Have you ever tried Shinkansen in Japan?

 

Here is the continuation from my post in June about short trip from Chubu area (Gifu) to Kyoto.  I am finally finding my time to organize some of the photos I took during my trip, so I would like to bring up some points here and there to discuss how it’s like to travel in Japan. (Although this was a short trip, hopefully there are some things you can learn from my posts.)

We arrived at JR Hashima station on July 1st, as you can see this is a small JR Shinkansen station, so it was not crowded at all. Knowing this was a Friday where it was not weekend, that was helpful as well. Plus, kids were still in school in Japan, as their summer starts late July.

 

On the board up there, it shows the name and time of your Shinkansen as well as which platform to wait for your Shinkansen. Since I booked my trip with my travel agent, I didn’t have to purchase tickets at the station. They got the tickets ready for us ahead of time.

 

 

We have booked reserved seats for us so we didn’t have to fight for seats.

Here are some quick vocabulary tips to read this ticket.

 

乗車票　＝＝＞tiket

新幹線指定席  ==> Shnkansen reserved seating

岐阜羽島 ===> from Gifu Hashima

京都  ====> to Kyoto

こだま　６３７号  ==> Kodama No. 637

７月１日  ==> July 1st (Traveling date)

１１：０５発　　＝＝＞leaves at 11:05

１１：４４着     ====> arrives at 11:44

１２号車 ==> Car No. 12

８番B席   ==> Seat 8-B

こだま号以外に乗車時は、別途乗車券、特急券の　購入が必要

===> If using other than Kodama shinkansen, separate tickets and rapid tickets are required.

 

When we talk about trains including these Shinkansen’s in Japan, they are “Always” on time. I mean, always, unless you hear about major accidents or natural disaster, they will arrive on time. So, you want to make sure you are waiting at the correct platform at least 5 minutes before Shinkansen arrives.

 

 

Not just the platform you are supposed to be waiting, but you also want to make sure the “car number”.  For us, it was １２号車 ==> Car No. 12.   As soon as the Shinkansen arrives, you need to hop on. You probably only have 5 minutes to get on it. At the station like Hashima where it is much less crowded, it’s not a problem; however, at some of the major stations, you will end up waiting in a long line just to get on a Shinkansen. No matter how crowded it is, it leaves on time, so if you are running out of time and can’t wait at the right “car number”, then, just hop on from any door. You can always find your seat after Shinkansen takes off.

One thing to note, if you ever missed Shinkansen, no worries. You can get on the next same type- Shinkansen, in this case, the one called “Kodama”. You will have to wait until next one arrives, but you will not have to purchase extra ticket to ride. However, if you are switching to a different one, then you will have to pay for the surcharge. …

 

 

As you can see from the ticket, our Shinkansen trip was less than 40 minutes. It was nice and quick travel from Gifu to Kyoto.

Stay tuned for more posts for this short trip!