The Japanese consider it rude to leave food on your plate, whether at home or at a restaurant. It's related to one of the fundamental concepts in Japanese culture, mottainai, which is a feeling of regret at having wasted something.
Toilets are mainly found in airports, train stations, shinkansen (bullet train) and commercial facilities. Many tourist spots, parks, convenience stores and supermarkets also have toilets.
If you reserved a seat and miss the shinkansen, nothing happens except the seat is wasted. You can always take the next shinkansen and go to the unreserved carriages or make a new reservation.
in shinkansenPlease note that the official rule on the shinkansen allow you to have only two pieces of luggage ( weight max : 30 kg). The total height + width + depth of each item must be under 250cm.
Walking and eating in JapanJapanese tend not to eat while walking along or standing around on the street. However, it is acceptable to drink while standing aside a vending machine. Eating and drinking on local trains, but not long distance express trains, is also frowned upon.
mobile phones and chatterOn trains and subways, never talk on your cell phone! It's extremely bad manners in Japan. Also, you'll find that most Japanese people do not talk loudly on the train.
First-class cars on Japan Rail (JR) lines are called Green Cars. They are found on shinkansen (bullet trains) and tokkyu (limited express trains). Because standards are so high on Japanese trains, even the ordinary cars are usually perfectly sufficient.
Japanese people don't usually eat in public let alone walk and eat. On local trains, eating and drinking anything other than water should be avoided. The only time where eating and drinking on trains is acceptable is on regional long-distance trains, like the Shinkansen, where every seat has a tray and cup holder.
Order Shinkansen Tickets At Least 3 Days In AdvanceYou must order at least 3 days in advance before the day of travel. I would advise you to book your shinkansen tickets as far in advance as you can, during peak season like Christmas and New Year, cherry blossom season (April) and fall foliage season (November).
Information that you will find on a Shinkansen ticket
- ?????? Super (Limited) Express reserved Seat Ticket.
- Departing Station.
- Destination.
- Departure date/ time (?)
- Arrival time (?)
- Train name.
- Seat number.
- Car number.
Top 10 Fastest Trains in the World 2020
- 8 SNCF TGV Duplex, 198.8 mph, France.
- 7 Alstom Euroduplex, 198.8 mph, France.
- 6 E5 Series Shinkansen Hayabusa, 198.8 mph, Japan.
- 5 Talgo 350, 217.4 mph, Spain.
- 4 Siemens Velaro E/AVS 103, 217.4 mph, Spain.
- 3 AGV Italo, 223.6 mph, Italy.
- 2 Harmony CRH 380A, 236.12 mph, China.
- 1 Shanghai Maglev, 267.8 mph, China.
Yes, you can. However, you should try to get your ticket farther in advance if traveling at a busy time, such as certain dates around the New Year. You can make the reservation at any JR reservation office (all major stations and many smaller stations).
Shinkansen uses a 25 kV AC overhead power supply (20 kV AC on Mini-shinkansen lines), to overcome the limitations of the 1,500 V direct current used on the existing electrified narrow-gauge system. Power is distributed along the train's axles to reduce the heavy axle loads under single power cars.
All Shinkansen trains are covered by the JR Pass except the Nozomi and Mizuho fast trains which run on the Takaido and Sanyo lines. JR Pass holders can catch the semi-fast and local trains on these lines instead. The semi-fast trains take just a little longer than the Nozomi and Mizuho trains.
The PASS is valid on all Japan Railways (JR) Group Shinkansen “bullet trains” (except for the “NOZOMI” and “MIZUHO” trains), limited express trains, express trains, and local trains (Green Car passes are valid for Green Car travel) in addition to the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit system).
Shinkansen Tickets. Regular paper tickets for the shinkansen can be purchased at ticket counters, at ticket machines or online. Alternatively, IC cards can be used on selected shinkansen lines. Last but not least, there are several rail passes and other types of discount tickets that can be used on the shinkansen.
It is rarely worth buying single tickets even if you're planning to visit just 2 places. The cost of a round-trip from Tokyo to Kyoto costs 26,160 yen by Shinkansen train. This is almost the cost of a 7-day Japan Rail Pass (29,110 yen).
Note that the Shinkansen does not run overnight.
Not all Shinkansen are profitable, but four of the post-privatization passenger rail companies were in 2019. In part, that's because they control valuable real estate around their stations and develop it with revenue-generating shopping centers, restaurants and hotels.
A first cost of raw materials for manufacturing pizza is said to be 10% to 20% of selling price. But there are so many costs that make selling prices raise other than first cost, needless to say. For example, labor cost. In Japan, pizza delivery labor cost is a bit more expensive than other restaurant businesses.
Depending on the size, choice of toppings and even the time of day that you order, a single pizza in Japan can cost anything from around ¥1,000 up to more than ¥4,000 yen.
It is no surprise that just like pretty much anything else in Tokyo, one of the most expensive cities in the world, grocery shopping can be incredibly expensive. It's not so much that everything is expensive, but more that for the same price as back in your usual supermarket, you get much less food.
Why Japan Is More Expensive Than Other Asian CountriesFirst of all, Japan is a fairly remote island, and this has made it difficult for other countries to engage with its economy, allowing Japan to develop on its own terms. Nowadays, living in Japan means paying a high rent and high transportation cost.
Train fares in Japan are very expensive, with no cheap advance-purchase fares just one hefty fixed price for each journey. Even if you are only planning one round trip, a Japan Rail Pass may well save you money over point-to-point tickets. For example, a 7-day Japan Rail Pass costs ¥29,110 = £215 or $268.
?? Here is the good news: To our surprise, the food was actually quite inexpensive! Fair enough, you can find super fancy and expensive restaurants in Japan too (especially in Tokyo), but it is easy to find cheap food. There is no tipping in Japan, as it is considered rude, so that will save you some bucks.
The JR Pass is valid on all Shinkansen services in all the Shinkansen lines, except for the Nozomi and Mizuho services on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines. You will not have access to the trains with the fewest stops on the Tokaido and Sanyo lines.
The JR Pass affords access to five main Tokyo railway lines.You can reach Tokyo via many of Japan's Shinkansen lines. Within the city, the Tokaido Shinkansen makes stops at Shinagawa, Ueno, and Tokyo Stations.
The Japan Rail Pass and JR Tokyo Wide Pass are valid only on JR trains and the Tokyo Monorail. They cannot be used on subways or any other non-JR train.
Pick up your "tickets" from a ticket vending machine at the Shinkansen transfer entrance. First insert your "ticket" into the Shinkansen ticket gate, then touch your registered IC card. The fare for the conventional line will be deducted from the balance on your IC card.
Japan Rail buses. JR Pass holders enjoy access to the comfortable local lines of JR Bus at no extra cost.
The Japan Rail Pass can save you a LOT of money. See below for details. The Japan Rail Pass is cheaper when purchased outside of Japan. If you just make one round trip between Tokyo and Kyoto on the shinkansen (bullet train) and use the pass to travel between Narita and Tokyo, you've already saved money with the pass.
Travel costThe most economical way of using the Shinkansen bullet trains is with a JR Pass as the individual tickets are relatively expensive. The travel between Tokyo and Osaka, a one-way ticket costs around 14,500 yen on a Nozomi train or 13,500 yen on a Hikari train.