Gastronomic Encounters

Tokyo to Osaka

@ Monday, 27 October 2014

Travelling from Tokyo to Osaka is approximately the same distance as Sydney to Gold Coast(... I think).There are several different options for travelling between the two cities: overnight bus, normal train, shinkansen and flying by plane. Overnight bus is the cheapest and longest option. Flying is quicker than trains, but you would have to get to the airport which is a bit of a trek in itself.

We opted to catch the Shinkansen because it is a highlight of travelling in japan and we wanted to experience it! (I think I fly planes enough between syd and Gold Coast!) There are 3 types of shinkansen: Kodama, Hikari and Nozomi. With a JR pass you can ride on the slower two of three - Kodama and Hikari. To ride the Nozomi you would have to purchase an extra seat at the station.

From what I could see on the boards at the station, the Nozomi was the most frequent (every 20 mins) whereas the intervals between the other two seemed more. On the Nozomi it takes around 2.5 hours. I think the lady at the desk said that the others would take maybe an hour more? If you're catching that you'd have to double check that.

I pre-purchased our shinkansen on japanican.com. Worth it! 22000 yen each for return tickets to Osaka with a day pass of travel included (didn't end up using it though). It was really easy process to exchange the vouchers at the station (instructions are given to you when you purchase the tickets as to how you exchange the vouchers). I should add that if you are going to several tickets, it might be worth to get a JR pass for the extended travel between cities as it can be pretty costly to ride the shinkansen.

I would recommend going a bit earlier to the station than when you want to leave because it takes them a bit of time to exchange the vouchers as there may be a bit of a queue. Also, I'd recommend to catch the shinkansen from Tokyo station - you get a choice of catching it from Tokyo or Shinagawa station. Tokyo is better as it is the end of the line and if you are going in a group and want to sit together then you're more likely to be able to there.

With a ticket from Japanican, the seat is an unreserved seat meaning that you are restricted to sitting in certain carriages. The carriages that you can sit on with an unreserved ticket is posted on the sign telling you where the shinkansen is going.

Once inside the carriage, there isn't any luggage compartment so you put your luggage between your legs and the chair. It's a little squishy! Me and wink had trouble fitting everything in (2x luggage, 2 x country road bags). It was okay though, time passed quickly whilst riding the shinkansen. I think the various stops along the way helped ( Shinagawa, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto).

It is important to note that the shinkansen goes to Shin-osaka, NOT osaka. They are two different stations! We stayed at the Hearton Hotel NishiUmeda. Nice hotel, reasonably priced. It is a 5 minute walk from the Sakurabashi exit of Osaka Station. Osaka station, like Tokyo station, is massive!

I found that Osaka was not as easy to navigate as the Tokyo rail system. Especially at Osaka Station! I thought that I had picked a really convenient hotel, but it was actually about a 20 minute walk to the subway line (Midosuji Line) to get anywhere (e.g. Namba for Dontonburi). There is quite a bit of signage but sometimes the signs just *disappear* and you get lost in the labyrinth of underground shops. It takes a few times of walking to get used to it.

Summary of tips for riding Shinkansen:
- board from tokyo station
- if you aren't going to many cities, buy a ticket off japanican.com
- if you have an unreserved ticket, sit in an unreserved carriage
- on the way from tokyo to osaka, sit on the right side to see Mt fuji !

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