Getting Around Japan - Without Speaking Japanese

For the western tourist the Japan there are any number of stories of visitors being left high and dry due to the signage being in Japanese script. Let me put you at ease. Getting around Japan, especially on public transport is relatively easy.

You just need a little preparation, an understanding of English and a touch of patience. Japan and especially Tokyo is a crowded country which can be overwhelming at first sight but spend a few days in the country and you gradually get use to it.

My top tip for anyone planning to get around by rail is get a JR rail pass in your home country before you travel. I paid extra for a 'green' ticket - first class to you and me because the price was not significantly higher than the standard price. There is small caveat to this. To travel in a green car you must have a reservation and this you can get from the JR ticket desks at all the main stations in Japan and also at Narita and Haneda airports. These are also where you transfer the voucher that you have paid for in your own country for the actual pass. JR Pass

Kyoto Subway

Be prepared to queue. It is just the Japanese way. However at most of the stations in the significant cities there is one country available to foreign tourists where staff speak English and Cantonese. My party would book three to four reservations at time if we had planned ahead. The reservations incidentally are free. This may sound like a hassle but is really straight forward. My longest wait was at Narita - just over one hour. The shortest at Hiroshima - just under ten minutes. Obviously you do not need a reservation for single class services in sub-urban or what they describe as semi-rapid trains. If you are travelling on a Shinkansen (Bullet Train) then I would recommend a reservation although JR passes are not valid on its fastest inter-city service, the Nozomi. Any questions, just ask the staff for advice when you exchange your voucher.

If you use the subway in Tokyo or Kyoto you need to buy a ticket or pass at the machine before you enter. In all cases they have an English option and some of the Tokyo machines offer other languages too. This is a useful link to the Tokyo Metro information in English.You can enter your destination, if you are making a one way journey, and it will give you a price. The machines take Japanese notes and coins. You can also work our your fare by looking at the route maps next to the machines. This also applies to sub-urban (non-JR line) rail lines.

On the subways, most offer a bi-lingual service telling you where you are and what the next stop will be. To make things even easier all stations are allocated a number in sequence. If you can count, you can not get lost. Each station has Roman characters as well as Japanese script.

287 Interior

My final tip is to embrace the peculiarities, accept it is slightly different and realise that the system works. Shinjuku station in Tokyo, for example, has 3.1 billion passenger movements a year so a functioning ticketing and train schedule helps you on your way. Every train is busy, even first thing in the morning 

a late in the evening so be prepared to stand. People are courteous and there is non of the pushing and shoving you get in New York or London.

287 Exterior

Timetables are available for all services at the station but I found this online service immensely useful. Finally if you are travelling to Haneda airport from Tokyo it is easier than the maps suggest. There is a mono rail although this does not run until after 7am. The alternative is the Toei Asakusa line. Although the line is shared with a private rail company, the train is a through service and at little over 500 Yen, very good value for money. Like the Piccadilly line, the service has two destinations so make sure yours goes to Haneda and not the Tokyo equivalent of Uxbridge.

Safe and happy travel.