Asian Trains

Pyongyang has a subway (maybe)

2012-01-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

Patrick Chovanec visited North Korea so you don't have to. Along the way, he had the opportunity to visit Pyongyang's subway.

A Visit to North Korea

Here is hoping that North Korea becomes a place where people want to go within my lifetime.

Interested in Working Steam?

2011-12-29T17:57:00.001-07:00

Interested in working steam? Want to visit China? John Raby has a list of reasons why you should join his tour to Sichuan Province which visits the Shibanxi line that runs from 5-15 March 2012.

"1. It's the place I chose for my 60th birthday last year because it's one of the best narrow gauge steam railways (real or preserved) in the world
2. real steam ng, trains in a landscape, friendly people, good food
3. walk everywhere and anywhere
4. no cars
5. the nicest place I know in China
6. some great little locos that think they are big, working their socks off
7. passenger, coal traffic, tourist trains, additional cargoes – pigs, refrigerators, brick, bamboo (and even corpses!)
8. five tunnels to walk through (bring a torch) and 1 reversal
9. electric coal trains and steam under the wires on the bottom section
10. haircut in Bagou, stay with the doctor in Mifeng
11. hiking trails with views of the line in the hills between Sanjing and Huangcun
12.small coal mine at Huangcun with hand tramming (and 300mm and 600mm gauge)"

This is the second time that this tour has run, so you can read about the 2011 trip on John Raby's blog. Even if you cannot take the trip, I recommend reading the blog just for the pictures and perspective on life in small-town China.

The fully refundable deposit for the tour is 400 British pounds with the tour itself priced in Chinese yuan. The main tour costs 11,000 yuan for 10 nights and is to be paid in China at the start of the tour or my bank transfer to the Chinese guide, Zebedee. Minus the £400, that means ¥7,000 will need to be paid in China. All meals, transportation, and tours are included in this price. Most of the rooms will be singles, although you will need to pay a small surcharge to guarantee a single room every night. Tour arrangements assume that participants will fly into and out of Chengdu in western China. Apparently, this is easy for people coming from the UK, but may be more of challenge (and more expensive) if you are coming from the US.

Both pre and post tours are available at an additional, reasonable cost. (At current exchange rates, this entire tour costs less than $1,800.)

The deadline to book is February 1. Contact John Raby at jraby at linesiding.co.uk if you are interested in more information.

Tourist Monorail in Malaysia under Repair for Month

2011-11-05T14:07:00.003-06:00

If you were thinking about traveling from Hang Tuah Station to Taman Rempah by train, you may need to wait for a month. The Sungai Melaka tourist monorail has been suspended for a month by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) so that the operator can improve traction during rain and provide a way to get people down if the train stops running. SPAD recommends that operators buy a crane tool for that purpose. Right now the company uses a ladder.

SPAD also recommends getting a manual in a language that repair workers can read. The monorail was imported from China and the operating instructions are not currently available in either English or Bahasa which has had a tendency to delay repairs.

The suspension has not been popular with the local government. This service was inaugurated by Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam a year ago which probably means that he could be politically damaged if there continue to be problems with the service. Of course, it is probably better for him if the train gets fixed, and people come to feel that it is reliable. Two British tourists were among those stranded on Wednesday and action needs to be taken to prevent bad publicity among international visitors.

A new way to buy tickets for Vietnamese trains

2011-10-02T12:26:00.000-06:00

A Vietnamese travel agency has created a new website, Vietnam Train Tickets, to help foreigners buy train tickets between five cities: Hanoi, Sapa, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, and Da Nang. You can get schedules for trains between those five cities as well as buy tickets for travel in all classes. You can also buy tickets for special cabins between Hanoi and Sapa, most of which are run by Sapa hotels.

How to get to Singapore's new international railway station

2011-07-06T18:29:00.001-06:00

Trains that go to Singapore now leave from Woodlands Train Checkpoint right next to the border with Singapore. Bus 950 goes to and from MRT Marsiling which is in walking distance. Buses 160 and 170 connect the station with Kranji MRT. Be careful about the 170 buses if you are coming from Kranji, not all the 170's go to the train station. There several other buses that stop on Woodlands Road near the station entrance most of these go to Woodlands MRT, but I don't know which side of the street send buses in that direction.

To find the station location on Google Maps, you need to enter Woodlands Crossing, Singapore which is what Google thinks the station is named. If you enter the stations actual address, Google sends you to another location in Woodlands.

There have been complaints about a lack of toilets in the new facility, so be careful about that. Are there bathrooms in the MRT stations?

And now for a video in which immigration and transport officials talk about the change. I am concerned that the transit guy does not think that they need more buses:

Hopefully, light rail will connect to the station by 2018 as planned.

Looking for Blogs That are Updated Frequently?

2011-06-01T11:17:00.002-06:00

The National Blog Posting Month posts a list every month of blogs that are updated every day. This month the theme is "Fan". Let's hope that we get some rail fans posting.

Free Tram Rides for a Day in Hong Kong

2011-05-29T11:16:00.000-06:00

Today is the 150th Anniversary of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. To celebrate, they are paying the fare of anyone who takes the tram from Western District and Shau Kei Wan. Ferries between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui will also be free. 1,000 passengers will also get sets of the stamps being issued by the Hongkong Post to commemorate the chambers history.

Good on them for helping people get to work and school. June 9 is a Thursday, a work day.

Traveling by train in northern Japan (links)

2011-04-09T15:05:00.000-06:00

Here are some links for information about how the earthquake and tsunami are impacting trains in northern Japan.

Earthquake Info in English @wiki: Transportation Status

Pictures and Discussion of the Damage

Service south and west of Tokyo has not been distrupted. Unfortunately, this catastrophe occurred in the center of northern Japan, damaging routes between Tokyo and Sendai and points north.

Here We Go Again

2011-04-02T13:27:00.000-06:00

News in March from Southeast Asia: Kuala Lumpur again announces that they are going to have one smartcard that will work on all trains, and Jakarta restarts and then shelves their monorail project in a single week because Indonesia apparently does not invest in infrastructure.

My prediction: Kuala Lumpur will gradually add services to its smartcard system, and make an major announcement for each one. Malaysia will have full rail connectivity, including one high speed rail line, before Jakarta even starts on a public transportation system. If I am wrong, I hope that it is Indonesia that proves me wrong. Lots of Indonesian citizens would benefit from more infrastructure investments.

Here is a link with a little history of Kuala Lumpur's buses and trains: The Integrated Approach to Solving Transportation Woes and a video of Kuala Lumpur's monorail (which should have been a conventional train so it could have been expanded and connected into the rest of the rail system).

New train improves connections between Tainan and high speed rail

2011-01-29T16:35:00.003-07:00

from Railway Gazette Int'l

Tainan has nominally had a high speed rail station for four years, but the station is on the outskirts of town. Until this month a single bus that took at least fifty minutes from downtown Tainan was the only transit connection to the station. But that changed on January 14 when the Shalun line opened, running from Zhongzhou Station on the new Shalun Station with an additional new station at Chang Jung Christian University. Shalun Station is connected to Tainan's high speed rail station by a 34m walkway. It appears that most trains will start actually start at Tainan Main Station, although some trains will start in north Tainan County.

The line is part of plans by Taiwan's Railway Administration to use its normal speed trains to improve travel within regions and within metro areas and to help people connect with the high speed train for intercity travel. It was fairly expensive to build. In the 1990's, transportation projects in Taiwan had a tendency to spend more on corruption than actual construction. Things improved immensely during the past decade, leading to the completion of the Taipei metro and other important transportation projects. Let us hope that the high cost of this line is a hold-over from the past or a result of unusual technical difficulties, not an indication of future trends.

Upcoming rail trips to Asia

2010-12-02T20:51:00.002-07:00

There are two rail trips being planned that I know about. The first is ground transit only with no flights within the country being visited. The second only has a single flight.

In March, John Raby is hosting a trip to the Leshan region in southern Sichuan to ride on a steam passenger line as well as visit coal railways in the area. The tour will be kept small (10 people max) to allow all participants to directly experience China and to encounter regular people along the way. This is very much an unpackaged tour and as such involved lots of real Chinese food and the ability to walk up to 10km a day over uneven surfaces. The trip also involves lots of flowers along the track; the trip is being planned for the beginning of March for flowers and the (possibly) good weather.

Shibanxi and Mojiang Narrow Gauge Coal Railways 7 - 17 March 2011

ends and starts in Chengdu, Sichuan Province

aprox. £ 1000 ($1550)

Airfare from London (through Amsterdam) is available for £571.

Americans can get to Chengdu by flying to Beijing and then taking a train.

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Farrail is running a tour of steam engines used in the sugar industry. This tour is all rail except for a flight at the end from Surabaya to Jakarta. This trip would be good for someone who is interested in how things work.

Where should I go?

2010-11-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

I am planning my next trip, and I am wondering where you think I should go.

Should I go investigate China's new high-speed trains? I am curious to see if the system is as extensive as it looks on the map. I have never heard of anyone actually taking some of them. Even if the system is not as extensive as it looks, I will get to go to Wuhan by high-speed train, and Wuhan is awesome.

Should I take the train from Singapore to Thailand, investigating Malaysia's rail system on the way? I might actually be able to take the train into Cambodia, although that may still be a freight-only line.

Should I investigate Vietnam's railways? At least one new intercity rail line has opened in the last year along with some new commuter track in the major cities. Vietnam may have a lot more possibilities in a couple of years, though.

How about Siberia? I have heard that winter is the best time to go.

Any ideas are welcome. What would you like to read about?

China working on Silk Road 2.0

2010-11-04T16:51:00.000-06:00

In the past few years, governments throughout Asia have worked together on the Silk Road project to create freight and passenger rail links between each other and Asia. A major links include a line Singapore through Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam then up north into China and a line though Russia into the central Asian countries that used to be part of the USSR to Iran and Turkey.

It looks like China may be looking to support rail links that bypass a couple of its traditional enemies. It looks like Chinese money is available to support a high-speed rail link with Thailand and an ordinary speed rail link to Vientiane, Laos. Both of these lines would run through Myanmar. They are also supporting a high-speed rail link between India and Pakistan.

The project that is probably farthest along is the project in Laos. Questions have arisen about the nationality of the workers and the origin of the goods that will be transported by the railways. If most of the workers who build the tracks are Chinese, and most of the goods that are transported are Chinese, some people wonder if this railway will actually benefit Laos.Some of these may be genuine concerns and some may be simple xenophobia.

I have concerns because China is loaning the money to Laos. These are not grants. Many underdeveloped countries are in trouble because they went into debt for projects that did not bring economic development. This is especially a concern for Laos because very few Laotians have the skills necessary to work on a project like this. Right now the plans are to import large numbers of Chinese rather than educate locals for these jobs.

Who is going to operate these trains when they are finished? It is my understanding that the train that connects the border near Vientiane with Thailand is actually run by the Thailand's railways. Now this railway has apparently spurred enough development in the area to pay for its construction. People who used to be subsistence farmers are now able to sell excess crops and some crafts. But these are people who are geographically close to major urban centers. Some people are in fact carrying their goods into Thailand rather than taking the train. Is similar development possible in more isolated areas?

I hope so. I also hope that the government of Laos acts in the best interests of its citizens and demands that China pay for infrastructure for which they are the primary beneficiaries. Laos should also look for other funding for any railways they would like to build. There are other sources of revenue.

Hanoi is expanding its Metro

2010-10-05T01:05:00.004-06:00

On September 25, Hguyen Tan Dung, the Prime Minister of Vietnam, attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Hanoi's third subway line, and yesterday the project received an additional 73 million Euros in financing. A couple more subway lines are in the planning stages. The third line is projected to transport 200,000 people a day which are good numbers for a 12.5km line.

Vietnam's rail system is slowly improving. Should I visit and report back here?

Anyone going to Gansu?

