A Complete Guide to Riding Trains in Japan

The Route

You know where you want to go, but not how to get there. Trains in Japan are a little mangled and complicated, so if you attempt to find your way blindly to wherever you're going you will likely get lost. A great resource for planning your route is a little site called Hyperdia. Put in your start and end station, and the site does the rest, providing you with transfer points, ticket prices, maps, the works -- Never travel Japan without Hyperdia. Getting to your initial station from whatever hotel or residence you're at is up to your own navigation skills, but generally you can spot a small blue train sign hanging on a street corner or tucked away down a noisy alleyway. Some of them can be hard to find.

The Gate

The starting station is set, and you know your transfer points. Once you reach your first station, a series of signs will guide you to the correct gate. There may be a lot of signs, and you may have to walk as much as 500 meters even once you're in the terminal, but if you stay true to the signs (most of them will have both Japanese and English written on them), you will reach your gate safely. All gates are color-coded, too, so you can use that as an extra guide to your destination.


The Ticket

Within about 20 meters of any gate there will be a series of ticket booths embedded in the walls. Most of the ticket machines will have optional English instructions. If not, look for a button on the left side that indicates one person (usually illustrated by a human silhouette). The screen will fill with a set of numbers, indicating ticket prices (in yen) for you to choose between. The amount you will need to pay for your ticket will depend on how many stations you're traveling between. Look just above the ticket booths (or very nearby overhead) and you'll see some maps of the railway lines. The station you're at will be marked in yellow, and beside each station will be its name and a number (these are ticket prices). Not all of these maps will have English translations, so likely you'll be looking at a bunch of kanji. If you can read the kanji, or if you have English titles for the stations at your particular map, or if you happen to know what kanji you're looking for, you can locate your station right away and purchase a ticket matching the number indicated on the map. If you don't meet any of that criteria, your mission will be a little bit harder once you get through the gate. In those situations, purchase the least expensive ticket; with that you can at least get through the gate, and then once you're at your destination station you can have the fare of your ticket adjusted to pay the difference.


The Ticket Gate Thing

After you've bought you're ticket, you'll have to pass through a little security gate thing that will scan your ticket. Your ticket needs to be inserted into a little slot on the right-hand side (where the arrows are pointing); the ticket can be face up or face down, forward or backwards, doesn't matter. The machine will take your ticket, scan it, and then spit it back out on the opposite end. It's important that you pick up your ticket on the opposite end and take it with you when passing through the gate, since you will need it to get out at your destination station.


Sometimes the gate will beep at you. When this happens, some small doors will close in front of you, a red stop sign will show on the ticket gate, and a kind, automated Japanese woman's voice will tell you (in Japanese) that there is a problem with your ticket. This could mean that you bought the wrong ticket for the wrong train, or you put in the wrong ticket (you may end up with one or two in your pocket after some traveling), or a number of other small things. In any event, a station guard will typically rush over to you to check on the problem. Meanwhile, a horde of Japanese people behind you will give you crummy looks for stalling them by locking up that ticket gate with your mistake. If a station guard doesn't come to you, you will need to go to him; there will be a booth at one of the ends of the ticket gates; a kind Japanese man will be standing there wearing a mask. Go to the Japanese man, give him your ticket, and he will fix your problem by saying "Wrong ticket," or "Wrong station." At which point you will need to produce the correct ticket, or relocate to your correct station.

The Platform

Through the gate. Yes! On to the platform... But which one? Once through the gate, there will be additional signs indicating as many as six (or more) platforms that you can go to. Your train is at one of them. Here again, signs will guide you, and most will have English translations. However, the problem with the platform signs is that they will not list all the stations that a particular train at a particular platform will visit. The signs will only list major stops, as well as the final stop on that train's route. For instance, I may be at Station D, looking to go to Station G. The platform sign might list Station E, M, and finally Z (the end station), but not D or G. That train is heading in the correct direction, but because it doesn't list the particular station you're going to, it can be easy to wind up waiting on the wrong platform. The easiest way I've found to beat this obstacle is to know the last stop on the train you're looking to board. If you're at Station D and heading on down the alphabet, know what Station Z is, because Station Z will _always_ be on the platform signs (that will also be the name on the train itself). If you can find the sign listing that station -- check the maps back at the ticket booths -- then you should have no problems finding your platform.


