Future Japan Trip Planning

[Phantom]

2 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

Want to include this page as well.  My iPhone tells me it says something to the effect that this is the original freight schedule for JR and local railways.

Both issues have maps with freight flows for the entire network but I only saw schedule pages in the 2023-2024 issue.  There may be more info buried in there that I cannot read.

TBH, I have not parsed through all the schedule pages but hope this helps.

Tony

Thanks, if this is freight specific it raises my hopes there might be a jr east or jr shinkansen exclusive book.

[UnfinishedKit]

PDFs of the current Tokkaido-Sanyo Shinkansen timetable are here. IIRC you could get paper ones in stations ticket offices. There were also paper ones for the Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen ones on paper as recently as 2022

 

regional books are available and kotsu will even print you a custom book with the specific tables you need.

 

However what you might want is the small format JTB book、JTB小さな時刻表、which is only B6 size.

 

if you don’t want to carry the book, Navitime, Google Maps, the JREast app and a bunch of other apps and sites will give you train times and live status. 

 

[Phantom]

3 hours ago, UnfinishedKit said:

PDFs of the current Tokkaido-Sanyo Shinkansen timetable are here. IIRC you could get paper ones in stations ticket offices. There were also paper ones for the Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen ones on paper as recently as 2022

 

regional books are available and kotsu will even print you a custom book with the specific tables you need.

 

However what you might want is the small format JTB book、JTB小さな時刻表、which is only B6 size.

 

if you don’t want to carry the book, Navitime, Google Maps, the JREast app and a bunch of other apps and sites will give you train times and live status. 

 

This was exactly what I was looking for! It looks like there is even an app (It says it has english, but I can't seem to find where language is in the app) I can get too, thank you so much!

Edit, it looks like I can get the physical copy at Yodobashi camera in Koriyama if I order it ahead of time to be available for pickup. https://www.yodobashi.com/ec/product/stock/100000009004080565/

Edited February 11 by Phantom

[UnfinishedKit]

i think the English language version of Navitime is called Japan Travel, can’t vouch for it, I’ve never used it, but the Japanese version of Navitime remains a lot more functional than Google Maps.  
 

The English version of the JR East app appears to have been discontinued. 

 

[Phantom]

It looks like the kato 10-1255 is probably out of stock since it's 4 years old. Kato 10-2096 should be in stock, but I am uncertain if it has dcc compatibility as there is no mention in product description and it isnt in the google sheets I found on here somewhere. If any of the kato experts here might be able to shed any light on that, that would be helpful as I could maybe get both at yodobashi camera. Never mind, that's still under preoder. Seems like my best bet for the 10-1255 is to track it down at a smaller shop preowned maybe. 

 

Edited February 11 by Phantom

[UnfinishedKit]

5 hours ago, Phantom said:

Edit, it looks like I can get the physical copy at Yodobashi camera in Koriyama if I order it ahead of time to be available for pickup. https://www.yodobashi.com/ec/product/stock/100000009004080565/

You can also have it shipped to your hotel to be there when you arrive. Japanese hotels are very well set up to receive packages for guests in advance as this is how a lot of luggage arrives. 
 

At your vendor of choice (Amazon Japan works well) enter the name and address of the hotel, your name and append your Check In date. I normally just have them write CHECKIN YYYY-MM-DD in the name field after my name. 
 

Sometimes they’ll put the packages in your room, sometimes there is a desk to handle deliveries if the hotel is a big one. 
 

You can also have stuff delivered to the JAL ABC or Kuroneko Yamato counters at the airport. I normally send a couple of cases of sake and my luggage, just pick it up and check it in.  

[Phantom]

11 minutes ago, UnfinishedKit said:

You can also have it shipped to your hotel to be there when you arrive. Japanese hotels are very well set up to receive packages for guests in advance as this is how a lot of luggage arrives. 
 

At your vendor of choice (Amazon Japan works well) enter the name and address of the hotel, your name and append your Check In date. I normally just have them write CHECKIN YYYY-MM-DD in the name field after my name. 
 

Sometimes they’ll put the packages in your room, sometimes there is a desk to handle deliveries if the hotel is a big one. 
 

You can also have stuff delivered to the JAL ABC or Kuroneko Yamato counters at the airport. I normally send a couple of cases of sake and my luggage, just pick it up and check it in.  

I think I will opt for this then. Having it ready for delivery at Yodobashi would likely require a similar amount of effort.

[Phantom]

So I've been looking at the E3/E8 document and the schedule and I can't figure out where the E3's are going when they get to Yamagata. There is a depot just south of Yamagata. But, the net northbound moves is greater than south so there should at some point be a repositioning move south, I am unsure when though. With only about one daylight train scheduled a day the possibility of a repositioning move would increase the number of opportunities to see the E3. I feel like I'm missing a large piece of the operational puzzle.

