Bit the bullet

[Roverlord off road spares]

Well last week I bit the bullet and booked our trip over to Japan. We will meet up with Brendon while is on his mid year break. He is going to be our guide over there and he can speak Japanese. Have a few weeks over there and we will be bring Brendon back as his host family has to kick him out . So he would have and to find accommodation for 9 weeks. I can see that Mario's suitcase will be filled with fishing gear as it is cheap over there.
Last time Brendon was over there( 2 years ago) he bought back some lures for his dad. Just looking forward to it as we have not had a holiday for over 6 years. As you guys know we are here 24/7 ;) Heather

[DiscoMick]

Sounds good. Make sure you take the Bullet Train - it is worth the experience.

[Roverlord off road spares]

We will be taking the bullet train to get around (JR line). You have to purchase the ticket over here you can not buy them over in Japan,for people that are coming from overseas.
The tickets is also good on a lot of there other lines as well, so we should be saving there as well. Booked 3 night in Osaka,Brendon it going to take Mario to the international fish market so it should be interesting for some that like fish alot:wasntme: I do not eat fish that much;) Heather

[NavyDiver]

Can you ship the nice second hand 12 month old Disco Brandon owned for 12 months back?

My cousins has been back for 10 years and yet to get to drive all the nice 12 month old cars he brought back every year:D

Have a great trip and enjoy the food and wonderful places and people.

[DiscoMick]

We will be taking the bullet train to get around (JR line). You have to purchase the ticket over here you can not buy them over in Japan,for people that are coming from overseas.
The tickets is also good on a lot of there other lines as well, so we should be saving there as well. Booked 3 night in Osaka,Brendon it going to take Mario to the international fish market so it should be interesting for some that like fish alot:wasntme: I do not eat fish that much;) Heather
Pretty sure from memory we just bought our tickets at the rail office at Narita airport, but I could be wrong.

[Roverlord off road spares]

The JR line ticket you can only purchase on line. You can not purchase them in Japan. You can purchase them in France that there the ticket come from. But if you a Japanese resident you can purchase them. All other lines you can purchase over there. The Jr tickets are handy as you can use them on most of there other lines, and some buses.

[DiscoMick]

The JR line ticket you can only purchase on line. You can not purchase them in Japan. You can purchase them in France that there the ticket come from. But if you a Japanese resident you can purchase them. All other lines you can purchase over there. The Jr tickets are handy as you can use them on most of there other lines, and some buses.
It's a while back and we had Japanese friends with us, so that may explain it.

[Gumnut]

Konichiwa, waitasiwa Gumnut des (or something like that anyway)
The JR Pass is purchased before arrival in Japan, is valid for a nominated number of days, and is validated at first use, typically on arrival at Narita to initial destination.
It is probably not really worth having if you are hanging around in Tokyo for the first few days, but is really worth having for high value trips like Narita to Sapporo or Hiroshima. Consider planning to end the pass on arrival at Tokyo
Nearly all JR staff are pretty fluent in English, and can easily understand desired destinations and time tabling, and provide information. The trains run on time. Period.
The bullet trains (Shinkansen) usually need booking, and different "companies" operate different areas. Other JR trains are "super rapid", "rapid" and "local". The local is probably faster than the fastest Australian train. Beware that there are a lot of private lines that will look at a JR pass as if it was a funnel web spider!!
When booking a Shinkansen you get a ticket. If you have a zonk, there is usually a slot at the back of the seat in front for the ticket to go in. That way the incredibly polite ticket dicks (every trip) don't wake you up!!
Apart from the Land Rover factory, their best factory tour ever was the bullet train factory near Sendai. I am not sure how it fared in the tsunami...
Anyway, I have used JR passes a fair few times the last 30 years, and they are, without a doubt, the best way of seeing a lot of the country....
Gumnut

[Dopey]

Can you ship the nice second hand 12 month old Disco Brandon owned for 12 months back?

My cousins has been back for 10 years and yet to get to drive all the nice 12 month old cars he brought back every year:D

Have a great trip and enjoy the food and wonderful places and people.

A 1993-1998 Honda Crossroad is usually cheaper to purchase than a Land Rover Discovery of the same vintage... And just the same except for the badging.

Mike.

[Roverlord off road spares]

Yes the JR line is the best way to get around, we are flying in to Kansai first where Brendon will meet us. Have a few days in Osaka and then on to Kyoto, and we will be traveling around from there, he seems to know the public transport system over there. Brendon has been over there twice once with when he was in year 11 and a year and half ago with his friend. And now studying at Kansai uni for 12 months.. So he will be showing us all the place around Japan. Once we have had enough we will start heading for Tokyo for a couple of days where we fly out from.

[DiscoMick]

That Shinkasen is great - better than flying.
Imagine if Australia had a high-speed rail network from Cairns south through Brisbane and Sydney to Melbourne and then to Adelaide and across the Nullabor to Perth - it would be wonderful.
I see one feasibility study predicted only 3-4 hours Sydney-Brisbane and similar Sydney-Melbourne - why would anyone fly?
The airlines would poo-hoo the idea of course, but that's just them protecting their little duopoly. Vested interests should be ignored.
There are large enough populations in our capital cities to justify the cost, which could probably be recovered in 20-30 years, and the cost would be outweighed by the benefits. I'd certainly take a high-speed train from Brisbane to Sydney rather than driving or flying. By the time you allowed for driving to the airport, waiting and boarding, the actual flight and then travel at the other end, the train would be a great choice.

[Roverlord off road spares]

Australia should take a leaf out of there book, there train run on time. And there ticket system is the best, not like ours with all it's hiccups, example slow tops up on line etc.:wasntme: