Transportation in Japan Chapter 1 (Yo Yo)

Riding trains in Tokyo

As one of the busiest cities in the world, Tokyo should be proud of its remarkable performance in city communications, especially its train system. If you come to Japan, you will be amazed by its excellent train system in many ways.

Japanese people, especially in Tokyo, usually like to ask each where each other live. Unlike in U.S, people tend to say street or block names, Japanese tell each other which train or subway station they use to get home. It shows that almost every Japanese uses train or subway every day in their daily life. As Japan is not a giant country, train is also major transportation of domestic travel, but not only city communications. You can get to most place in Japan by train with a reasonable amount of time.

Inside Tokyo, it is common to individuals spend 2 or 4 hours within train every day. Due to the high cost of rentals people are intend to leave farer from city centers. Wherever you go in Tokyo you take train or subway first, and then walk a little or take a bus. Bus routes are often short, since buses are normally running for certain areas. In addition, train stations are also regular meeting points for Japanese since it is simple to inform. Therefore, it will be nice to be familiar with some major stations of Tokyo city.

However, train and subway systems are convenient but complicated at the same time. There are too many lines of trains and subways in Tokyo city, and each line has different run modes, too. There are local, express limited express and other modes. Local is which the trains stop every station on the designed route. Express trains skip some non-busy stations and limited express trains only stop at most important major stations. It is important to not take the wrong train if your home station is a not a major stop. Otherwise you might need to take a lot extra time to get back. In contrast, if your home station is a major station, you do not want to take local trains because it cost a lot more time then take express trains. Different modes are really distinguished by colors; it won’t be extreme hard if you read signs carefully. Also, there are some simple lines which only supply local route, it is much easier to manipulate. I personally consider that taking trains in Tokyo is a subject of science due to its complication. You also have to care about directions because all platforms are close and similar to each other. It will be easy to make mistake, especially if you do not read Kanjis.

Some top major stations in Tokyo, such like Shinjuku or Shibuya, supply more than 10 lines. Those stations are huge and easy to get lost. It is totally possible to ride the wrong line if one doesn't read signs wisely. One of the greatest things about trains in Japan is that the waiting time are usually less than 15 minutes for all lines. Therefore, you won’t be too late for any appointment even if you miss one train, except if there is train accident. Yes, train accidents are common in Japan. It is another major cause of late trains beside rush hour and weather. Due to some reasons, jumping in to railways is one of the high rate suicide ways in Japan. Don't be too surprised when you hear the announcement called “jinshinjiko.”  And also don't be afraid of late for class, work or appointment, you will get a white paper with train stations’ seal to prove that those uncontrollable situations. How wise and humanized the system is.

Riding trains in Japan will be one of your interesting experiences.