Edited February 11 by Phantom

[kuro68000]

17 hours ago, chadbag said:

 

Yeah local busses may be hit or miss.  I may have ridden busses that didn't take IC cards.  I don't remember recently having the issue and the bus we used to take a lot we no longer do since my MIL passed and we base at my wife's sister's place now.  Always good to have a small amount of cash on you.

 

 

I've been on some that were cash only, although from memory they were 100 yen flat fare. But there were some that had IC card readers by the door, but they didn't work with Suica. Nothing happened when I tapped, so I had to take a ticket.

 

They don't give change so ended up over-paying for the ride. No big deal but it's another thing to remember to bring change and some 1000 yen notes to break up.

[kuro68000]

8 hours ago, UnfinishedKit said:

i think the English language version of Navitime is called Japan Travel, can’t vouch for it, I’ve never used it, but the Japanese version of Navitime remains a lot more functional than Google Maps.  
 

The English version of the JR East app appears to have been discontinued. 

 

 

Oh, that's really interesting. What advantages does Navitime have over Google Maps?

[Phantom]

My plans are mostly finalized now for 9 days at the end of this month (yes, I am actually going this time), but I am stuck on minor details for a few days. For example, the E2. I know it is supposedly running Nasuno services, but I am not sure if it is running any Yamabiko service and if it is how I could find out which trains. It would be nice to see it at speed rather than just stopping at a station.

Wider scope of my trip is almost entirely in the Fukushima area with a lot of time being spent between there and yamagata. Will make a trip up to Sendai area as well. End of trip will cover a day on Joetsu shinkansen and my flight out is very late on the last day, so that day will probably be a bit around tokyo.

Edited February 13 by Phantom

[UnfinishedKit]

Shinkansen Kenkyu suggests there a few E2s on Yambiko diagrams. 
 

https://shinkansenkenkyu.com/non-reserved-yamabiko/

 

they also mention that there’s a 10,000yen 4 day travel anywhere JREast pass open to Japanese and foreigners to purchase. It may be too late for your plans but worth noting trains will be busy especially at weekends. 

 

Edited February 13 by UnfinishedKit

[Phantom]

55 minutes ago, UnfinishedKit said:

Shinkansen Kenkyu suggests there a few E2s on Yambiko diagrams. 
 

https://shinkansenkenkyu.com/non-reserved-yamabiko/

 

they also mention that there’s a 10,000yen 4 day travel anywhere JREast pass open to Japanese and foreigners to purchase. It may be too late for your plans but worth noting trains will be busy especially at weekends. 

 

Thank you so much. Assuming nothing goes terribly wrong for JR they will stick to this?

[UnfinishedKit]

I just checked the JR東日本 app and I can see that yamabiko 216 is an E2, running horribly late and just north of Nasushiobara

 

[Phantom]

8 minutes ago, UnfinishedKit said:

I just checked the JR東日本 app and I can see that yamabiko 216 is an E2, running horribly late and just north of Nasushiobara

 

"Horribly late"= 18 minutes.
*Cries in Amtrak*

I wish that app was available in english still. Would probably make my life a lot easier.

Edited February 13 by Phantom

[Phantom]

I'm looking at staying in Chiba my first night after getting in from the airport. Does anyone know if the shiosai limited express into Tokyo around 7-730am is very crowded? I will have one piece of luggage so if it will I may swap to somewhere along the Keisei line that has an early morning skyliner departure as I am under the impression those trains are luggage friendly. I would be getting to chiba from the airport the previous night on the narita line local, but I wouldnt expect my luggage to be a problem as it will be late evening hours (probably past 9pm) going inbound towards tokyo.

I now see there is a Narita express at 0814, Chiba would not be a problem. If anyone know about the shiosai that would be helpful as I prefer the times it runs at.
Edit: I think the shiosai at 0707 would be ok. I am still not sure about luggage space, but the train is quite empty on the JR Pass reservation page so far, unlike the 0720. It is also possible this train could use an E259 set which is an airport express set.

Edited February 16 by Phantom

[Phantom]

The penalties for JR Pass reservations are unclear. If I miss my train and have to book another ticket what is the best course of action and what are possible penalties? I'm holding off booking anything for now regardless as my flight gets in quite late, as it is possible I will have to pick up the pass in Tokyo the next day since getting my phone working is a much higher priority at the airport and picking up the JR pass in Tokyo would affect which trains I would be using the start of the day. (Am now looking into sim/esim options).

[UnfinishedKit]

eSIM is so much easier. You can sort it out right now. I just roam but my wife uses Nomad, many others available,  she buys it a couple of days before leaving or whilst waiting at the airport. Activates it the moment they let you turn your phone on. 
 

there’s no penalties for missing a reservation, other than the slight pang of guilt for potentially depriving someone else of a seat. 
 

A bigger unknown is the time it takes to get through immigration. The lines can be long, but it’s very much dependent on how many international arrivals come in at around the same time as you. I’ve been through in 5 minutes or it’s taken 2 hours. I’ve never beat my luggage to the belt, though. 
 

