{"id":23615,"date":"2015-03-12T09:57:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-12T13:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=23615"},"modified":"2015-03-12T09:57:00","modified_gmt":"2015-03-12T13:57:00","slug":"planes-bullet-trains-and-buses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2015\/03\/12\/planes-bullet-trains-and-buses\/","title":{"rendered":"Planes, Bullet Trains, and Buses"},"content":{"rendered":"<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2015\/03\/05\/japans-school-year\/\">As I mentioned last week<\/a>, Japan's school year provides exchange students with plenty of opportunities to explore the country. In this post, I'll share some of the ways that I've traveled from city to city during my holidays.\r\n\r\n1. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><em>Shinkansen<\/em> (\u65b0\u5e79\u7dda)<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe <em>Shinkansen, <\/em>sometimes referred to as the 'bullet train,' is a high-speed (approx. 300 km\/h) train network connecting most of Japan's major cities.\r\n\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qtAOlai-GZo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n\r\nIt's perhaps the easiest way of traveling across the country. Tickets can be purchased at most stations, whether they service the <em>Shinkansen<\/em> or not, and trains come every few minutes. Boarding is as simple as passing through a ticket gate and getting on the train. However, the cost of the <em>Shinkansen<\/em> is a little steep for students. A one-way, three-hour ride from Tokyo to Hiroshima, for instance, costs about $180 - comparable to the price of some one-way plane tickets. However, I suggest splurging at least once for the experience of riding the <em>Shinkansen<\/em>.\r\n\r\n2. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Local Train (<em>Seishun <\/em>18 Ticket)<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe local train is a great option for students traveling across Japan on a tight budget. It's slow, but far cheaper than the <em>Shinkansen<\/em>. At certain times of the year, operator JR (Japan Railways) offers a promotion called the '<em>Seishun <\/em>18 ticket.' It allows five days of travel for <span class=\"st\">\uffe5<\/span>11,850 , i.e.\u00a0 <span class=\"st\">\uffe52,370 (approx. $25) per day. Moreover, it can be split between five different passengers. In this way, if traveling with friends, each friend can consume one day's worth of travel in the same day, thereby collectively using all five days' worth of travel all at once at a cost of <span class=\"st\">\uffe52,370<\/span> per person.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_23616\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23616\" style=\"width: 584px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2015\/03\/wpid-\u9752\u662518\u304d\u3063\u3077\uff08\u666e\u901a\u5217\u8eca\u4e57\u8eca\u5238\uff09.jpg.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-23616 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2015\/03\/wpid-\u9752\u662518\u304d\u3063\u3077\uff08\u666e\u901a\u5217\u8eca\u4e57\u8eca\u5238\uff09.jpg-1024x487.jpeg\" alt=\"This image shows a scan of a seishun 18 ticket. It's face is marked by Japanese text and a red stamp.\" width=\"584\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2015\/03\/wpid-\u9752\u662518\u304d\u3063\u3077\uff08\u666e\u901a\u5217\u8eca\u4e57\u8eca\u5238\uff09.jpg-1024x487.jpeg 1024w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2015\/03\/wpid-\u9752\u662518\u304d\u3063\u3077\uff08\u666e\u901a\u5217\u8eca\u4e57\u8eca\u5238\uff09.jpg-300x142.jpeg 300w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2015\/03\/wpid-\u9752\u662518\u304d\u3063\u3077\uff08\u666e\u901a\u5217\u8eca\u4e57\u8eca\u5238\uff09.jpg-500x237.jpeg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23616\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Seishun 18 Ticket. [<a href=\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/6\/64\/\u9752\u662518\u304d\u3063\u3077\uff08\u666e\u901a\u5217\u8eca\u4e57\u8eca\u5238\uff09.jpg\">source<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>3. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Plane<\/span>\r\n\r\nJapan is home to a few budget airlines, such as Peach and Jetstar. They sometimes offer prices that are cheaper than those of the bullet train. However, they are far less convenient because of the security requirements of flying. Getting to Tokyo's main airport (Narita - NRT) also requires a significant amount of time. Hence, if similarly priced, a\u00a0<em>Shinkansen\u00a0<\/em>ticket might be a better option.\r\n\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2m9--MJ0z3o?start=385&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ana.co.jp\/wws\/japan\/e\/local\/dom\/fare\/promotion\/tabiwari\/\">ANA recently started offering promotions as well.<\/a>\r\n\r\n4. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Night Bus<\/span>\r\n\r\nLastly, a number of charter bus companies offer night buses between Japan's major cities. I can say from experience that this is the least comfortable of the four options, but it's relatively affordable. A\u00a0 twelve-hour ride from Tokyo to Hiroshima, for instance, can cost as little as <span class=\"st\">\uffe5<\/span>4,000 ($42). Riding the night bus also allows travelers to dodge accommodation fees, albeit at the cost of comfort.\r\n\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_23621\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23621\" style=\"width: 584px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2015\/03\/wpid-img_20150307_074304.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-23621 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2015\/03\/wpid-img_20150307_074304-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"This image shows a service station in Japan. A mountain covered in mist can be seen in the background.\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2015\/03\/wpid-img_20150307_074304-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2015\/03\/wpid-img_20150307_074304-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2015\/03\/wpid-img_20150307_074304-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23621\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Buses stop at these service stations every few hours, so that passengers can buy food for the road.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nAnyway, these are some of the ways that I've traveled around Japan. I recently took a night bus to Hiroshima. I'll catch a local train to Osaka in about a week, after which I'll hop on a plane to Okinawa.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=x2h3wlwE_SE","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nAs I mentioned last week, Japan's school year provides exchange students with plenty of opportunities to explore the country. In this post, I'll share some of the ways that I've traveled from city to city during my holidays. 1. Shinkansen&hellip;\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2015\/03\/12\/planes-bullet-trains-and-buses\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Planes, Bullet Trains, and Buses&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2015\/03\/12\/planes-bullet-trains-and-buses\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Planes, Bullet Trains, and Buses&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":249,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23615"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23615"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23642,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23615\/revisions\/23642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}