2010-09-28T07:58:00.002-06:00

I was talking with the owner of a Chinese restaurant in Portland, and I asked him if any of his American (or Korean or Canadian or etc.) friends had travled to China by train and would like to write about it. He asked me to encourage my readers to travel to Gansu in northwest China to help the economy there. The government of China is powerful, but the people are still struggling.

Gansu is beautiful and ethnically diverse. If you cannot visit, you can taste the food in Portland at Frank's Noodle 822 NE Broadway.

Afghanistan plans to join the Asian rail network

2010-08-27T03:28:00.000-06:00

Good news: Afghanistan has developed a national rail plan based on the lines that are already being built and the international support that those lines have already received. The Asian Development Bank is financing most of the cost of a freight line from Hayratan, Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sherif in northern Afghanistan.

There are plans to extend this line to a line being built by Iran to the Afghan border near Herat. There might be a branch to Turkmenistan. Northern Afghanistan is relatively stable, so this line is realistic.

In addition, the Chinese may finance a line from Mazar-i-Sherif to Kabul that would continue on to Jalalabad and the border with Pakistan. This line would have to go through area where there is fighting which reduces the likelihood of its ever being built. However, if the Chinese provide grants )like for the line that is being built to Mazar-i-Sherif) construction might inject enough money into the local economy to create stability.

(This post was based on several articles from the Railway Gazette International.)

Future Express: A TV show that takes place on trains

2010-07-28T07:42:00.000-06:00

Future Express is a series of documentaries that show on Link TV. Each show is made up of interviews on a train ride through a single country. Usually the filmaker Rob Hof, rides from one end of the country to the other.

Click the links to watch the shows that cover Asia:

Indonesia - Silent Anger

India - Path to My Dreams

Turkey - Rejected Love (I particularly like this one.)

Rob Hof has also done a 13 episode documentary about a train trip from Vietman to Turkey that I have not seen yet. If anyone has, I would love to hear what they think of it.

Solar and Water Conservation Together in One Station

2010-07-19T23:20:00.001-06:00

Taiwan's Central News Agency reports that the new Nanke Station, Tainan is entirely powered by solar energy during the day. The sun also provides natural light inside the station.

TRA to open first solar powered railway station

It looks like the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is letting the high-speed rail line concentrate on transporting cross-country passengers while the TRA shifts to transporting more people inside provinces. This is probably a good thing as public transportation in Taiwan has traditionally been inadequate in Taiwan. In addition to the new station, there is going to be free shuttle service to and from the nearby Southern Taiwan Science Park as well as a bicycle rental shop in the station area.

The station also saves water. The roof will be able to collect rainwater and store up to 210 cubic meters of water.

A Guide to Using the Shanghai Metro

2010-07-12T23:25:00.000-06:00

Here is a guide to using the Shanghai Metro written by Ted and posted to the social networking site Multiply.

上海: Shanghai Metro

Vietnam's Future Rail Plans

2010-06-16T04:13:00.001-06:00

There is money available from foreign donors for upgrading rail within Vietnam as this would help the economies of eastern Asia as a whole as improve the natural environment. Currently, both Korea and Japan have offered their own development plans. Korea is offering less money than Japan, but that money is grant money. Also, the money can be used for upgrades to conventional speeds or to high speed. The Japanese have been offering a lot more money, but the money is all loans and the Vietnamese would be required to buy Japanese made equipment. There is also at least 2 billion in potential aid from other sources to build a rail connection to Cambodia, some coming from Australian business groups. China may also be a source of aid money.

Dong Daegu

2010-06-09T06:53:00.001-06:00

Of Interest: entertainment district, multiple bus stations

Lodging: multiple, hotels and motels

ATM: multiple banks in the area

Other transit: subway station, intercity and express buses

Dong (East) Daegu is Daegu's KTX station. It is in the midst of East Daegu's entertainment district. There are a lot of bars and restaurants nearby, and people come here to walk at night. There also two or three bus stations in the area. Therefore, this area has the most forms of lodging of any area of Daegu.

Daegu is relatively spread out for a Korean city. It actually takes up as much space as Seoul, even though it has less than one-fourth the people. The subway is the best way to get from one part of the city to the other. It goes downtown. So do most saemaeul and mugunhwa trains.

Heading south, Busan is a little over an hour away by KTX high speed train. It takes an hour and a half by regular speed train.

Heading north, Daejeon is fifty minutes away by KTX and two hours by regular speed train while Seoul is an hour and fifty minutes by KTX and two hours and forty-five minutes by regular speed.

KTX trains are frequent. Other trains are hourly.

Occaisional trains head into the mountains to end at Yeongju three hours away.

Another recycling idea

2010-06-01T23:54:00.002-06:00

As you may know, every now and then I publish a fun way to reuse old train tickets. I have a new post on my American blog that would work well for anyone with a lot of old Korean train tickets.

Asian Trains - making environmentalism fun since 2009.

Traditional Lunches for the High Speed Train

2010-06-01T02:29:00.001-06:00

Taiwan Railways has lost customers to the new high-speed line, but many of those customers miss the old railways food. In response, Taiwan Railways has opened box lunch stands at Taichung and Kaohsiung Stations. These are the next biggest cities after Taipei.

On opening day in Taichung, the box lunch stand sold twice as many lunches as at Taichung City Station, the station for the conventional rail line. Lunches cost around $2.50 US, and they are big. Probably the high speed train lunches are small and expensive.

Traditional railway battles high-speed foe with lunch boxes

(Just a note. Even if the traditional railways get half the passengers that the high speed rail does, that is still a lot of people.)

New Malaysian Station in Singapore

2010-05-27T21:35:00.003-06:00

If you are going to (or from) Singapore by train, you may need to check where and how you get on the train and where you go through immigration.

Malaysia's customs, immigration, quarantine facilites will move to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint near the Singapore-Malaysia border by July 2011. These facilities are still within the borders of Singapore, and they may move again in 2018 if planned improvements to Singapore's internal rail system are built.

Some businesses near the new station are looking forward to business from commuters, although some people think that the area is not upmarket enough to attract outsiders. There was very little near the old station.

This resolves a longstanding dispute concerning land owned by Malaysian Railways within the border of Singapore. Previously, Malaysia enforced border controls at a station that was much closer to downtown Singapore.

And you have to go through immigration before getting on any train to Malaysia. This limits the ability of these trains to connect different areas within Singapore.

The disputed land is along the old tracks. Two private teams will jointly own and develop six parcels of the disputed land, one from Malaysia and one from Singapore. Having people from both Malaysia and Singapore jointly own the land solves the issue of the Malaysia owning land within Singapore.

In addition, the teams may trade any the parcels of land for parcels of equal value in a couple of other areas in Singapore. That part may be a giveaway to the developers.

Update: According to the official agreement, the current station is going to be preserved and will the centerpiece of the areas new development. Another disused station has also been give historic protection as part of the agreement.

Links to an in depth new story and the official announcement can be found through the Cycling in Singapore site as well as discussion of ways to turn the Malaysian Railways corridor into a bike path.

A more scholarly discussion of the agreement can be found at the Reinventing Urban Transport site.

Another link to a good post about a station in Japan

2010-05-22T00:01:00.000-06:00

sleepytako writes posts that I consistently like. In particular, he has written a beautiful post about the station at the end of the Nishi-Shigi cable car line at http://sleepytako.blogspot.com/2010/05/above-osaka-shigisan.html.

I hope that all of my readers will click on the link. sleepytako expresses a very Japanese way of feeling in a way that is accessible to people who have never been to Japan.

More on Taiwan

2010-05-09T12:10:00.006-06:00

Click the link for a photo guide from one of my Multiply Buddies about how to take the metro in Taipei, Taiwan.

台北: Riding the MRT

The Daejeon subway also uses round tokens. It is kind of weird putting a coin on a subway.

Taiwan's High Speed Line Sees Increase in Ridership Since Public Takeover

2010-05-05T18:00:00.004-06:00

Recently someone forwarded an interesting press release from Taiwan's main news agency to a rail-oriented Yahoo group that I belong to. Apprently, the past year has been the best ever for ridership on Taiwan's high speed line. Currently, the one line serves 3 million passengers a year.

What is interesting about this is that the line has basically been nationalized over the past year. Previously, the private owners were constantly complaining that they couldn't make any money. That ticket sales and other sources of revenue only covered 97% of their operational costs.

The fact is that for a piece of infrastructure to cover 97% of its own costs is unusual. Roads and airports in particular require massive subsidies.

So various government entities allowed private interests to abandon the line to them, and then they lowered prices. Because it is always less of a subsidy for people to take the train than for them to drive. Or fly. And with the volume this line gets, it is less of a subsidy than if those people took the bus.

And of course now that they don't have to make a profit, the line is considered wildly successful.

Shanghai Metro - longest in the world?

2010-05-05T15:40:00.004-06:00

Currently, Shanghai claims that with the opening of line 10 last month, Shanghai Metro became the longest such system in the world.

Of course, that depends on what counts toward that total.

Not including portions run by Korail and Incheon Subway, Seoul's Metropolitan Subway system runs 314 km. However, that is counting some track that runs outside of the boundaries of the city of Seoul, and does not include some that is actually within the city's boundaries. So 314 km is too short. Counting every line that could possibly be considered part of the system, the subway is 755 km long. Of course, that ends up trips that never even enter the province where Seoul is located and that are between towns of less than 100,000.

So Shanghai runs a lot of trains that I hear are clean and fast, and you can probably go anywhere you might want to on them. But not necessarily any better than in, say, Paris, which strictly defines what is the metro and what are the suburban commuter trains.

(Also, the maglev to the airport is cool, but very few people take it because the maglev is more expensive than some airplane tickets and the ordinary subway is fast and comfortable enough for most people.)

Opera in Daegu

2010-04-14T10:57:00.002-06:00

Currently, Korail has a scroll on its Korean site to remind riders that they can take the train to Daegu's Opera House. Daegu is famous for its opera festival and for its Italian-style opera house.

The opera house is less than a thirty minute walk from Daegu Station, but it is probably quicker to take the subway. You are also less likely to get lost. The Daegu Opera House stop is clearly marked in both English and Korean.

It is definitely quicker to take the subway if you are coming in on the KTX. The KTX stops at East Daegu Station (Dong Daegu) which as the name implies is in the eastern part of town.

(Hopefully, an entry on Dong-Daegu Station is coming soon.)

Terminology in Japanese Posts or What the Heck is a Prefecture

2010-03-23T07:16:00.000-06:00

Shinkansen - bullet trains - super express - These are all names for Japans high speed trains.

Prefecture - province

City - The Japanese term that this is translated from includes the surrounding countryside, often more like counties than cities.

Castle - usually a reconstruction from the 50's or 60's of a group of fortified buildings from the 16th or 17th century. If you are interested in history, pay attention to which parts of what you are seeing are actually old and which ones are recent reconstructions.

If anyone has a question about what something means, send me a message or post a comment, and will explain here.

The Yeogiyo Can Help Plan Your Trip

2010-03-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

If you need to travel within Korea, The Yeogiyo, a Korean site for English-speakers, can tell you about both train and bus schedules and book tickets for you. Hotel bookings are also available.

Just go to their Bus/Train Tickets page.

Tsuruga

2010-03-04T01:17:00.000-07:00

Of Interest: modern sculptures

Lodging: yes

Tourist Office: yes

I only made a brief stop in Tsuruga. Just long enough to find out that no one in the tourist office speaks English, but they do have a nice English-language brochure and map. Also, the local city hall has decided to beautify their town by purchasing a fair amount of public art. There are several modern sculptures placed throughout the town.

Tsuruga is a little less than an hour from Kyoto by express train. You can also take the shinkansen to Maibara and change to an express, but it takes about the same amount of time. Local trains take 45 minutes to an hour to get to Maibara along the Hokuriku line. Trains along this line sometimes only go between here and Omishiotsu which is fifteen minutes away. The trains end there because Omishiotsu is the first stop in Kyoto Prefecture. Train lines often end at prefectural borders.

According to the signs, technically Omishiotsu is the end of the Hokuriku line. However, what line a piece of track is or is not a part of does not really determine where the trains actually go.

