Japan Guide
Getting around
By rail
Japan has the world's most efficient and frequent trains, with services running to all regions of the country and varying from high-speed Shinkansen to chugging steam locomotives maintained as tourist attractions. The vast majority of services are operated by Japan Railways (JR; 
www.japanrail.com ). In addition, there are fifteen smaller rail companies, which are based in the major cities and surrounding areas, but in the vast majority of Japan it's JR services that you'll be using.
Individual tickets can be pricey, especially for the fastest trains, but a bewildering range of discount tickets and rail passes are available to cut the cost. If you plan to travel extensively by train, the various Japan Rail Passes ( www.japanrailpass.net ) provide the best overall deal provide the best overall deal, while the discount tour packages by the Japan Travel Bureau's Sunrise Tours arm ( www.jtbgmt.com/sunrisetour ) are also excellent value.
The Shinkansen are so smooth-running that you'll barely notice the speed. They are also frighteningly punctual – ten seconds late on the platform and you'll be waving goodbye to the back end of the train – and reliable: only the severest weather conditions or earthquakes stop the Shinkansen.To travel by Shinkansen you'll pay a hefty surcharge on top of the basic fare for a regular train.
Aside from the Shinkansen, the fastest services are limited express, or tokkyū, trains. Like Shinkansen, you have to pay a surcharge to travel on tokkyū and there are separate classes of reserved and non-reserved seats. Less common are the express, or kyūkō, trains, which also only stop at larger stations but carry a lower surcharge. Despite their name, the rapid, or kaisoku, trains are slower still, making more stops than a kyūkō, but with no surcharge. Finally, the ordinary, or futsū, trains are local services stopping at all stations and usually limited to routes under 100km.
JR tickets can be bought at any JR station and at many travel agencies, though agents may charge a handling fee. At most stations there are both ticket counters and vending machines; you can use the latter to buy all local, or futsū, and some kyūkō train tickets.
If you plan to make just one long-distance train journey, such as Tokyo to Kyoto one way, a Japan Rail Pass ( www.japanrailpass.net ) will not be good value. In all other cases it will be and you should invest in one before you arrive, since the full Japan Rail Pass can only be bought outside Japan (other types of passes can bought inside the country though). This allows travel on virtually all JR services throughout Japan, including buses and ferries, and is valid for seven, fourteen or 21 consecutive days. If you plan to explore a less extensive area of Japan, the regional versions of the pass are likely to be better buys, plus you can buy them once you reach Japan as well as before you arrive.