I’d assume you wouldn’t pick up your pass at the airport, there may well be a longer line there than at Tokyo or Ueno in any case. If you get through quickly and the line doesn’t look bad, go and grab it. If you’re knackered after a long flight leave it till the next day. 

[Phantom]

11 minutes ago, UnfinishedKit said:

eSIM is so much easier. You can sort it out right now. I just roam but my wife uses Nomad, many others available,  she buys it a couple of days before leaving or whilst waiting at the airport. Activates it the moment they let you turn your phone on. 
 

there’s no penalties for missing a reservation, other than the slight pang of guilt for potentially depriving someone else of a seat. 
 

A bigger unknown is the time it takes to get through immigration. The lines can be long, but it’s very much dependent on how many international arrivals come in at around the same time as you. I’ve been through in 5 minutes or it’s taken 2 hours. I’ve never beat my luggage to the belt, though. 
 

I’d assume you wouldn’t pick up your pass at the airport, there may well be a longer line there than at Tokyo or Ueno in any case. If you get through quickly and the line doesn’t look bad, go and grab it. If you’re knackered after a long flight leave it till the next day. 

Do you have a preferred eSIM option? I will have just under 2 hours from landing time to when the ticket office at terminal 1 closes at 2145. Evening arrival to Narita seems less common so I'm hoping it won't be too busy and I will be able to get the pass especially if I have phone set up prior. I will probably be taking the 2210 rapid zushi to Chiba since the 2131 local is a stretch to make and only arrives 20 or so min earlier. 2210 departure gives me plenty of time to figure out how to buy a ticket on a machine.

 

Side note, I will be activating the rail pass the next day and getting it at the airport which saves me from getting it at Tokyo, which is not ideal.

[UnfinishedKit]

I haven’t arrived that late but so I can’t comment  but a quick look at arrivals shows a bunch of flights from Asia around that time and it’s a lot of wide bodies on those routes. You should be fine with 2 hours but be flexible. 
 

You don’t need to buy a ticket on the machine you need a Suica or other IC card. I guess you can buy a ticket but sorting out an ic card will be easier and future proof you, especially if you do end up in the pas exchange office. 
 

nomad wireless is the eSIM my wife uses as mentioned in the previous post. 

[kuro68000]

I've used Ubigi eSIMs a couple of times and been happy with them. Speed was decent, no issues with my Pixel 8 Pro.

[Gunzel]

While it’s not a penalty, if you miss your reservation and need to rebook you will not be able to book a different train via the internet or at a machine that departs while the reservation you missed is in progress (ie. the booking you missed was 8.00-10.00 and now you want to book on a 9.00 departure). You will need to go to the Midori no Madaguchi and get them to cancel and rebook. 
 

For your morning train I’d just book a seat at the back of the car, but as long as your suitcase isn’t excessive in size and you can lift it to the overhead rack then I imagine you will be ok wherever you sit. If you’re not able to exchange the pass in time the night before then you can just buy a ticket. 
 

For eSIM I’ve used Ubigi mainly, last trip had a couple of unexplained outages. Could access Ubigi app to see I had data left, but the rest of the internet not accessible. They were entirely useless when I asked for help, but the issues fixed resolved after half an hour the first time, and three hours the second time. Otherwise they’ve been great over three or four months use in total over the last few years. I also tried Airalo a few trips ago, also fine. After the outage I reinstalled the Airalo app so I could provision an alternative on the spot if it happened again. I also started downloading offline maps. 
 

 

[Gunzel]

On 2/11/2025 at 8:41 PM, kuro68000 said:

Oh, that's really interesting. What advantages does Navitime have over Google Maps?

It knows about passes, you can specify different ways to generate a preferred route, you can sort routes in different ways. And you can specify local, limited express and Shinkansen trains to be in or out of the results separately. It’s also much easier to search in the future and I don’t have to deal with the map all the time when I don’t want it. 
 

That said the station search is a lot worse lately, and they’ve hidden some useful stuff like stop timings in an expensive paid version. They also don’t have station timetables. For both these things I use JapanTransit.

[Phantom]

8 hours ago, Gunzel said:

For your morning train I’d just book a seat at the back of the car, but as long as your suitcase isn’t excessive in size and you can lift it to the overhead rack then I imagine you will be ok wherever you sit. If you’re not able to exchange the pass in time the night before then you can just buy a ticket. 

Why the back of the car? In case I cant get it in the overhead bin? I should be able to lift it fine if I cant get one of those seats. The dimensions are under 160 as well, although in the photos online of the E257 interior the luggage rack doesn't look very big. It's possible it's just the angle of the photo though. Laying flat my suitcase is 48cm wide, about 70cm long and 20 or so cm tall.

Edited February 16 by Phantom

[Gunzel]

Yes you can usually fit suitcases behind the last row of seats. It’s not a rule but seems generally accepted that the people in that row of seats have priority to that space.