Tsuruga is in the middle of an express route that connects Osaka and Toyama. Kyoto is on the way to Osaka. Going the other way this route passes through Fukui (30-45 minutes away), and Kanazawa. Occaisionnally these trains continue on to northern Japan, with ending points are far away as Niigata or Aomori.

The Obama local train starts in Tsuruga and runs to the city of Obama about an hour away. (The people in the area think that it is kind of funny that the US President has the same name as a small Japanese town.) Some of these trains continue on another hour to Higashi-Maizuru, on the edge of neighboring Kyoto Prefecture.

Trains on most routes run once an hour, sometimes less.

The Purpose of Escalators and Elevators in South Korea's Train Stations

2010-02-25T20:04:00.001-07:00

In South Korea, the primary purpose of putting escalators and elevators in subway and train stations is to help people who have difficulty walking up stairs and people who have luggage or heavy packages. Escalators and elevators are also in place to help people traveling with small children.

Secondarily, escalators are in place to improve the flow people through stations.

There used to be signs in some stations asking people who were capable of taking the stairs to do so, asking them not to delay people with disabilities.

(According to comments on Slate.com, the Toronto's Union Station has taken down signs telling people to "stand on the right, walk on the left" because everyone is supposed to stand.)

Another Way that Saving the Environment Makes Life Better

2010-02-06T16:27:00.008-07:00

A few months ago, I wrote a post about how fighting climate change makes life better. So does recycling. Instead of throwing away your Netflix flaps (or any other, oddly-sized piece of paper), you can use them to make art.

Netflix Origami

(Originally from the Donkeylicious blog.)

* I know that this should probably go on my US blog, but it fits so well with my climate change post. *

Update: More recycling art. Now you can reuse your metro tickets to make Star Wars X-wings and Millennium Falcons. Warning: The instructions for the Millennium Falcon are nine pages long.

This was originally done with Paris metro tickets. I would like to hear if you can do this with Seoul or Busan tickets. I think they are the same size.

Also, if makes some art with Korail, I will any pictures or links here.

A Guide to Asian Trains

2010-02-06T00:36:00.000-07:00

The focus is on telling the reader about the walkable area around train stations. Basically, I hope to give readers a sense of where stations are in relation to the places that give them their names. If I am lucky, in some cases the reader can gain a sense of what those places are like.

Each post starts with a list of information, and hopefully a picture. A full list includes places of interest, whether or not lodging is available in the station area, whether or not there is a tourist office, location of ATM's, and location of internet access. In some cases I may include information about whether a station is handicapped accessible and whether the restrooms are decent or not. Places of interest can include anything with half an hour walk from the station. Routes must be safe for pedestrians and easy to follow. Routes may be a little more complicated if maps are easily available in the station.

The body of each post should tell the reader where they can go by train from that station along with travel times. Some older posts may not include this information.

If you are interested in a particular piece of information that is missing, please leave a comment or send me a message. A link to my email is in my profile.

Fukui

2010-02-01T11:56:00.003-07:00

Of Interest: downtown Fukui

Lodging: yes

Int'l ATM: Fukui's central post office is down the main street leading away from the west exit

I was not here very long, so I don't have a lot to write.

From Fukui, JR West trains can take you along the Hokuriku main line to Kanazawa in one direction and Tsuruga (one hour via local trains, half that via express trains) in the other. JR West trains travel along the Etsumi-Hoku line within Fukui and the neighboring city of Ono. A tram line connects Fukui to neighboring cities (Sabae, Echizen) while also providing transportation for short trips. Further transportation within the Fukui area is provided by the Echizen Railway. Their trains connect Sakai and Awara through one line while Katsuyama is accessible through another.

Kreativ Blogger Award

2010-01-22T17:19:00.007-07:00

Recently, I was nominated for the Kreativ Blogger award by Gerardine Baugh.

Thanks Gerardine!

The rules for accepting this award are:

1. Thank the person giving you the award.

2. Copy the award to your blog.

3. Place a link to their blog.

4. Write seven interesting things about yourself. (About myself? That's hard.)

5. Nominate 7 bloggers.

6. Put links to those bloggers in your blog.

7. Leave a comment letting those bloggers know about the award.

So here it goes:

1. I have lived in France, Spain, Korea, and the US.

2. I am from the plains of Colorado.

3. I prefer wildflowers to dramatic vistas.

4. Partly I like to travel by train because I get motion sick. I can read on the train.

5. I like it when people sit next to me on the bus because it is more social.

6. I don't like writing about myself.

Here are the blogs that I am nominating:

Tokyo Dreaming - Expresses the soul of Japan. I wish I could write this well.

Author Khanh Ha - Short fictional passages and musings on the creative process.

Sleepy Tako - An American living in Japan documents his local travels.

Riding in Riverside - One of the best transit blogs around.

Bill Guffey - Thumbnails of his paintings.

XX Cinema - Information about movies by women.

Neapolitan - A very interesting perspective on life.

(For more information about the Kreative Blogger award, visit the blogs of Carol J. Gavin and Fletch.)

How to travel on a Korail Train

2010-01-14T16:10:00.006-07:00

You need to go to the ticket counter to buy tickets. The machines only work for people who have a Korail membership which can be a little hard to get, especially for foreigners. Most people who work the ticket counters in major cities speak English. Usually the ticket agents in very small towns are also very helpful, the medium-sized places can be the hardest places to deal with.

There is a Korea Rail Pass for sale overseas to foreigners, but unless you are traveling a lot within a short period of time, it is not a good deal. Ticket prices are so reasonable that you can travel that you can travel the whole country for less than a single Shinkansen tickets. Train tickets are also cheaper than in the US. A trip on California's Capitol Corridor between San Jose and Sacramento costs $25-30. A similar distance on the Korean train can cost as little as $7-9. And that is assuming a bad exchange rate for the Korean won. (KTX trains are more expensive, as are some trains that serve rural areas.)

(The Capitol Corridor has almost the same kind of seats as the Saemaeul trains.)

Reservations are necessary on all Korail trains. Smart cards cannot be used for payment. If the train is not crowded, lots of people change seats. Some of the ticket attendants don't like it when people do this, but most of us just ignore them.

Basic Terminology for Korean Posts

2010-01-14T15:23:00.009-07:00

KTX - Korea Train Express, Korea's bullet train, based on TGV technology. There are three classes of service: regular, first, and movie car. Standing tickets are sold last minute if a train is sold out. KTX trains sell out during rush hour and the beginning and end of holiday periods. A snack wagon moves around the train.

Saemaeul (New World) - Conventional express trains with two classes of service: regular and first. There is a snack car serving hot and cold food with bench seating. The car has four computers with internet, a music room, and a relaxation room, all for rented at reasonable rates.

Mugungwha (Rose of Sharon)- conventional trains with two classes of service: regular and standing. I think that standing tickets can only be bought the day of travel. These trains sell out frequently, even at non-peak times. Mugungwha trains have the same snack cars as Saemaeul trains.

Place Names

"-ju" Historically a place of great scholarship. A place to look for historic buildings, museums, and traditional culture.

"-san" Mountain. If part of a city name, expect a lot steep streets. If in a name for a subway stop, good hiking is probably within walking distance.

I will add more as I think of them.

"-do" Province.

"-si" Usually translated as city, but really means a county that includes an urban area. There is no word in Korean that directly corresponds to our word "city".

"-gun" A rural county

The province and county names should be in the tags for all station posts.

Directions

"dong" east

"seo" west

"nam" south

"bok" north

"jung" center

Cheonan-Asan

2010-01-13T23:24:00.000-07:00

Of Interest: access to Chungnam Province (nothing near station)

Lodging: no

Tourist Office: no

ATM: There is an ATM in the station, but it may not take international cards. There is no bank within walking distance.

The Cheonan-Asan station was originally built solely as a KTX station. Since then, Asan Station was also built crossing under the KTX station. Asan Station currently hosts commuter trains from Seoul, line 1 of the Seoul subway, and trains of the Janghang line.

There is nothing in the area, although apartments are being built. The edge of the city of Cheonan is about thirty minutes walk away. Bus service is not very good to either Cheonan or Onyang-oncheon (the main urban area in Asan), the buses are take to long to get anywhere. It is best to change to another train. KTX ridership increased after Asan Station was built, making it possible to get here by train.

KTX trains from both lines stop here. It takes around forty minutes to get to Seoul or Yongsan Stations, twenty minutes to get to Daejeon or Seodaejeon Stations, fifty minutes to get to Dong-Daegu, and two hours and fifteen minutes to get to Busan. If you are going to the southeast, it takes an hour and fifteen minutes to get to Iksan, two and fifteen minutes to get to Gwangju, and two and a half hours to get to Mokpo. Trains along the Seoul-Busan line run frequently, but the Yongsan-Gwangju/Mokpo line only arrives about once every two hours.

Saemaeul and Mugungwha trains take five minutes to get to Cheonan, twenty-five minutes to get to Pyeongtaek, forty-five minutes to get to Suwon, and an hour and fifteen minutes to arrive in Yongsan. Going east, the Janghang line serves the towns of Yesan (thirty minutes), Hongseong (one hour), Daecheon (ninety minutes), Seocheon (two hours), and Gunsan (three hours).

Line 1 of the Seoul Metro continues east through Onyang-oncheon to end at Sinchang which serves SoonCheonHyang University. In the other direction, most trains go through central Seoul before ending at Cheongnyangni. The metro route follows the regular train route from Cheonan to Seoul Station, but with a lot more stops.

Kanazawa

2010-01-04T15:00:00.007-07:00

Of Interest: seafood market, Castle grounds, performing arts center, international center
Tourist Office: yes, inside the station
Lodging: multiple
Internet Access: in the basement of the performing arts center to the right of the station (free from 30 minutes)

Int'l ATM: in the post office in the station building

The tourists office is excellent and has lots of materials in English, including a seasonal tourist magazine. Get a map it is easy to get lost in some of the the small streets in the historic district.

Leaving the station area is easy, just walk straight from the station along the four lane boulevard. There is an international center five minutes walk from the station on the right hand side. It is open regular business hours from Monday to Friday. Another ten minutes walk will get you to a covered market that specializes in fish. This is the point that the small roads appear. You may have look at a map to find the entrance. The market is a good place to have lunch. It is very touristy so it is not cheap.

A five minutes walk through the market will take you to a side entrance of Castle Park. Kanzawa used to be basically an independent country and this was the capital. The park is the largest of its type that I have seen in Japan with remains of lots of buildings as well as lots of areas that have returned to nature. There was a rehearsal for some kind of musical while I was there which was pretty interesting. The area is very hilly; if you stand on top of one of the hills you can see almost everything. (This is another place where I would not bring any luggage.)

There is an arts and craft street across the road from the main entrance (or one of the main entrances). Right now the city is organizing a crafts festival, so this area should be pretty lively. The entrance to Kenrokuen Garden is close by also. This is one the "three most beautiful gardens" in Japan.

At this point, you are pretty far from the station. It is best to take one of the loop buses if you are going back. I think that there are four loop buses in Kanazwa. I think that there are three for locals that cost 100 yen, and one for tourists that is more expensive. Each bus is identified by a color.

Kanazawa was never fire bombed during WWII, so there are historic houses in various places in the city.

The city of Kanzawa has translated their website into English, including the information on transportation. The train section includes information on shinkansen and express trains from Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. Note that from Tokyo, you can take the Tokaido Shinkansen west to Maibara or the Joetsu Shinkansen over the mountains to Echigo-yuzawa. Kanzawa is two hours from Maibara and two and a half hours from Echigo-yuzawa by express train. Other destinations reachable by regular express trains are Kyoto (two hours), Osaka (two and a half hours), and Nagoya (two and a half hours).

Local JR West trains go to Fukui (hour and a half), Toyama (forty-five minutes), and Nanao (ninety minutes). There is also a short line run by the Hokuriku Railroad that has multiple stops within the city of Kanazawa and a terminus in the city of Uchinada. The whole trip only takes seventeen minutes.

