#131 JR Pass June 2016

The JR Pass is a discounted railway ticket that allows for almost unlimited travel on trains (including the bullet train) in Japan for a set number of time, usually one or two weeks. It is only available to buy in advance outside Japan (either online or via travel agent) and it is for foreign tourists to Japan.

It is not for people who live/work in Japan. It is not available to buy in Japan.

A 7-day pass is about 29,000 yen and considering the return trip from Tokyo - Kyoto is 26,000 this pass can offer absolutely huge discounts. This is probably also why foreigners coming to Japan for work are so desperately blind to the fact it's unavailable to them. It's hard to accept that you have to pay regular Japanese prices and be bankrupted each train you take.

Anyway, since this is such a recurrent issue with so many people I thought I'd post about it again in case someone has missed it.

The hugely misleading headline of this article from April 2016 led many to believe that you can now buy the JR Pass in Japan.

But if they had actually read the article, they would have seen that what it actually says is “Japan Railways Group (JR Group) plans to make the value-for-money passes available to visitors....”. The key words in the sentence being plans and visitors.

So if you’re coming to Japan on JET or with another English teaching company/just to work in general/live here and do nothing, no you still can’t get the pass. 

And if you have people coming to visit, for now they still have to buy online in advance, and with my inside knowledge of Japanese bureaucracy it’s likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future.

#129 Hamamatsu, Japan

Hamamatsu is a city on the Shinkansen line about halfway between Tokyo and Osaka.

Ieyasu Kun at Hamamatsu Castle

It has a population of about 800,000 people. It is home to Japan's cutest mascot Ieyasu-Kun, and is famous for it's japanese eel unagi.

There are a number of attractions in Hamamatsu, the most apparent being the only skyscraper in Shizuoka Prefecture, Act Tower. For a small fee of around 500yen you can get a great view of all of Hamamatsu from the top.

Hamamatsu has a small castle, which was built by the famous shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa (who also inspired Ieyasu-kun!).

Hamamatsu is also sometimes known as the City of Music, and is home to the Yamaha world headquarters as well as a music museum.

However, most of the attractions are near a big lake called Hamana-ko.

About a one hour bus ride from the city, you can find many attractions such as Hamamatsu City Zoo, Flower Park, Kanzanji Onsen (hot spring), an amusement park, cablecar and boat rides.

One of the best times to visit would be during the Hamamatsu Festivall, which is held during Golden Week every year. There, at Nakatajima sand dunes, you can find different neighbourhoods take part in kite battles in the sky!

Hamamatsu has many hotels, so it is convenient as a hub for visiting other places in Western Shizuoka such as Kakegawa which has a castle and bird park, Kikugawa which is famous for it's green tea fields and Iwata which is home to the EcoPa stadium which hosts music concerts and sporting events.

Access

The Shinkansen from Tokyo takes either 1.5/2 hours and costs 7,700 for an unreserved seat. There is also a 4 hour highway bus from Shibuya/Shinjuku for 3,800 one way or 6,700 return.
From Nagoya Chubu Centrair Airport it's about a 2 hour direct bus for 3,200.
From Osaka it's either 1.5/2 hours and 8,400 for an unreserved seat.

View of Hamamatsu city from Act Tower

#110 Osaka, Japan

I went to Osaka after spending 2 action packed days in Kyoto. My feet were blistering, my legs had turned to jelly and I was exhausted. But I persevered!!

However, if you have time to spare I would recommend scheduling some down time as I felt very rushed (working in Japan = very little vacation time) and I felt I couldn't properly appreciate all of Osaka because I had overdone it in Kyoto.

OK! So would I recommend it? Yes! It's only a short trip from Kyoto (30mins on the local train) so there is no reason why you can't fit it into your visit to Japan.

While Osaka castle is mentioned as one of the main sights, I didn't think it was the most exciting thing ever, and it was also a little awkward to get to. I also thought Shinsekai wasn't as interesting as the internet had led me to believe.

My favourite area was around Namba and Dontonbori - with all the restaurants and flashing neon lights. We also happened upon a flea market at Shitennoji temple, by far the best of what I've seen in Japan - but it only happens on the 21st and 22nd of each month.