US$260). If I use that, then I can travel to other places and not just from Narita to Kagoshima, and it gets me onto the JR-owned bus systems.

Do you know anything about the Japanese Rail Pass that I talked about in my original post?
 
i went back to korea and china the past week and god the women were hot. they werent the same type of hot chicks you see here in california. they were the asian girls that were really tall and slender (5'10" for example) and slim. the fair skinned ones with little make up and naturally rosy cheeks. w00t, they were pretty.

id say the girls in cali are HOT, and the girls in asia are pretty. w00t.
 
Originally posted by: LongCoolMother
i went back to korea and china the past week and god the women were hot. they werent the same type of hot chicks you see here in california. they were the asian girls that were really tall and slender (5'10" for example) and slim. the fair skinned ones with little make up and naturally rosy cheeks. w00t, they were pretty.

id say the girls in cali are HOT, and the girls in asia are pretty. w00t.
Click to expand...
yeah, i was in taiwan two weeks ago. the girls there and the girls in california aren't the same. there's just a whole different concept of what modesty (and "fat") is in asia.

i was walking around in isla vista (college town at UCSB) today. girls were everywhere walking around in bikinis. many not even wearing shorts or a mini-skirt, and this is at least a kilometer from the ocean. girls walking around in tiny tops and bottoms. would that ever happen in asia?

if the girl had a belly hanging over the waistband of her bikini bottoms and cellulite thighs, would she have it out and on display in china/korea/taiwan/japan?! :Q it seemed acceptable in isla vista this afternoon!

okay... i'm going to japan for a conference... anyone know how the trains work?
 
Originally posted by: virtualgames0
Originally posted by: RiSE
whatever you do take lots of pictures and post them online for me to see!
Click to expand...

ya get lots of pics of the chicks 🙂
Click to expand...

I voted for school girls, get pics of lots of college chicks in the short skirts and pig tails.
email me and dirty pics that are unsuitable for atot
 
Yes, I have taken all the shinkansen trains all over Japan except between Niigata and Tokyo. Take the economy class because it is just as roomy as lst classs on a jet plane. Your wise to take the Japan railway pass but I would spend at least one day in Kyoto to see Nijo castle and Kiyomizu temple. You can also see Hiroshima peace garden and museum which is about a 15 min -30 min. bus ride to the Shinkansen train station and then take a boat over to Miyajima Island. They have tame deer which you can pet(just use common sense). Having the one week or two week pass can save you a lot of $$$. I am pretty sure that if you are there for at least two weeks, I would not be surpirse if you feel a earthquake rattle or two. You can take a train to Beppu from Kagoshima to try the hot spa's and mineral waters if this interest you. I still remember being nude and a 60-65 year old woman would pour hot sand all over me and place a wet towel over my head. Was I ashamed or embarassed?? - nah! When in Rome...

Don't forget to pick up some hard boiled eggs cooked by the hot sulfur being released by the active Volcano in Kagoshima. And in the southern part of Japan - try Basahi- raw horsemeat if you have any cajones...

You can PM if you have any questions because I have a lot of recommendations on what to see.

Kaieye
 
Kaieye, I totally appreciate you're giving me some advice here. We're still working out the travel schedule, and I'll share your suggestions with my fiancee.

I'm a little confused as to whether Shinkansen (bullet trains for the rest of you) access is included in the Japan Rail Pass. From what you say, it sounds like I can use the rail pass on the Shinkansen... is that right?

Also, I'll be carting my luggage onto the train. It should just be one suitcase on wheels about 36x20x14 inches. Not everyday. Just when traveling from city to city. Is this going to be okay with the train people?

My girlfriend (former girlfriend) took pictures of that park with the deer. She had this sequence of pictures where a guy shows up with a load of deer food in his hands (I forget what it was specifically), he gets swarmed by a dozen deer, he escapes to his mini-van, and then there are dozens of deer standing around his van and he can't leave.

I'll trust others to comment on your spa experience in Kagoshima. 😀
 
I love travelling in Japan via the Train. Bands tour that way. The gear usually is in a truck that we never see except at the beginning and end of the trip.
The attendendants with the carts full of stuff are a real treat.
I wish theUS would embrace Rail travel. We have such a beautiful country and it would be cool to see it that way.
 
Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
Kaieye, I totally appreciate you're giving me some advice here. We're still working out the travel schedule, and I'll share your suggestions with my fiancee.

I'm a little confused as to whether Shinkansen (bullet trains for the rest of you) access is included in the Japan Rail Pass. From what you say, it sounds like I can use the rail pass on the Shinkansen... is that right?

Also, I'll be carting my luggage onto the train. It should just be one suitcase on wheels about 36x20x14 inches. Not everyday. Just when traveling from city to city. Is this going to be okay with the train people?

My girlfriend (former girlfriend) took pictures of that park with the deer. She had this sequence of pictures where a guy shows up with a load of deer food in his hands (I forget what it was specifically), he gets swarmed by a dozen deer, he escapes to his mini-van, and then there are dozens of deer standing around his van and he can't leave.

I'll trust others to comment on your spa experience in Kagoshima. 😀
Click to expand...
Those Deer mugged me when I was there. One kept going in my back pocket as another would go for the opposite jacket one! Tag Teamed by Yakuza Deer!! At least it's not those damn MONKEES!!!
 
The "pass" that I used was good for the bullet train, ship(to get to Hokkaido),bus,etc.etc. You might want to get the "pass" first here in the states and activate it as soon as you get to Narita so you can use it to get to Tokyo. A Taiwanese buddy of mine told me that there is a private road that you can take from Narita to Tokyo but these toll roads cost about $60 US dollars to use for that 1.5 hr. drive.


You can write to the Japanese Tour office here in SF and they will send you a bunch of maps and brochures just for the asking.


Kaieye
 
Originally posted by: Kaieye
The "pass" that I used was good for the bullet train, ship(to get to Hokkaido),bus,etc.etc. You might want to get the "pass" first here in the states and activate it as soon as you get to Narita so you can use it to get to Tokyo. A Taiwanese buddy of mine told me that there is a private road that you can take from Narita to Tokyo but these toll roads cost about $60 US dollars to use for that 1.5 hr. drive.

You can write to the Japanese Tour office here in SF and they will send you a bunch of maps and brochures just for the asking.

Kaieye
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Japanese Rail Pass has to be bought offshore and brought into Japan for activation. It's an odd system, but that's what I'm going with.

Thanks for the pointer on the tour office in SF. I'll see if there's one in LA, or I'll just use SF's.

Dennis
 
I just came back from my vacation last week and traveling within Japan is really not that bad. You can just about forget credit cards as they're only good for large purchases. Not knowing the language will suck for you ...
 
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