JR East has announced that it will open a new train line that will directly connect Haneda Airport to Tokyo Station in the city center, cutting the total travel time down by half to just 18 minutes and making it easier for holders of a JR Pass to access the Japanese capital upon arrival.
Trains & Transportation
This section of our blog is dedicated to the public transportation in Japan, available for free to all Japan Rail Pass holders.
If you want to learn more about how to locate and take your trains from Tokyo or Kyoto stations; how to arrive in central Tokyo from Narita Airport, by taking the Narita Express (N’EX); how to ride the JR buses in the major cities or take the Miyajima ferry from Hiroshima, this section is for you.
You will also enjoy a number of comprehensive routes on how to arrive from one city to another; where to look for accurate online timetables; where and how to transfer between stations and more.
Harajuku Station Guide: Map, lines and attractions
Harajuku Station is located in the Shibuya area of Tokyo, Japan. It derives its name from Harajuku, a fashion and shopping district that lies to the east of the station. Harajuku district has been called “the center of Japan’s most extreme teenage cultures and fashion styles.” It draws youths not only from across Japan but from around the world.
Harajuku Station first opened in 1906 and the original structure offers a unique alpine facade. However, it has recently undergone renovations to include a state-of-the art new building. Today, it is the sixth-busiest station operated by JR East.
The Tohoku Shinkansen line: Travel guide
Japan is famous for its high-speed bullet trains. The fastest of these is the Hayabusa Shinkansen, which can be found on the Tohoku Shinkansen line in Honshu. An interesting feature of several Tohoku Shinkansen trains is that they offer only reserved seating.
This is rare among the shinkansen, so if you wish to travel on this line, be sure to make your reservations early! Green cars and Gran Class cars are available on most trains, as are standing tickets when all seats are booked. Continue reading “%s”
The Shonan-Shinjuku line: From Tokyo to Yokohama and Kamakura
The Shonan-Shinjuku line, inaugurated in December 2001, is a Japanese passenger train service operated by JR East that connects multiple destinations in the Kanto region of Honshu, Japan’s largest island, with the capital city of Tokyo.
Services on the Shonan-Shinjuku line run along sections shared by the Ryōmō Line, Takasaki Line, Utsunomiya Line, Yamanote Line, Yokosuka Line, and the Tōkaidō Main Line, and most can be freely used with the JR Pass. Although the line has no dedicated track of its own, it is treated as a separate service on railway maps and station information boards.
Kyushu Discover Rail Pass: On sale for a limited time
The Kyushu Discover Rail Pass is a discount regional train pass that Japan Rail is making available for a limited sales period, from December 11th, 2020 until March 29th, 2021.
Holders of this pass will be able to take advantage of the impressive discounts it offers to travel around the southernmost island of Kyushu during a limited usage period, which ends on March 31st, 2021.
Driverless Shinkansen Japan bullet trains to launch by 2028
JR East has announced that it will introduce driverless Shinkansen in Japan by the mid-2030s. JR Tokai could launch self-driving bullet trains even earlier, by 2028.
As part of its Change 2027 program, JR East previously conducted a series of driverless Shinkansen test runs in late 2021, using a 12-car E7-series bullet train. JR East allocated an estimated budget of 200 million yen for the trials.