Toyama

2010-01-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

Of Interest: old Toyama, local history and folk museums, Itachi River

Lodging: multiple

Tourist Office: closed while the train station is renovated?

Int'l ATM: the main post office is just south of the station

Toyama has been an important industrial area for several hundred years. In old Toyama, visitors can see how medicines were made during Edo period. The area also contains Toyama Castle Park which is home to the local history museum and a folk museum which concentrates on the tea ceremony. (The buildings themselves are mostly not original. They are reconstructions dating from the 1950's.)

The Itachi River runs through this area as well. It takes a ten to fifteen minute walk to get to the edge of the interesting stuff which all takes a lot of walking itself. If you are not staying in Toyama overnight, put your bags in a locker at the station. You can also take the tramway to Old Toyama.

Toyama has a lot of commuter rail. Toyama City has several tramway lines, one of which serves the station, and a light rail line which passes the north entrance. The tramway company also operates a local train line that heads north to end in the northern part of Toyama Prefecture in Unazuki Onsen in Kurobe.

JR West runs local trains along the coast to Naoetsu and into to the mountains to Inotani, Toyama. (Inotani is the meeting point of JR West and JR Central lines.) Regular express trains take three and a half hours to get to Nagoya. These trains pass through Kanazawa, which gets the most frequent service from Toyama. Local trains take forty-five minutes, express trains half and hour. There are also occasional express trains to Osaka and Aomori.

Naoetsu

2009-12-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

Of Interest: I have no idea

Lodging: yes, two hotels

Tourist Office: yes, outside

Restrooms: clean, both inside and outside the station

Accessibility: almost, but not quite. There are elevators to all tracks within the station, and an escalator leading out of the building

Int'l ATM: There is a post office on the road that lead straight away from the station

Naoetsu is on the edge of of a suburb of Joetsu City. It exists because apparently it is on the dividing line between JR East and JR West. There is not even a quickie Mart near the station. Thank God for vending machines.

The station itself is comfortable, nicely decorated with lots of places to sit.

The ride between Nagaoka and Naoetsu is pretty, most of the time the tracks hug the coast. Naoetsu is on the route to Toyama and Kanazawa. Local trains take two hours to get to Toyama while Express trains only take an hour because they only make one intermediate stop. Those express trains continue on to Kanazawa which is two hours away. Those express trains take a little less than two hours to come from Niigata City. Nagaoka, on the line to Niigata, is about an hour and a half away by local train.

The Joetsu Shinkansen is named after the city here, but it does not even come that close.

Nagaoka

2009-12-27T19:25:00.001-07:00

Of Interest: multiple museums, downtown Nagaoka

Lodging: multiple, in all price ranges

Tourist Office: no, but maps of the town are available at the station

Int'l ATM: In the department store across the street

Internet Access: There is a single computer at the Int'l Center. Walk straight down the main street in front of the station to the Civic Center.

Accessibility: elevators at all train platforms

Nagaoka is a medium-sized city in the center of Niigata Prefecture. The city itself is inland, but a port village was incorporated into the municipal area in 2005.

The trains of the Joetsu Line head inland, most ending an hour and a half away at Echigo-Yuzawa station, a spa resort in the mountains, but some continue on into Gunma Prefecture. Both Echigo-Yuzawa and Nagaoka are also stops on the Joetsu Shinkansen. Naoetsu is also an hour and a half away, this time to the south.

There is no English on the signs in Nagaoka Station.

Niigata

2009-12-25T23:25:00.005-07:00

Of Interest: shopping, walkable river

Lodging: yes, but cheaper downtown

Internet Access: free in the station from 11 to 7

Tourist Office: outside the station, city information only

There are good restrooms in the malls attached to the station.

The area around the station is a major shopping area. The Shinano River is a 10-15 minute walk away. Downtown Niigata is another 15-20 minutes by foot. Downtown is very nice with lots of covered sidewalks. One of the arcades leads to the oldest park in Japan. An arcade the opposite direction leads to a street of temples.

These kinds of arcades are common in towns along the inland sea that borders Honshu to the north and west. The arcades make walking possible as these are the wettest parts of Japan. In particular, Niigata Prefecture is known for heavy snowfalls.

If you are visiting, I recommend getting a hotel downtown as they are cheaper than the ones near the station.

Niigata is the terminal station for the Joetsu Shinkansen which takes two to two and a half hours to get here. There are also there are also four express trains daily to Kanazawa. Multiple trains travel within Niigata Prefecture. Shibata is 25 minutes north by local train. Most trains head south. Nagaoka, a major transfer point, is 25 minutes by Shinkansen and and hour and fifteen minutes by regular train. The trip to Yoshida is 45 minutes.

To head north out of Niigata, go to Niitsu and change trains.

Note: Some platforms only have signs in kana, the Japanese phonetic script.

Sakamachi

2009-12-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

Of Interest: walkable town, solar energy research (not open to the public)

Lodging: no

Tourist Office: no

Int'l ATM: on the road to the right just beyond the curve

Restrooms: not good

The station is handicapped accessible.

The war between strip mall and cozy downtown, between car and train culture is active in Sakamachi. The town has the potential to be a really cool place if the chain stores don't strangle it.

Sakamachi is a major train depot within Niigata Prefecture. Sakamachi is forty minutes from Niigata by limited express. The trip takes an hour by regular train and you have to change at Shibata. Trains to Yonezawa take two to two and a half hours.

Yonezawa

2009-12-16T01:26:00.000-07:00

Of Interest: local beef

Lodging: ?

Tourist Office: yes, excellent but most of the pamphlets are in Japanese only

Yonezawa is a car-oriented town, and is not comfortable to walk around. There is historical park about thirty minutes from the station. It contains a history museum, a shinto shrine, and a local products store. There are a couple of restaurants serving local dishes here.

Yonezawa is famous for its local beef which is often served raw. It is good, but expensive. Yonezawa apples are also famous.

The city is two hours and fifteen minutes from Tokyo by Shinkansen. The Shinkansen takes thirty five minutes to get to Fukushima while the local trains take forty five minutes. Both trains use the same tracks; local trains take longer because they make more stops. You can also take a local train to the west coast at Sakamachi in Niigata Prefecture.

New address

2009-12-11T16:50:00.001-07:00

This blog has a new web address at www.asiantrains.net. The blogspot address still works, though.

Google set up everything for me which makes me happy

Kesennuma

2009-12-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

Of Interest: not much

Lodging: one hotel

Tourist Office: yes

Restrooms: Clean with toilet paper and soap

Int'l ATM: There is post office a five to ten minute walk from the station

Kesennuma Station is in a suburban area of Kesunnuma City. As such very little is within walking distance. The city is known for commercial fishing and for seaside tourism. The harbor may be in walking distance for someone who likes long walks.

Two JR lines serve Kesennuma Station. The Kesennuma line, which starts here, follows the coast for most of its journey before heading inland to end at Kogota, Miyagi. Kesennuma is in the middle of the Ofunato Line which runs from Sakari, Ofunato, Iwate to Ichinoseki in Iwate. Both routes are scenic although the Ofunato line from Kesennuma is entirely inland.

Rail Pass for the Klang Valley

2009-11-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

If you are visiting Kuala Lumpur or any other locations in the Klang Valley, RM150 ($45) buys a month of trips all transit operated by owned KLRapid. This includes Kuala Lumpur's monorail, the Kelana Jaya and the Ampang light rail lines, and all RapidKL buses. Called the RapidPass Integrated, it is for sale at all light rail stations and at major bus hubs.

In the past few years, the government of Malaysia has been taking over transit in the Kuala Lumpur metro area. The private entities that developed ran transit and built the light rail lines, did a poor job making it difficult for people to depend on the transit system. The result was one of the lowest rates of transit use in Asia as well as severe traffic problems and pollution.

Good Post on the Kyushu Shinkansen

2009-11-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know if any of you have read the Sleepy Tako's blog on Japanese culture, but he recently wrote a good post about the Kyushu Shinkansen and its pokemon.

Of course, I prefer the express trains. You can see more.

Kuji - stub

2009-11-17T15:54:00.004-07:00

Of Interest: Sanriku Railway

Lodging: yes

This small town in northern Iwate is the hub between the JR East's Hachinohe Line and the Sanriku Railway's tourist line.

If anyone has spent time in Kuji, it would be great if they could write something about this small town.

Sanriku Railway Company

2009-11-16T23:41:00.005-07:00

At some stations in Japan, you can see a picture of a train going over a gorge. That train is run by the Sanriku Railway Company The company runs two lines on single track that JR abandoned when it was privatized. The first runs from Kuji to Miyako, and the second from Sakari to Kamaishi, all in Iwate Prefecture. The company is still associated with JR, and JR passes will get you a deep discount on a one day pass. Train schedules are coordinated with the JR trains.

Most of the passengers are commuters, but there are a significant number of tourists and railfans on the north part of the northern line. We stopped three times on the part of the trip so that people could take pictures. Both routes are scenic. In fact, I kind of preferred the parts where we were actually moving.

The northern line trains are a single car with a restroom and a vending machine. The southern line runs multiple cars. A multi-car train runs over Sanriku's northern line on Sundays and holidays from April to October. The special trains are only 200 yen more than a regular train, but rail passes may not work on it.

Each station has a map with local attractions.

(This company may run one or two rush hour express trains from the southern part of their route to Sendai.)

Thailand to Laos by rail

2009-11-10T20:58:00.010-07:00

Laos has a single train station at Thanaleng on a 15 minute line that links Thailand and Laos through a bridge over the Mekong River. It connects with overnight service to Bangkok. Currently, the train leaves Nongkhai, Thailand at 10:00 and 16:00 every day. (It is my understanding that the train will wait for the Bangkok train.) The train returns from Thanaleng at 10:45 and 17:00.

Thanaleng is close to Vientiane, but is not part of the city suburbs. It is between eleven and thirteen kilometers to the center of the capitol, depending on the source you consult. If you can, try to arrange transport from the station to Vientiane in advance. Otherwise, taxis and tuktuks are usually available. There are no services near Thanaleng Station.

According to The Man in Seat Sixty-One, you can get a visa for Laos at the train station, but according to a member of the Asia Loco Shed Yahoo group, visas for overseas train travelers are only available in Bangkok. You can get Laotian visas at the border if you take a train to a different city and then take the bus into Laos. (There are current timetables for all of Thailand at the Asia Loco Shed Yahoo group. Cook is not accurate, but English langualge timetables are available once you are actually in Thailand.)

It is my understanding that you can walk from Nongkhai to Thanaleng and from there to Vientiane, that the main barrier it distance, not the condition of the roads.

I encourage people to use trains as a means of transportation, but if you just want to take the train, you can go to the station in Laos and then come straight back.

Here is video of the trip:

(Note: This post is not based on personal experience.)

Hachinohe line

2009-11-10T04:42:00.002-07:00

The Hachinohe line is set up for those environmentalists out there. Instead of air conditioning, this train has fans and open windows which is good because it was cold in northern Japan this summer. It is a beautiful ride, running through forests away from roads.

This two-hour long line runs from Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture to Kuji in Iwate Prefecture. It is mainly run by JR East, but the Japan Freight Company runs the line from Hon-Hachinohe to Hachinohe Station. The line runs every two to three hours. The Hachinohe line connects to the Shinkansen at Hachinohe.

(Today is a good day to publish this post. Someone came to my site today from a search for Hachinohe.)

Beijing to Shanghai

2009-11-01T12:49:00.006-07:00

by Vladimir Pariev

I made my trip on Chinese trains in the Spring of 2009. The building of the main train station in Beijing is large, grey coloured in a monumentalistic Soviet style of architecture. There is a spacious square near the railway station. It is not far from the city centre. Metro exit is located on the other side of the square from the railway station. There is also quite good and not expensive hotel across the square from the railway station. Despite the large spaces the main feature of big railway stations in China are crowds of people. Especiallyso the Beijing station, since it is in the capitol of China and many train lines go in all directions from Beijing.