The Lines at the Platform

On the platform, you will see everyone lining up at about 10 meter intervals along the platform, or, if there's no one there, you can start your own line! At crowded stations, everyone will form paired lines, like good little animals boarding the Arc. Pick whichever line you like. Shorter lines are, of course, better, since they give better odds of getting a seat on the train (see below). Be watchful of the digital displays hanging above the platform, because they will indicate which train is arriving at what time -- multiple trains for different destinations can arrive at any one platform depending on the station, so be careful not to get on the wrong train (even though you're at the right platform).


When the train pulls in, the lines will move up to the train's doors, but the paired lines will split so that the lines are standing just to the sides of each door. This is to allow those already on the train to get off and pass easily through. Once everyone has disembarked, the lines will file in, the doors will shut, and you'll be on your way.

The Standing/Sitting Game

Some train rides might take a while. Could be 30 minutes to your destination, maybe an hour, or two. If you've a long ride ahead of you, you will definitely want to get a seat. Trouble is, all the millions of Japanese commuters want a seat, too, because it really, really sucks to have to stand in a crowded space for that long. And it will get crowded! The picture above in the previous section is no exaggeration; many times, the platform patrons will help to shove people onto the trains, pushing and jamming everyone in to the point where your face is in someone's back, someone's bag is jabbing into your side, and somehow a small child is sitting on your head. It happens! A lot of this trouble, though, can be avoided with a comfortable seat.

First trick to getting a seat is to be early. At a busy station, be 20 minutes early, minimum, for your train, and wait in the lines so that you can be near the front when your train arrives. Second trick is to get in lines as far down the platform as you can go; less people walk all that way down there, so the lines will be shorter and there will be less people in the cars (be careful you don't go too far, though, if you're a guy; the front three or so cars of a train are sometimes for women only). Third, get in a line with business men. Business men are hesitant to take a seat. Women, children, and the elderly are not. You will get pushed out of the way for a seat if you are not fast enough. Fourth, travel as lightly as you can. The more things you have on you, the harder it is for you to swim through the crowds to get your seat.


In the unfortunate event that you don't get a seat, you will have to stand. For short trips, the best places to stand are near the doors so you can quickly get off. For longer trips, you will want to stand in the aisle in front of the seats for a possible chance at getting a seat a few stops later along the way. Avoid standing in front of students and other sleepers; you will see these folks nodding off, leaning forward, eyes closed. These people are on the train for the long haul and will not be giving up their seat anytime soon. If you can, stand in front of someone wearing headphones. These people have headphones to stay awake, and will commonly get off one or two stops later. Standing in front of someone who looks awake and alert (and _not_ reading a book or newspaper) is also a decent bet, as they are being watchful for their upcoming station. Despite these tricks, a seat is never guaranteed. Be prepared to stand for long periods of time. Bring water.

The Ride

While on the train, it is respectful to take up as little space as possible. Try to keep your bag and any possessions in front of you, or, even better, put your things on the racks above the seats. If you're sitting, keep your things on your lap. Also while riding, don't eat any food, and only drink if you must -- this is another show of respect for keeping the always-busy trains clean and safe for everyone to use. If you're standing, stand facing flat towards the windows; if you're standing perpendicular to the windows, you're making it more difficult for others to move past you.


The Exit

When exiting the train, move quickly. There is always someone behind you at a train station, so if you stop or go slow, everyone behind you will have to do the same. Watch for the exit signs. If you know your exit, great. If not, it's no big problem; there are always lots of exits, and all exits will lead either into the same terminal or to roughly the same street corner. Pick one, and go!


Before the exiting process is complete, you will have to pass through the ticket gate things one more time. Insert your ticket, and this time the machine will keep your ticket and you can continue on your way. Here again, the machine might beep at you, usually for not having paid the correct fare. If that happens, you can either go to a station manager and he'll help you fix it, or there are convenient fare adjustment machines which will allow you to make the correction yourself. These machines almost always have an English button for translations. Follow the directions, exchange your ticket, and you're out.

And that's how you travel from one station to another! Now do that six times a week, round trip, and you'll know what I'm going through. Oh, and get a Suica card. :)