Tips of Japan Transportation

Here are some tips of Japan transportation for travels getting around Japan, both while in the city and while traveling through the countryside. If you need a bus in Japan, try heading toward the closest train station, which will likely be a terminus. If you need to find a taxi in Japan to head for a train station or a major hotel (although in most areas you can flag a taxi down)
For long-distance travel, don’t equate Japanese trains with Amtrak. Japan trains are more European style-fast, on time, intelligently scheduled, and wide-ranging. Some are overnight with sleeping cars. But they are not necessarily cheap. If you will be traveling in Japan, buy a Japan Rail Pass before you enter the country so that you can move about freely
Be sure to get out side the main urban areas if you find yourself locked in to a job in Tokyo or Osaka. Public transportation will take you every where you want to go. Consider out-of-the-way destinations like Hokkaido or northern and western Honshu, or Sado Island and Okinawa (both reachable by ferries).
To save money on food while traveling, try to stay at inexpensive Japanese inns, where the lodging usually includes a hearty breakfast (albeit Japanese, style with fish, seaweed, miso broth, and rice) At lunchtime, look for lunch specials at restaurants in department stores are again a good bet, as are noodle shops. (Sushi in Japan, as in the U.S., varies widely in price.) On trains, you can usually enjoy regional chlorine from local vendors on station platforms or who board the trains with box lunches.

1. Buying Commuter Passes

If you travel to work or school by train, subway, or bus, you are eligible for fixed-period commuter trip passes (teiki-ken).You must take the same route twice a day for more than sixteen days in a month to be eligible for a pass. Go to the window marked (teiki uriba)or to the green window marked (midori no madoguchi) at the station and show your school or company ID or other proof that you work at a certain location along with the appropriate form filled out as shown on page 139.
The commuter pass allows unlimited travel between two designated stations within a designated time frame. You can purchase it on the same day you begin to use to use it or one day in advance. If you are renewing it, however, you can purchase it fourteen days before the expiration date. You can only use the pass between your home station and the destination station where your school or work is located. One commuter pass is good for a maximum of two railway systems (several separately owned systems serve most metropolitan areas), so if you plan to use three or more different rail systems, you may need to purchase two passes. The passes are valid for one, three, or six months and can save you a lot of money.

1. Multiple-Tip Booklets

If you only commute two or three times a week you can buy multiple-trip booklets (kaisu-ken, 券回数), a set of eleven tickets sold for the price of ten. Anybody can use the tickets, and one adult ticket is good for two children. They are usually valid for two to three months after the date of purchase.

1. Orange Cards and io Cards

An Orange Card is a pass with prepaid credit and can be purchased in amount of ￥1,000, ￥3,000,￥5,000, and ￥10,000 at vending machines in Japan Railways (JR) stations, at ticket windows, and at Kiosk booths. When purchasing a ticket, put your Orange Card in the Orange Card vending machine and press the appropriate amount. If you have run out of credit, you can pay the difference between the ticket price and the remaining credit.