Japan - Trains, Planes and Automobiles
We set off from Hong Kong, early on the 30th March in Business Class on Air India service to Osaka. Air India, are one of the many airlines that use regional hubs at Hong Kong or Bangkok to extend their networks into East Asia, utilizing spare capacity to pick up local traffic. Both outward and return flights were full. Very competitive Business Class fares can be found using these airlines, and we paid less for our seats than if we had used the HKExpress low-cost service. Who wouldn’t want to have a lie flat bed, full service airline experience at a reasonable cost? The flight was early and comfortable, although fizz wasn't served pre-take off, which is a usual business class perk. The crew were very attentive and helpful.
From disembarkation, through immigration and customs, at Kansai took all of 25 minutes, and we joined the queue to exchange our rail voucher for our actual passes.
We noticed an 'English spoken' sign at every ticket window, the queue quickly moved along and we found our way to the platform with our passes and seat reservations. It’s worth mentioning the Kansai Express trains are the only trains which offer extensive luggage storage for travellers. For our journeys where we travelled somewhere more remote, we used the very handy luggage forwarding service available. For around £14 per case, it will not only be transported to wherever you want (hotel or airport) and in the more remote areas you can use Tourist Information offices as mini hubs and collect from there. Not only were the bags waiting for us on check-in at the hotels, they had been delivered to our room - fantastic service.
The Japanese Rail pass allows you access to all trains on the network, including the Shinkansen Bullet Train. Simply showing the pass to a person in the ticket office will get you access to your platform. Though if you want to travel on the Nozomi or Mizuho trains, a supplement must be paid.
If travelling in busy times its worth pre-booking your seats which is a free service available at all the JR Ticket Offices. Even if you don’t pre-book seats there are usually at least two or three carriages available for those travelling without seat reservations.
The trains are immaculately clean. Ticket inspectors and the staff serving refreshments respectfully bow on entering and leaving the carriage, a pleasant change to anything you'd experience in the UK or anywhere else in the west.
We were lucky enough to ride on various types of bullet train, all quiet and comfortable. For our last journey to Shin-Kobe we travelled on the Nozomi N-7000 Bullet train. Unfortunately, the speed isn’t broadcast, though the sensation of travelling along the rails, watching towns and villages flash by is quite disconcerting. The only speed comparison we had was when we were (low) flying past Osaka airport, and we overtook a plane on final approach.
We also decided to hire a car for our trip into the Japanese Alps, giving us a little more freedom. To be able to hire a car in Japan, you must have an international driving license. Even though the rental clerk spoke little English, along with my none existent Japanese (Arigatou doesn’t count) we quickly completed the formalities. Our car was a Toyota Aqua Hybrid, very comfy and quiet, only noticing a change in pitch when switching from engine to battery. Contrary to previous car hire experiences, this had loads of room in the boot, enough for one large suitcase, one large trolley bag type holdall and a large backpack. Both the rear window, and rear side windows were blacked out, making you able to leave the car and feel secure its contents were safe.
It’s worth noting many of the freeways in Japan are toll roads. You could pay as you go, as we were advised to do, but we decided to hire an Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) card, for about £2, giving us freedom to drive through the electronic gates at the Toll Plaza. We settled the bill when we returned the car. Be prepared as driving distance can be expensive. We drove on six toll roads on our trip and the tolls amounted to 6620 JPY, around £44. We also paid a small supplement for a 24-hour helpline and roadside assistance, for the princely sum of around £5 for the duration of the hire agreement. Fuel was cheaper than expected - we had used just under half a tank and the top up cost was around £20.
We found travelling by car easy and stress free. The car came with sat-nav as standard and the language was set to English. I found using the phone number of your destination when setting the system worked very well, it worked better than map references or place names. The local cars were also quite a surprise, most very boxlike with short bonnet.
For our return, we had stayed in Kobe for our final night. It was a short walk to the Sannomiya train station where we caught the Portliner train to Kobe airport. The short journey took 20 minutes where we switched modes of transport to the fast ferry across the bay to Kansai. Discounted tickets are available for international travellers leaving Japan. Courtesy coaches wait for you at the Kansai jetty, ready to bus you to the terminal. A very quick, comfortable and convenient way to end the trip to Japan.
For all you plane/train enthusiasts out there: HKG-KIX AI314 VT-ANC Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Osaka-Okayama-Takamatsu Shinkansen Sakura # 551, JR Marine Liner # 25 Takamatsu-Kanazawa JR Marine Liner # 16, and what had to be my favorite Thunderbird #23 Magome-Kobe Ltd Express Wideview Shinano # 4 , Shinkansen Nozomi #25 KIX-HKG AI315 VT-ANJ Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
Don’t get me started on the toilets. Going to the loo in Japan is a treat in itself. Warm seats welcome you, and while you sit you are offered a choice of wash, rinse, even a modesty button which plays noises. I dread to think what would happen if a spin function is developed! Unbelievable, must try and get one.