I was on the trip together with my friend. Another Chinese friend bought us train tickets in advance. In China a passenger would need a ticket to enter the train station. Tickets themselves are bought in another building close by. There is a temporary storage room for the luggage, where one can keep bags for a small fee. After entering the station a passenger is supposed to wait for his train in a waiting hall. There are many waiting halls according to the categories of the trains. We took the overnight Z train to Nanjing. The waiting hall for Z trains has many seats, so we got a seating for our wait. Other halls for lower class trains has too few seating places, so they were crowded with thousands of people standing or sitting on the floor. There are many shops inside the railway station selling snacks and drinks.

About half an hour before train departure time, passengers are asked to proceed to the platform. Tickets are checked once again. Z trains have compartments with four soft sleeping berths each, two berths below and two berths above. Sheets, pillows, pillow cases, blankets,

towels are included. There is also hot water and a clean toilet in the train. Some light food is sold on the board the train. The train went from Beijing to Nanjing without making any

stops for 9 hours journey. Despite quite high speed (more than 120 km per hour) the train was pulled by a Diesel locomotive, which I saw at the head of the train.

In the morning we arrived at Nanjing station, which is also quite large. We needed to show our tickets at the exit from the railway station again. There is a separate exit door from the platforms,which leads directly to the street. Once having passed through this door, a passenger cannot reenter the station without having another ticket for another train. It is not possible just to stay for a while inside the station without intending to actually board a train. We took express D train to Shanghai. The train was electric, fast, going at the speed up to 250 kilometres per hour, but making five stops, and it took us about two hours to get to Shanghai.

Shanghai railway station is also large and more modern than the station in Beijing. It is crowded too and it uses the same system of tickets purchasing and waiting rooms as in Beijing. In front of the railway station there is a road busy with traffic, but people criss cross at all times. The exit from the metro station is located on the other side of this road. The building for selling tickets is in about 200 metres from the railway station building and there are some other buildings and a road in between. So, it is not easy to guess quickly, without reading Chinese, where they sell the train tickets. There are a number of hotels close to the station

and we stayed in one of them, which was quite good. We took another Z train from Shanghai back to Beijing. The train took 11 hours of non-stop travel in the night. The train had the same interior as the Z train from Beijing to Nanjing, clean and quite comfortable.

As a side note, all our neighbours inside the compartment (all together4 people on both Z train trips) were males. I do not know, if it isdue to rules for selling tickets, or whether some females initiallyhad tickets in our compartment but then exchange their berths with males from another compartment,or if it has happened by chance (with probability 1/16). This is different from Russian trains, where males and females are usually assigned sleeping places at random, in any compartments.

Purchasing train tickets in China is somewhat difficult to do in advance. The tickets are sold not earlier than 10 days before thedeparture of the train, except for Z trains, when the tickets can be purchased 20 days before the travel date. It is easy to buy tickets while in China, either at a ticket office close to a railway station or in some travel agency. As my Chinese friend told me, it is wise to buy a ticket 2-3 days before the long distance trip in usual times and one needs to reserve tickets 10 days in advance during peak travel times in China, like the Spring festival. Suburban tickets are always available right before departure, if a passenger is willing to stand in the train. If one wants to buy tickets before coming to China, the Internet travel agencies charge high fees for this. Fees amount to 50 per cent of the cost of the fare itself. I could not find any cheap English language travel agencies, which would sell train tickets in advance to me and resorted to asking Chinese friends in China to get the tickets.

Busan Ferry

2009-10-24T18:19:00.001-06:00

Of Interest: downtown Busan, including the Busan Film Festival (October)

Lodging: not within sight, but if you walk to the main road there are some within 10 minutes. Ask at the tourist office

Tourist Office: yes. Also a good travel agency

Int'l ATM: There is a branch of the Busan Bank in the terminal

Restrooms: Clean and recently remodeled

I had a roundtrip ticket, but I missed the return date. I was STILL able to use the ticket. People often tell me that the plane is more expensive than the ferry, but discount ferry tickets are as little at 100,000. There regular tickets are good for six months and you don't even have to call if you miss your boat. (I suggest that people do call and cancel, or the company might change that policy.) They are almost the same price as a discount plane ticket which cannot be changed at all.

I took the Beetle/Mirejet high speed hydrofoil ferry that runs to Fukuoka. Kangsan Travel sells tickets and travel packages for this ferry.

There are also overnight ferries to Fukuoka, Shimonoseki, and Hiroshima. Most English speaking travel agencies do not sell tickets to these ferries, although there is a travel agent in the ferry terminal that does. If you can speak a little Korean, it is worth it to check out a regular Korean travel agency for tickets and ferry packages.

If you walk straightish along the road that leads away from the ferry terminal, you will run into a major thoroughfare. From there you have two choices. Turn left for one of Busan's downtown areas (there are more than one) or turn right for Busan Station and KTX trains. There is a subway station at the intersection. It is probably a good idea to get a map from the tourist office before you leave the ferry terminal.

The center of this downtown area is a semi-pedestrian shopping area.

Songtan (Pyeongtaek)

2009-10-18T10:34:00.007-06:00

Of Interest - Osan Air Force Base, foreign restaurants, stores with foreign goods
Lodging - several hotels near the main gates of the air force base
Tourist Office - no
Nearest Int'l ATM - I would think there would be one nearby, but I don't where

Most people coming to my site from a google search are looking for Osan. While Osan is a nice little town, I don't think that is what they are looking for. I think they really want to go to Osan Air Force Base which is one subway stop to the south in Pyeongtaek.

To the west of the station is Osan Air Force Base. To the east is the town of Songtan.

The Air Force Base is a fifteen to twenty minute walk from the station. Follow the signs (in English). Between the station and the base are a wide variety of small shops and restaurants, many that serve foreigners, not just Americans. The last time I was there, I ate at a Pakistani restaurant that had an almost entirely Pakistani clientele.

The town of Songtan is a typical suburban town. The area is more modern looking and the buildings are generally bigger than those near the base.

Songtan is on line 1 of the Seoul subway, but I wouldn't go all the way from Seoul on the subway. Take the train to Pyeongtaek and then change. That is usually the quickest way whether you are coming from the north or south. Some trains do stop in Osan, but not many. The nearest KTX stop is at Cheonan-Asan. Go to Asan subway station to change for these trains if you are going to south to Daejeon, Daegu, or Busan. It will probably not save you time to take the KTX to Seoul. Asan is near the end of line 1, and not all subway trains go that far. Only trains that say they are going to Sinchang will go stop at Asan.

Fighting Climate Change - a good thing

2009-10-15T06:45:00.005-06:00

Here is a short essay on why fighting climate change can make us all happier based on examples from my own life.

In other words, here are the good things that have happened to me after I decided to only travel by public transportation, especially the train.

1. I met my first Korean friend the first time that I got off the train here.

2. I discovered a direction for my writing. (I do most of my writing on the train.)

3. I discovered a really interesting historic site with a fort that is over a thousand years and a building called a hanggyo. I was curious as to the meaning of "hanggyo" so I wrote is down. Later I read an essay where hanggyo were explained, and I remembered what they were. Which is good because the explanations on the tourist markers are wrong.

4. On a trip to visit my parents, I saw a canyon in the Rockies that is only accessible by train and river raft.

5. By randomly taking a bus from an old job, I found a lake that none of my co-workers knew about.

6. I am less sensitive to cold and heat.

7. Which led to me having a fantastic trip by train to the Grand Canyon. No air conditioning. In summer. Actually, perfect. (The Grand Canyon is not Phoenix, however.)

8. I was one of the only people who didn't complain about the heat on a group trip to Hawaii. (By the way Waikiki is a fake beach. There are much nicer beaches on just about every island.)

9. I will eventually think of something else. (See below and Netflix Origami.)

I want to give a shout out to the Sanyo Electric Railway for turning off the lights during the day. There was so much sun that I was getting sunburned with sunscreen on (and I do know to reapply). Also, to the train that had fans instead of air conditioning. Especially since the passengers could turn them off. Which they did. It was cold in northern Japan this summer. I was freezing and then I would get on the train and the air conditioning would be on.

Update: Here is someone who thinks that Americans don't think of bicycles as a form of transportation because they are too much fun. Fun in the Snow

Sintaein

2009-10-14T05:14:00.002-06:00

Of Interest: downtown of a small town
Lodging: no
Tourist Office: no
Nearest ATM: Nong-hyeop Bank next to the station plaza (There is also a Nonghyeop grocery store.)
Computers in station: no

I went to Sintaein, and there was nothing special there. I had a great time. I didn't find any particular tourist sites, but I had a good lunch and a good walk. The town spreads from one side of the station, and the whole place is walkable. Most of the residents are older.

While I was wandering around, I found a street of traditional style houses, many of which had the same design on their roof end tiles. The design looked a lot the crests that were the symbols of the old samurai families in Japan. This is the first time that I have seen something like this in Korea. Further research is needed.

Sintaein is on the Yongsan - Gwangju/Mokpo line in Jeoneup-si.

Photo or photos will be added as soon as my computer problems are fixed.

Hon-Hachinohe

2009-10-08T21:38:00.000-06:00

Of Interest: cheap (but good) fruit, downtown Hachinohe

Hotels: yes, scattered. Good prices.

Tourist Office: no

Int'l ATM: There is a post office in the station

One of the meanings of "hon" is origin, and Hon-Hachinohe is the original Hachinohe Station. It serves downtown Hachinohe. The city is scattered so there is a lot outside of downtown including the current Hachinohe Station.

The area in front of city hall is used for community events. To get there exit the station to the north, then walk up the street that is slightly to the left of the exit. I attended part of the local summer festival, Sansha Taisai. There were food vendors from many local restaurants in front of the city hall with local performers entertaining us on a stage to one side. A big part of the festival is the floats that go to different shrines during the festival. There was a booth explaining how the floats are made. I got to make my own miniature float.

Next to the station, there was a store selling fresh fruit for really good prices. Cheaper even than in Korea. There is also a local products store in this station and at Hachinohe Station.

Only one JR East line serves Hon-Hachinohe Station, a local line that serves the Hachinohe area.

Hachinohe

2009-09-29T05:14:00.004-06:00

Of Interest: changing trains

Lodging: budget hotels

Tourist Office: yes, in the station

Computer Access: no

Int'l ATM: according to Wikipedia, the is a post office in the "Yuri" building. It is not easily visible.

This station was called Shiriuchi Station until 1971 when it was renamed, and the original Hachinohe station, which is actually in downtown Hachinohe, was renamed Hon-Hachinohe. Hachinohe station is in a small suburb on the edge of Hachinohe. There is not much else in the area besides the train station. Bring something to eat or head into Hachinohe itself.

There is a large tourist office in the station. It is a good source of information, and it is the only tourist office in Hachinohe. If you are going to Hachinohe itself, make sure you get all the information you need before you head out. The tourist office also has information about Misawa, the location of a US Air Force Base.

Hachinohe is the last stop on the Tohoku Shinkansen. It is currently the only shinkansen stop in Aomori, although that is scheduled to change in 2012 when the Hokkaido Shinkansen opens. JR East also operates three other lines through Hachinohe.

Aomori

2009-09-29T05:12:00.002-06:00

Of Interest: downtown Aomori, ferry port

Lodging: multiple

Tourist Office: yes

Computer Access: in the tourist office

Int'l ATM: In a post office that is in a building to the right of the station. There is a sign, but you have to really look for it.

Aomori Station is on the edge of downtown. It is also right next to the ferry port which is attractively lit for a couple of hours each evening. The Aomori Prefectural Center for Tourism and Industry also has some pretty lights. The later is an interesting building; from the front it looks like a pyramid. (I don't have any pictures because the the lights turned off around the time that I got organized to take some.)

Aomori is famous for its Nebuta festival, and for a 5,000 year old prehistoric site, the Jomon Jiyukan. The Nebuta festival is within walking distance of the station. The festival is often listed as one of the three best in Japan. Many professional artists are commissioned to create floats for this festival. (I told I friend that I though it was very professionally done (which it is) and they said, "Hmm," like that was disappointing.)

