JR is a railway that connects each region in Japan with Tokyo as the central station.
Shinkansen is a bullet train with maximum speed of 320 km per hour and connects Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Hokkaido.
It takes only one to two hours between cities in the Kansai area.
Names of train types are “Jyunkyu,””Tokubetsu-kaisoku,””Tsukin-kaisoku,””Kaisoku” and ”Futsu” depending on the numbers of stations they stop. Please be aware that names and definition of type vary by railway company.
As for JR, “super express fare” in case of bullet or express trains and “seat assignment fare” for reserved seats are additionally charged.
As for railway companies other than JR, you can take “Super Express” or “Express” trains only with a regular ticket in general.
In addition, subway is convenient for inter-city transportation in Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe. Minimum subway fare is about 180 to 210 yen.
Taxi
You can catch a taxi at stations in the urban area, hotels and taxi stands at the airport in Japan.
In case of small and medium size taxi, which is a typical case, you tell the driver your destination and the taxi will hit the road.
Another type is a large size sightseeing taxi with a flat rate either by hours or driving course.
You can stop any running taxi if it shows “空車” sign in red letter, which means “vacant,” by raising your hand. Recently, you can call a taxi by telephone or smart phone application software.
Large size sightseeing taxi equipped with luggage space is suitable for a lengthy ride. The fare is charged by time in general.
The driving course will be determined by the discussion with driver in consideration of traffic condition.
Bus
In Japan, there are route buses, which are operated mainly in urban area, sightseeing buses for tourists and highway buses, which are operated between major cities.
◎Route bus
Route bus is operated municipally or by a bus company. It runs on a scheduled route with bus stops, according to a time table. The passengers typically use it for commuting, hospital visits and shopping. If you use it for sightseeing, please be aware that the fare varies by the numbered ticket issued upon your boarding and that luggage space is limited.
◎Sightseeing bus (Tour bus)
Sightseeing bus (tour bus) runs around famous sightseeing spots from terminal stations in the urban area or airport.
This is a kind of route bus but it comes with tour escorts. It is very convenient for foreigners because of multilingual arrangement.
One type of sightseeing bus is to tour with a flat rate. There is another type that will take you from the airport to another airport or a train station by way of hotels and sightseeing spots.
In some cases light or full meals are served on the way with additional cost. Some buses accept last minute boarding and other buses may be operated even with fewer tourists.
