Japan is world renowned for its efficient and timely mass transit. On our trip we rode in planes, buses, trains (local, bullet and subway), ferries and taxis. Japan more than lived up to its reputation.
All public transport here is reliable, fairly priced and clean. There is no eating or talking on mass transit, except for long distance trains. Of course people did talk, in whispers:)
We had to figure out these systems on the fly. Both trains and buses charge based on distance and have a price for the destination. Once you understand the system, it makes sense.
We were on the platform when the Shinkansen, or bullet train sped by at 199 mph. It was fast and felt like a tornado barreling by. The Shinkansen is 57 years old and has never had an accident.
The subway and local trains actually have seats with a velvet like material. Amazing. Some long distance trains are self cleaned automatically and we watched as the empty train seats rotated and were sprayed with disinfectant. I felt very safe on mass transit. In fact all of Japan felt so safe and secure. You never had to worry that someone was taking advantage of you or going to steal your wallet.
Thank god there was some English on the ticket machines and stops written in the Roman alphabet, otherwise we would have struggled more. There were a few times when staff at the train station would actually approach us and ask us if we needed assistance! In Japan tips are not expected, good service is part of the job expectations. It was kind of wonderful.
Bochner Family Adventure 