In August there is a loop bus that goes to the Jomon prehistoric site as well as other tourist and cultural sites. Museums, historic buildings, and other things of interest to visitors are scattered throughout the city.

Local and intercity buses leave from the station plaza. JR East runs all the trains here. Aomori Station is the terminus for all lines. One line runs north into Hokkaido, one line runs east to Akita, and one line runs west to Hachinohe.

Aomori was the northern most stop on my July/August 2009 trip. After staying here one night during the Nebuta Festival, I started to head south.

Morioka

2009-09-27T03:09:00.006-06:00

Of Interest: walkable river, walkable city

Tourist Office: yes

Lodging: yes

The map from the tourist office indicates barrier-free restrooms, but the train station is not barrier-free.

The map from the tourist office is very practical. Not only does it list all of the museums, historic buildings, and picturesque views in town, it also tells you which ones have bathrooms and the location of traditional restaurants by cuisine. All color-coded.

I wish the person who designed this map had designed the station. It is not the most practical building that I have ever been in.

In addition, two different loop buses leave from the station, one specifically for tourists.

For more information on Morioka, go to Japan Food Guru which focuses on Morioka. I guess the food must be really good. Luckily, it is not expensive.

Morioka Station is served by multiple train lines. It is the northern terminus of the JR East's Tohoku Main Line and both the Tohoku and Akita Shinkansens stop there. Three other JR East lines also stop here as does the Iwate Ginga Railway Line.

Ichinoseki

2009-09-26T08:41:00.005-06:00

Of Interest: surrounding area

Lodging: multiple

Tourist Office: a small window next to the station master

Int'l ATM: none near station

Computer Access: none

Ichinoseki City Hall is apparently within walking distance of the station, but the area around the station does not feel like a downtown, but more like an entertainment district. Most tourist come to the area to go hiking in the surrounding mountains.

Ichinoseki Station is a stop on the Tohoku Shinkansen and the Tohoku Main Line, both operated by JR East. Ichinoseki is about half an hour from Sendai and two hours from Tokyo by shinkansen. It takes about an hour and a half to get to Sendai by conventional trains.

Blog Action Day 2009

2009-09-26T07:49:00.001-06:00

Climate change is the topic for this year's Blog Action Day (October 15).

What is Blog Action Day? "Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance." Bloggers from previous years chose the topic, so if we all blog together this year, we can help choose the topic next year.

I have a topic for my other blog, but I still haven't decided what I should do for this one. Is anyone else blogging about this? If so, what are you going to write about? What would you like me to write about?

Kogota (Misato)

2009-09-25T05:23:00.001-06:00

Of Interest: pleasant small town, changing trains

Lodging: No

Tourist Office: No

Int'l ATM: Kogota Post Office

Computer Access: none

Handicapped Accessible: Yes, fully

Bathrooms: Toilet paper, but no soap

Kogota Station is one of the best designed train stations that I have been in . It should be because this station is mainly a place to change trains. Kogota is a major transport hub for Miyagi Prefecture. It is a shopping and agricultural district of Misato, a small town in Miyagi Prefecture. There is a great deal of commuter housing in the area near the station.

As I was here during festival season, I got to watch a couple of dance performances at a local festival in a plaza across from the train station. This plaza is just up the main road from the station. The post office is also on this road.

The station is the terminus for three JR East lines. Kogota is twelve minutes from the nearest shinkansen stop in Furukawa by the Rikuu-tou line. Some of these trains continue on to Naruko-onsen which is about an hour away in the mountains to the east. The Kesennuma line takes about two hours and fifteen minutes to get to (surprise) Kesennuma to the north. The Minami-Sanriku line takes the same route, but because it has fewer stops, it takes an hour less. It also runs less often. The Ishinomaki line runs along the coast north to Onagawa. All of these lines run within the northern half of Miyagi Prefecture.

There are frequent trains to and from Sendai along JR's Tohoku Main Line. This line also goes to Ichinoseki, but trains are less frequent. Both cities are about forty-five minutes away.

Sendai "City of Trees"

2009-09-24T01:47:00.001-06:00

Of Interest: downtown, Chuo-dori Shopping Arcade

Lodging: multiple

Tourist Office: Yes, with lots of information

Computer Access: in the shopping arcade

Int'l ATM: Walk right from the station for 5-10 minutes to a 7-11.

Sendai is called the "City of Trees" because it is one of the greenest cities in Japan. It also one of the densest. These two things are not in conflict.

Sendai Station is downtown. Exit to the west and the second floor terrace turns into bridges that connect with nearby hotels and department stores. Go down to street level across from the station to find the Chuo-dori Shopping Arcade, a pedestrian street that extends from one end of downtown to the other. English language books can be found at Maruzen located on the same side of the street as the station.

The Loople Sendai bus also leaves from the West Exit area. Take this bus to get to Sendai's museums and area attractions, and to just see the city. A single ride is 25o yen while a full day costs 600 yen. Buses run from 9 to 4 all year round.

To me, it looks like local buses leave from the west side, while intercity buses leave from the east.

The Sendai Info Board is a website and magazine with information for foreign residents, some of which is valuable for visitors too. The magazine is available at the tourist office in the station.

Several JR East lines serve Sendai Station. The Senseki Line goes east to Sendai's suburbs and the ocean (including Matsushima), the Senzan Line goes west to the mountains and the city of Yamagata, the Tohoku Main Line runs north and south, and the Joban line runs south along the coast. The city also runs a single subway line and rail link to Sendai Airport. It takes about an hour and forty-five minutes to get to Tokyo by Shinkansen and about the same amount of time to go north to Hachinohe.

A two day pass for all buses trains in the Sendai area, including the subway, costs 2600 yen for two days. Both this pass and a Loople ticket can get you discounts at some tourist attractions.

Iwaki

2009-09-23T03:30:00.002-06:00

Of Interest: downtown Iwaki

Lodging: yes, cheap

Tourist Office: yes

Int'l ATM: Turn left from the station and walk until you see a giant 7-11 sign. There is an international ATM in that store.

The city is old; it was founded during the Nara period more than 2000 years ago. There is an old onsen in the mountains in Iwaki county. The city itself has few buildings that are very old, but it has quite a few that are older twentieth century and the town has a quaint feel.

The movie Hula Girls is based on events in Iwaki, and you can feel the connection to Hawaii when you walk down the streets.

The station is right downtown. The city library, a performing arts center and the city art museum are a fifteen to twenty minute walk from the station. There is what looks like a traditional entertainment street to right of the station.

Iwaki City is near the coast. From Iwaki Station trains head north and south on the Joban Line and west to Koriyama on the East Ban'etsu Line, both run by JR East. The nearest shinkansen station is in Koriyama.

Hitachi

2009-09-22T01:18:00.001-06:00

Of Interest: industry, seaside

Lodging: yes, including budget hotels

Hitachi Station handles more freight than people. This is predictable for town that saw the birth of one of Japan's largest industrial giants. Hitachi's headquarters are currently in Tokyo, but the company was founded here in 1910.

The Station is within sight of the sea. I wouldn't get off the train just to visit this part of Japan's coast, but it is probably worth the effort for someone who is in town already.

Hitachi Station is served by a single JR East line. This section of the Joban line that runs within sight of the ocean.

Mito

2009-09-21T00:18:00.008-06:00

Of Interest: Kadokan Hall, downtown Mito, Sakura River, Kairakuen Park

Lodging: yes

Tourist Office: yes (good maps)

Int'l ATM: Post Office near the north exit

Mito is the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture. It is located beyond the edge of Tokyo's suburbs. The road that angles left from the North Exit leads to downtown. The tourist office has a good English language map. I recommend picking it up before leaving the station.

During the Edo period, Mito was ruled by a junior branch of the Tokugawa family. There are historical buildings scattered throughout the city. The city's most famous tourist attraction, Kairakuen Park, is one of the newest. This park, considered one of the three best in Japan, was originally built in 1841 by Tokugawa Nariaki. Of interest is its plum forest. To get there, leave the station by the South Exit, and then walk right along the Sakuragawa (Sakura River). The walk is especially beautiful in the spring when the trees that the river is named for are in bloom.

Kairakuen Park has its own train station during the prime plum viewing times in late February and March.

Plums are the city tree, and plum trees are also located on the Kadokan Hall grounds. This was a school for boys of the Tokugawa clan. It was built next to Mito castle which no longer exists. Kadokan Hall is a ten minute walk from the North Exit of the station. In different directions from that exit are the Toshogu Shrine and the Natto Display House. Natto is a specialty of Mito.

Three JR lines serve Mito station. The Joban line runs from Ueno, Tokyo to Sendai. It runs along the coast north of Mito, and takes about an hour and a half to get to Mito by Express train. The Suigun line also runs north, but inland. This line meets up with the shinkansen at Koriyama, Fukushima. The Mito line heads west to Oyama, Tochigi. The Kashima Rinkai Railway also runs a line south to Kashima, Ibaraki in the north Tokyo suburbs.

There is also a direct bus from Narita Airport. JR, Kanto Railway, and Ibaraki-Kotsu buses are run from the railway. The map available from the tourist center gives the location of most buses from the train station.

Okcheon

2009-09-20T08:01:00.004-06:00

Of Interest: Fairly typical small Korean town

Lodging: no

Tourist Office: no

Nearest ATM: go left, then right to get to downtown

Okcheon is part suburb of Daejeon, part small town in North Chungcheon. It is twelve minutes from Daejeon Station by train, half an hour by local bus.

If this was a big city, I would say the station is downtown. However, because the place is so small, and it lacks big, straight roads, I have to say that Okcheon Station is more on the edge of town. To get to downtown, walk left than right for about fifteen minutes. It is not far, it is just not very clear how to get there.

At least two small rivers or streams run through town, and both have paths along their banks.

If you are interested in going into the surrounding mountains (hills), take the 607 bus. This a Daejeon city bus. It passes by a couple of trail heads. Look for signs and stop where hikers get on/off.

Keisei Electric Railway

2009-09-19T00:45:00.004-06:00

Keisei Electric Railway operates trains and buses in Tokyo and Chiba. It's main line serves eastern Tokyo and several Chiba suburbs including Ichikawa and Funabashi and ends at Narita Airport. It's second most used line runs within Chiba. It also operates a variety of short lines. It uses standard gauge trains which distinguishes it from JR.

The Keisei group includes multiple subsidiaries that serve Ibaraki as well as Chiba and Tokyo. For the most part there is a subsidiary for each line. However, the Kanto Railway runs two lines and buses between Tokyo and Ibaraki while the Tsukuba Tsukuba Kanko Railway operates a cable car, a ropeway, hotels and restaurants on Mount Tsukuba. Subsidiary lines usually use old (diesel) or very new technology. Keisei will be the main operator of the Narita New Rapid Line which will have a top speed of 160km/h. That will make it the fastest third sector railway in the Tokyo area.

It also has extensive real estate holdings. Through its majority share in the Oriental Land Company, it manages Tokyo Disneyland, and it runs the Maihama Resort Line which serves the resort area.

Toride

2009-09-18T02:14:00.006-06:00

Of Interest: one of Tokyo's bedroom communities

Lodging: no

Tourist Office: no

Lockers: small, medium, and large for only 100 yen

International ATM: In a 7-11 to the right of the station entrance

Toride is a transport hub for commuters going into Tokyo. It is only 40 minutes to Ueno Station by Joban line Express (JR East). The station is the terminus of the Joso line of the Kanto Railway (Keisei subsidiary).

The city of Toride has several train stations. It is hard to tell Toride Station is downtown or not. There is a small department store near the station, but few buildings of note.

Update: A couple of things have made me think about this city again. Someone told me that he used to live in Toride, and today I saw a request for articles about doing "special" things in "exotic" places. I really like to feel the "ordinariness" of things. Toride is very "ordinary", but it left a vivid impression on me.

Part of my challenge for this website is to express the experience of walking out of the station. Walking to end of the road that leads away from the station, walking back, seeing certain kinds of buildings near the station, seeing other (smaller) building further away, eating at the It0-yokado, going to the 7-11, very ordinary things.

