Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [127]
From Tokyo, the long-distance Ocean Tōkyū Ferry (; 5148-0109; www.otf.jp) goes to Tokushima (¥9900, 18 hours) in Shikoku and to Kitakyūshū (¥14,000, 34 hours) in Northern Kyūshū. Maruei Ferry/A Line (03-5643-6170, in Naha 861-1886; www.aline-ferry.com, in Japanese) operates four or five ferries a month between Tokyo and Naha (¥24,500, 46 hours). Long-distance ferry services to Hokkaidō are no longer available from Tokyo; however, Shosen Mitsui Ferry (029-267-4133) has departures from Ibaraki prefecture to Tomakomai in Hokkaidō (¥8500, 19 hours).
Bus
Long-distance buses are generally little or no cheaper than trains, but are sometimes a good alternative for long-distance trips to areas serviced by expressways.
There are a number of express buses running between Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Overnight JR buses leave at 10pm from the Yaesu side of Tokyo station and arrive at Kyoto and Osaka between 6am and 7am the following day. They cost from ¥7270 to ¥8550 (you’ll save money by buying a return ticket if you intend on coming back). Tickets can be booked at one of the green windows at a JR station. For a list of typical bus services from Tokyo Click here.
From Shinjuku station Keiō runs buses to the Fuji and Hakone regions, including, for Mt Fuji climbers, express services to the 5th station (Click here). The long-distance bus station is across from the west exit of Shinjuku station, next to the Keiō department store.
Train
All major JR lines radiate from Tokyo station; northbound trains stop at Ueno station, which, like Tokyo station, is on the convenient JR Yamanote line. Private lines – often cheaper and quicker for making day trips out of Tokyo – start from various stations around Tokyo. With the exception of the Tōbu Nikkō line, which starts in Asakusa, all private lines originate somewhere on the Yamanote line.
For fares to major cities from Tokyo, Click here.
SHINKANSEN
There are three shinkansen (bullet train) lines that connect Tokyo with the rest of Japan: the Tōkaidō line, which passes through Central Honshū, changing its name along the way to the Sanyō line before terminating at Hakata in Northern Kyūshū; the Tōhoku line, which runs northeast via Utsunomiya and Sendai as far as Morioka, with the Yamagata branch heading from Fukushima to Yamagata and the Akita branch heading from Morioka to Akita; and the Jōetsu line, which runs north to Niigata, with the Nagano branch heading from Takasaki to Nagano-shi. All three shinkansen lines start at Tokyo station, though the Tōhoku and Jōetsu lines make a stop at Ueno station, and the Tōkaidō line now stops at Shinagawa station in southcentral Tokyo.
Of these lines, the one most likely to be used by visitors to Japan is the Tōkaidō line, as it passes through Kyoto and Osaka. Nozomi (super express) trains between Tokyo and Kyoto (¥13,520, 2½ hours) are fastest, as they make only a few stops. Buy tickets at the green JR windows; the way to shinkansen platforms in Tokyo station are clearly signposted in English.
PRIVATE LINES
The private lines generally service Tokyo’s sprawling suburbia. The most useful are the Tōkyū Tōyoko line, running between Shibuya station and Yokohama; the Odakyū line, running from Shinjuku to Odawara and the Hakone region; the Tōbu Nikkō line, running from Asakusa to Nikkō; and the Seibu Shinjuku line from Ikebukuro to Kawagoe.
OTHER JR LINES
The regular Tōkaidō line serves the stations that the Tōkaidō shinkansen line zips through without stopping. Trains start at Tokyo station and pass through Shimbashi and Shinagawa stations on the way out of town. There are kyūkyō (express) services to Yokohama and to Izu-hantō via Atami, and from there trains continue – very slowly – to Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka.
Northbound trains start in Ueno. The Takasaki line goes to Kumagaya and, of course, Takasaki, with onward connections from Takasaki to Niigata. The Tōhoku line follows the Takasaki line as far north as Ōmiya, from where it heads to the far north of Honsh