| Getting to and from Japan:
By Air
There are many international airports on the main island of Honshū (Nagoya, Niigata, Osaka/Kansai and Tokyo Narita) and on the southern island, Kyūshū (Fukoka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Nagasaki), Okinawa (Naha) and Hokkaidoō (Sapporo).
There are over 50 airlines that fly to/from Japan.
Getting around Japan:
By Air
Flying within Japan is a fast and reliable way to travel, and is sometimes faster and around the same price as a bullet train (shinkansen). It’s very convenient when traveling between the main island and the smaller islands.
Some of the more common airlines in Japan are Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Japan Trans Ocean Air, Skymark Airlines and Shinchūō Kōkū.
By Train
Japanese trains are very dependable, fast, and comfortable. The national railway, Japan Railways (www.japanrail.com), runs the length of the country. Besides Japan Railways there are quite a few other privately owned railways. There are different types of trains to use for travel: - Futsū or kaku-eki-teisha are the slowest trains.
- Kyūkō or ordinary express trains are just a bit faster than the Futsū and only stop at
a limited number of stations. - Tokkyū or shinkaisoku trains are the fastest of the “regular” trains.
- Shinkansen or Bullet Trains are the fastest and most popular of all the trains in Japan.
To purchase train or bus tickets you can go to a travel agency or to a Japan Rail (JR) station and purchase a ticket at the Green Window. By Bus
Long-distance buses are available in Japan, however, they are much slower than the trains and the price is about the same as a Futsū train, so travelers generally choose to travel by train.
Within cities the bus systems are quite extensive, but are difficult for foreigners to use, as they don’t always have bus numbers listed on them and the writing is all in kanji |