Ito-yokado is like Target, and it is places like that that show you what a country is really like.

Moriya

2009-09-17T08:27:00.005-06:00

Of Interest: a suburb of Tokyo

Lodging: one budget hotel

Tourist Office: no

International ATM: no

Lockers: small and medium

Handicapped Accessible: yes

Moriya is at the intersection of the Tsukuba Express and Joso Line of the Kanto Railway. Originally, Moriya was the intended terminus of what became the Tsukuba Express, but Ibaraki Prefecture lobbied to have line go all the way to Tsukuba.

The shops and restaurants in the station are the focal point of the immediate area, although there may be a mall in (far) walking distance.

Hakata, Fukuoka

2009-09-16T01:56:00.004-06:00

Of Interest: temples, Kushida shrine, Canal City Hakata

Lodging: multiple

Tourist Office: yes

Hakata Station is the main JR station for the city of Fukuoka. It is also a stop on the subway, but Nishitetsu trains do not stop here.

The tourist office has extensive materials in English both on the city and Fukuoka prefecture. From the station, you can walk to the oldest Shingon temple in Japan, Tochoji. Jotenji is nearby. It was built in 1242 and may have been the orginal home of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival. This festival is currently hosted by Kushida Shrine which is a little further away, maybe a twenty to thirty minute walk. Nearby is Canal City Hakata, the biggest mall in Fukuoka.

The Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival lasts for two weeks in July. Local businesses and associations build and display floats. At the end of the festival, each group carries its float in an early morning race. Each float has a different character which reflects the group of people who built it.

discount train tickets

2009-09-15T01:12:00.002-06:00

Seshun 18 is available during school holdays. Only 11,500 yen buys five days of travel on all local and rapid trains. Travel does not need to be on consecutive days, and more than one person can use the pass. For example, five people can use one pass to travel one day.

Tokyo Station

2009-09-14T08:55:00.004-06:00

Of Interest: Imperial Palace park, Ginza shopping district

Lodging: yes, expensive

Tourist Office: no

International ATM: post office near station (exit to the west)

Tokyo Station serves JR East trains, JR Central shinkansen, and Marounichi subway trains. It was originally built in 1914 as a way to connect lines originating Shinbashi with lines originating at Ueno. It is currently the main shinkansen station in Japan. You can go almost anywhere in Japan from here. Maybe not anywhere in Tokyo.

The original facade is still intact on the Marunouchi (west) side. Go to the Marunouchi side to go to the Imperial Palace. On the way, you can stop by one of the best English language book stores in Japan. You can see the building where the store is located in the picture above. The building has a clock and almost looks like it curves.

The Yaesu side leads to the Ginza shopping district. The main shinkansen exit leads to this side.

Walk south from either side to find cheap eats.

Shinbashi, Tokyo

2009-09-12T21:05:00.005-06:00

Lodging: Yes

Tourist Office: Yes, in the Yurikamome line station

Of Interest: shopping, original Shinbashi Station, downtown Tokyo

International ATM: see map for 7-11's

The area around Shinbashi Station is mostly offices. An office complex has been built around the original station building. (I recommend finding it. It is a nice little area.) However, Shinbashi is within walking distance of the Ginza shopping district and the Tokyo Station area.

JR trains, the Yurikamome line, Keihin Kyuko trains, and the Ginza subway all run through Shinbashi.

Ebisu, Tokyo

2009-09-11T23:53:00.004-06:00

Lodging: yes

Tourist Office: in old brewery complex

Of Interest: Original Yebisu Brewery museum, Yebisu Garden Place

Internet Access: in Yebisu Garden Place

Ebisu is a quiet neighborhood in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. The neighborhood was named for the beer that was brewed there. Today the brewery is a museum and is surrounded by a commercial development called Yebisu Garden Place. This area contains many restaurants, a luxury hotel, two museums, a department store, some small shops, offices, and even some residences. Sapporo Beer has its world headquarters here and owns the development. The company still brews Yebisu Beer, just not here.

Ebisu Station serves two lines of JR east and the Hibuya subway line.

Shibuya, Tokyo

2009-09-11T08:00:00.004-06:00

Of Interest: shopping, entertainment district

Lodging: multiple
Tourist Office: Probably yes, but probably unfindable
International ATM: post office (check map in the station plaza)

Computer Access: multiple internet cafes with good prices
Accessible: No, lots of barriers, lots of stairs

Shibuya is the fourth busiest railway station in Japan and the single most confusing train station that I have ever been in. Almost every line has its own little station so you have to change stations to change trains. The Ginza line is inside Tokyu Department Store. Other changes require walking through a mall.

Shibuya Station is in the middle of Shibuya Ward's central commercial district. The area is very businesslike during the day, but at night it attracts young people from all over Tokyo. Because of the variety of people the area attracts, you can find almost any kind of leisure activity. Prices are very reasonable here. If you are looking to save money by staying overnight at an internet cafe, this is the place to do it.

JR East, Tokyu Corporation, and Keio Corporation serve Shibuya Station. JR trains all come to one set of tracks, but there are two different Tokyu station areas. (They want you to walk through their store and buy something.) Three subway lines also come here. Ginza comes into the third floor of the department store while the Hanzomon and Fukutoshin lines run underground. You can change between those two lines without going through a ticket gate.

Here is a review of a Shibuya area hotel, the Granbell Hotel, by Aki, one of my favorite bloggers. Another post on the same hotel has a nice picture of a typical Japanese breakfast. Yum.

Yurikamome Line

2009-09-10T02:55:00.001-06:00

The Yurikamome line is an elevated train that serves the artificial island of Odaiba. It starts at Shimbashi Station, runs over the Rainbow Bridge to circle Odaiba before running back north to end at Toyosu Station to the north east. The train itself is a tourist attraction as well as a means of transportation.

In 1853, Egawa Hidetatsu built six artificial island fortresses in Tokyo Bay to defend the city (then called Edo). Daiba means cannon battery, giving the islands their name. The islands were expanded in the early 1990's. Construction of new land was halted in 1995 because the area was full of vacant lots and many of the companies attempting to develop the area were bankrupt. At least one of the original islands, No 6 Battery (Dai-Roku Daiba) was not joined up with others.

The first section of the Yurikamome line did not open until 1995, the year that Odaiba's construction stopped. Before that, the Rainbow Bridge was the islands only physical connection to the mainland.

Originally, zoning only permitted commercial buildings and housing. But in the second half of the 1990's, other kinds of development were allowed. Two beaches were developed (no swimming) along with a park, an artificial onsen, malls, movie theaters, restaurants, hotels, and other entertainment facilities. Today the island is a good example of successful mixed-use development.

The most recent addition is a life-sized statue of a Gundam.

Asakusa, Tokyo

2009-09-09T02:37:00.012-06:00

Of Interest: Senso-ji temple, Sumidagawa River cruise, Asakusa shrine

Lodging: multiple, including many budget hotels and ryokan

Tourist Office: between the metro station and Senso-ji

Lockers available: small and medium

There are two Asakusa Stations. One serves the Ginza and the Toei Asakusa subway lines as well as the Tobu Isesaki line that heads out of Tokyo into Saitam, Tochigi, and Gunma Prefectures.

The second one is a stop on the Tsukuba Express. The Tsukuba station is fully accessible with small and medium lockers. It is also fully handicapped accessible. It is an attractive station with murals of the history of the area.

And Asakusa is a good area for history buffs. Asakusa was a village in ancient times that was absorbed into old Edo. Asakusa is Tokyo's oldest entertainment district and is a good place for traditional culture. Asakusa still has geisha houses and other forms of traditional culture.

The main tourist attraction is Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple. Originally built in 645, the temple and its grounds were mostly destroyed during WWII. On the temple grounds is a tree that was almost killed by a bomb during the war. The tree regrew from the burned stump, and this symbolizes the reconstruction of the temple. Asakusa shinto shrine is next to the temple.

There are also museums in the area. Tepco Asakusa (Folk Museum) is near the Tsukuba line station.

To help people get around, there is a local loop bus.

There is an excellent blog post about Asakusa at the Tokyo Dreaming blog including pictures that express the feeling of the place.

Observations on Transport Quality

2009-09-07T21:39:00.005-06:00

I have noticed that trains are popular in Japan, but that trains there are sometimes not very comfortable. Buses are heavily used in Korea, but many definitely are not comfortable.

I think that there are a couple of reasons for this.

First, a certain percentage of passengers use public transportation because they are environmentalists. These people will use gravitate towards the most common forms of public transportation.

But I don't think that is the most important reason.

When a form of transportation is not so popular, governments try to make it comfortable to attract people. Or at least justify operating it. So in Japan buses are comfortable even when they are slow and don't go where you need them to when. Aichi Prefecture's private trains are some of the most comfortable trains in Japan. Because buses don't fill in the gaps between the train lines very well, people realistically need cars. The area is relatively prosperous, so most can afford a car. So the trains have to constantly compete.

In Korea, bus ridership apparently will never drop below a certain level, no matter how awful the buses are. Trains are another matter. So trains are comfortable. (Unless they are overbooked.)

Odawara

2009-09-07T08:49:00.007-06:00

Lodging: multiple

Tourist Office: Yes

Of Interest: castle, shinto shrine, museums

Odawara is a small town on the edge of greater Tokyo. It is important historically with significant settlements dating from Jomon times. It lost its importance in the 19th century when Yokohama took over as the most important city in Kanagawa.

The focal point of tourist interest is Odawara Castle park. Within the park are some original castle buildings, a reconstruction of Odawara Castle, three museums, Hotoku Ninomiya-jinja shrine, and a formal garden. In the surrounding area there are some small museums dedicated to traditional industry and small historical sites. Overall, Odawara is a good place to visit to learn about life 200 years ago.

Odawara is a major transit point for people going to the Hakone hot springs and Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Six different JR lines serve Odawara station.

Jeonju

2009-09-06T05:13:00.002-06:00

Lodging: motels

Tourist Office: Yes

Of Interest: station is at the edge of town

Jeonju is mainly famous for its festivals, especially for its annual film festival. Unfortunately, Jeonju is not very accessible by train. The train station is not within walking distance of downtown, and trains only run about once an hour. They can sell out during festivals.

Until a couple of years ago there was a Jeollabuk-do commuter train that ran from Gunsan to Jeonju, but that has been discontinued. I am curious about what happened to the people who lived near the stations.

Jeonju is a good place to visit. The tourist office has lots of information about what to do in Jeonju and about how to get there as well as about the surrounding area. Besides festivals, Jeonju is rich in museums and artists. There is also a section of traditional houses that is near a Confucian shrine that was important during the Joseon period.

Kakegawa

2009-09-04T23:58:00.002-06:00

Lodging: one somewhat expensive hotel

Tourist Office: near castle?

Of Interest: castle

Note: There are no clean restrooms near the castle.

Kakegawa is a small town of a little over 100,000 people. JR Tokaido Shinkansen, JR Tokaido Main Line, and Tenryu Hamanako trains all stop here.

Kakegawa castle is a small building set in an attractive park next to a small river about twenty minutes from the station. The castle was rebuilt in the 80's. To get there walk straight ahead away from the station. There are signs in both English and Japanese. According to those signs, there is a tourist office close to the castle, but I did not see when I walked by. I think it is one of the souvenir shows.

Norries - small trains in Cambodia

2009-09-03T23:57:00.009-06:00

Here is a link to a video showing locals building a train network when their government won't.

Bamboo Railway - Cambodia

Now the government is upgrading the tracks to connect the country to Thailand and Vietnam, and there are questions as to whether those trains will serve Cambodia's ordinary people.

I hope the trains continue to serve the villages in the mountains. Those areas are unlikely to see much train service, and the villagers might not be able to afford the fares.

Linimo

2009-09-03T07:10:00.004-06:00

The Linimo is a maglev (magnetic levitation) line in suburban Nagoya. It is operated by Aichi Rapid Transit Co. It runs from the Fujigaoka subway station in Nagoya to Yakusa, a station on the Aichi Loop Line, in Toyota. It was originally built to service Expo 2005.

The line is elevated so you get nice views of the area.

Honestly, I am not impressed by maglev technology. It is expensive and breaks down easily. I am also not a big fan of taking curves at high speeds.

With a top speed of 100 km/h, the Linimo is not particularly fast. Meitetsu trains reach 120, and these trains have more comfortable interiors.

Nagoya subway system

2009-09-02T03:42:00.002-06:00

Nagoya has a subway system with six lines, including a short connector line, Kami Ida. It is operated by the City of Nagoya Transportation Bureau. Parts of the Higashiyama and Tsurmai lines are above ground, but most of the system is below ground.

Fares run from 200 to 320 yen. The Yurika is the systems prepaid card. There are both regular and daytime only (cheaper) cards. There are joint Yurika for use on both subway system and the Aonami or Meitetsu trains. There are also multiple ride tickets and one day passes of various kinds.

Most stations in the system are not handicapped accessible.

Lines are as follows:

Higashiyama (yellow) crosses the city from east to west. Transfers to JR Kansai and Kintetsu Nagoya trains going east are possible at Hatta Station. Transfers to the Linimo maglev are possible at Fujigaoka. Transfers to multiple JR trains are possible at Nagoya Station.

Meijo (purple) makes a circle around Nagoya. Transfers to JR lines are possible at Kaneyama and Ozone Stations. The Yutorito line is also accessible from Ozone.

Meiko (purple and white) connects to Meijo line to Nagoya port becoming the Meijo line at Kanayama Station.

Kami Ida (pink) connects the Meijo line to the Meitetsu Komaki line. It only has two stops, Heian-dori and Kami Ida.

Tsurumai (blue) runs northwest to southeast. It connects to the other end of the Meitetsu Komaki line at Kami Otai Station. Tsurumai connects to the Meitetsu Toyota line at its other at Akaike Station. Connections to the JR Chuo line is possible at Tsurumai.

Sakura-dori (red) is Nagoya's newest line. It parallels the Higashiyama through most of downtown before turning south at Imaike. It turns east at Sakura-honmachi and ends a couple of stops later. Transfers to many JR lines are possible at Nagoya Station. Building on an extension to the east should start this year. Stations have elevators at some exits.

The Nagoya subway connects to three short commuter lines that are included on the subway map, but which require separate tickets: Limino, Aonami, and Yutorito.

Shin-Yamaguchi

2009-09-01T08:42:00.001-06:00

Lodging: budget hotels
Tourist Information Office: No
Of interest: good restaurant

Shin-Yamaguchi station is in suburban Yamaguchi. In other words, JR built a station in the middle of nowhere to save money. The second nicest things about the station area is some concrete with some water running through it.

The first most nicest thing is a really good restaurant. The best restaurant that I ate at during my trip. If I am in the area, I am going to go back. Even though I hate empty suburbs.

To get to the Green Park Mare, go right on the road in front of the station. The road will curve. The good restaurant is across from the McDonalds. I had the lunch special (heegawari?) for 880 yen. The Green Park Mare serves French influenced Japanese style lunches.

Like in that show, "Queen of Lunchtime Cuisine".

Kintetsu Railway

2009-08-24T00:04:00.007-06:00

Kintetsu Railway operates both intercity and commuter rail services in the Kansai region. Kintetsu serves Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Yoshino, Ise, and Nagoya. Kintetsu's main Osaka station is located in Namba.

Kintetsu offers two rail passes, both of which can be purchased from within Japan. 3,500 yen buys five days of unlimited rides on all of Kintetsu's ordinary trains and on the Iga Tetsudo and three vouchers. 6,800 yen buys that and unlimited rides on Mie Kotsu buses and discount coupons to area attractions. These passes are bought once you are in Japan.

The Kansai Thru Pass can also be used on ordinary Kintetsu trains running within Kansai.

Meitetsu

2009-08-24T00:04:00.005-06:00

Meitetsu trains serve Aichi Prefecture. Meitetsu also runs buses within the same area. It primarily serves to connect Nagoya with its suburbs as well as connecting that city with Gifu in Gifu Prefecture. Don't expect to see much countryside on most of their routes. Tourists are most likely to take a Meitetsu train to or from Central Japan International Airport (Centrair) which is south of Nagoya. Other major destinations include Inuyama and Toyota. Their eastern main line reconnects with the Tokkaido line at Toyohashi. In all Meitetsu runs between eight different lines.

Meitetsu trains have electronic displays that not only give destination information, but also display the train's speed. Top speeds are 120 km hour and trains rarely run slower than 70 km/hour. Meitetsu train cars look newer than those running in other parts of Japan, although they are probably just better maintained. The train I took looked the same as the Meitetsu trains that I took four years ago when I lived in Japan.

Their website also offers information about which stations are handicapped accessible. Click on the individual line that you want to take for this information. Most stations are not accessible, but at least the information is available. First class cars have accessible bathrooms.

Some trains supposedly require reservations, however you can always buy tickets from the conductor on the train without paying a fine. One day tickets are available, but I am not sure of the price at this time. Tickets are usually cheaper

Overall, they offer good commuter rail service.

Nagoya

2009-08-23T23:48:00.001-06:00

Lodging: multiple, mostly at the back entrance

Tourist Office:

Of Interest: ramen tour restaurants in the station, international center, downtown (20 mins.)

Tourist Office: in the center of the station

International ATM: post office to the left of the Sakura exit

Internet Access: international center

Nagoya station serves three different train companies, Meitetsu, Kintetsu, and JR Central. It is about a half hour walk to downtown Nagoya (Sakae). The shinkasen to Nagoya stops here. Three lines of Nagoya's subway system stop here.

Downtown Nagoya is about a twenty minute walk from the station walking straight down Sakura-dori after leaving the station by the Sakura (main) exit. The International Center is on the way. It has a good library with books, magazines and newspapers. The center also has information about Japanese classes and some local events. To get to both the International Center and downtown, take the Higashiyama (yellow) subway line.

Osaka/Umeda

2009-08-19T00:59:00.001-06:00

Lodging: multiple

Tourist Office:?

Of Interest: downtown Osaka

Internet Access: On the second floor in of Osaka Station in an office services store

International ATM: Osaka's main post office is nearby

Osaka Station and Hanshin's Umeda Station are basically across the street from each other in downtown Osaka. Umeda subway station is here also. Higashi-Umeda and Nishi-Umeda subway stations are connected to Osaka station through underground passage ways.

I vsisited this area a couple of times when I lived in Japan, but I did not spend much time here during my most recent trip. I remember the main kabuki theater was within walking distance, and that people were very friendly and helpful.

Sannomiya (Kobe)

2009-08-18T01:09:00.001-06:00

Lodging: multiple

When I was going from Himeji to Osaka, I was confused as to when I was actually going through Kobe. Here is what I discovered later.

Many lines connecting Kobe to other parts of Kansai do no actually stop at a Kobe station. If you want to go to Kobe, and can't find a station with Kobe in the name, look or ask for Sannomiya. This stop is a major transfer point, and I believe it is downtown. I know that there are several hotels in the area, including a couple with decent prices.

Sanyo Electric Railway

2009-08-12T23:37:00.002-06:00

Sanyo Electric Railway company operates train lines within Hyogo Prefecture. With the Hanshin Electric Railway Company, Sanyo jointly operates an express service from Himeji to Osaka`s Umeda Station. As of August 2009, ticket cost 1,200 yen. All day tickets for Sanyo trains cost 1,400 yen. All day tickets for both Sanyo and Hanshin trains are 1,700. A three day ticket costs 50,000 yen.

The Himeji train station has escalator access to the rails, but no elevator. There is no English on the information boards.

Cars are subway style. They were the only ones that I encountered in Japan that did not have the fluorescent lights on during the day. Lovers of natural light, take note.

The Kansai Thru Pass works on some Sanyo trains.

Himeji

2009-08-12T01:44:00.002-06:00

Lodging: multiple
Tourist Office: in the station building and next to the castle park
Of interest: Himeji Castle (world heritage site)
Internet Access: In the tourist office for 100 yen/15 minutes

Himeji is mainly known for its castle, a world heritage site. The entrance to the castle area is about 20 minutes walk from Himeji station through the downtown area. Expect to spend at least an hour going through the site.

Make sure you stop by one of the tourist offices. They have maps and information in English. Also, the videos they show are informative even if you don`t understand Japanese. The tourist office near the castle rents bikes, and the tourist office in the train station rents computer access. The computers in the station are good, but you have to stand.

Himeji City is the western most extent of the Sanyo Railway, a company with mulitple lines that serves a large part of Hyogo Prefecture and parts of Osaka. All day tickets are 1400 yen. The train from Himeji to downtown Osaka is around 1200 yen.

Himeji is a stop on the Sanyo Shinkansen. This train takes three hours to get to Tokyo going one way and two hours to get to Hakata going the other. Intermediate stops include Shin-Osaka (forty-five minutes) and Kyoto (an hour and a half) to the east and Hiroshima (one hour) to the east.

Of these destinations, ShinOsaka(one hour) and Kyoto (an hour and a half) can be reached by express train. In fact, the shinkansen takes the same amount of time to get to Kyoto as the express trains do. Express trains stop at both ShinOsaka and Osaka Stations. Regular trains only stop at Osaka Station and take about an hour and a half to get there.

Express trains head to Tottori Prefecture on the opposite coast, taking an hour and a half to get to Tottori City and two hours to get to Kurayoshi (Tottori).

Local trains make frequent twenty minute trips between Himeji and Aioi in western Hyogo Prefecture.

All trains are operated by JR West.

Mijushima Rinkai Railway (Kurashiki, Okayama)

2009-08-05T03:07:00.001-06:00

The Mijushima Rinkai Railway primarily transports freight between Mijushima Port and Kurashiki Station and within the Mijushima area. However, it operates one passenger line from the start of the port to the station. It is a one car train that mostly operates on an elevated track.

Mijushima Port is considered to be one of the best night time views in Japan. An elevated train is a pretty good way to see the sights.

Okayama

2009-08-03T19:16:00.004-06:00

Of Interest: Okayama Castle, Korakuen Garden, downtown Okayama, museums

Lodging: multiple
Tourist Office: yes
Nearest international ATM: There is a post office straight down the street in front of the station.

Nearby Internet: Yes. There are two internet cafes across the street from the extreme left of the station area.

Other transit: Okayama Electric Tramway has a stop in front of the station.

Okayama is the capital of Okayama Prefecture, and the train takes you right downtown. It takes about fifteen minutes to walk to Okayama Castle. Just walk straight from the station. This street will take you through downtown Okayama. The castle is nicknamed the Crow Castle because of its distinctive black lacquer walls. Korakuen garden is next to the castle. If you don`t want to walk, you can take a tram to both places. Okayam Orient Museum and the Okayama Perfectural Museum of Art are both near the castle area.

Okayama is a Shinkansen stop. To the west, ShinOsaka is about an hour to the east while Tokyo is about four hours away. To east Hiroshima is between 45 minutes and and hour and a half away. Hakata, on the island of Kyushu, is at the end of the line. Bullet trains take between 100 and 200 minutes to get there. (The faster times are usually by Nozomi trains which do not accept rail passes.)

Local trains take between an hour and an hour and a half to get to the northern border of Okayama Prefecture at Tsuyama. Going east, trains end just inside Hyogo Prefecture. Local trains take about an hour to get to Aioi. Both local (55 minutes) and express trains (35 minutes) go to Kamigori to the north of Aioi. Going west local trains take an hour and a half to get to the middle of Hiroshima Prefecture at Itozaki Station in the city of Mihara.

If you are going to Shikoku by train from Kanto or Kansai, you are probably going to change trains here. Both local and express trains take an hour to get to Takamatsu, the capital of Kagawa Prefecture. Kochi, the capital of Kochi Prefecture, can only reached directly by limited espress trains which take two and a half hours.