Blog posts

Confused by the numbering on Japan's train stations? It's actually an ingenious and super helpful system for helping you get around and distinguish one station from another - and we can teach you how to use it.

Do Japanese Trains Have English signage and guidance? Yes, the majority of Shinkansen trains, major city train lines, and larger stations provide bilingual signs, English screens, and announcements. Read on for more information.

When planning your train travel across Japan, there is one essential question you may be shy about asking. However, you need not worry - Japan's famous shinkansen (and almost all of its trains) have some of the best train toilets in the world.

Japan has an interesting relationship to smoking in public spaces having not completely outlawed it as many countries have, but can you smoke on trains, including the famous Shinkansen? Find out here.

Priority seats, called yūsen-seki, are set aside by social courtesy rather than law for specific groups of passengers. Read on for everything you need to know.

Do Japanese trains have power outlets? What kind of sockets do they use? Find out everything you need to know including how to keep your devices fully charged while on the go in our new guide.

There's something almost improbable about a working steam train in a country that gave the world the Shinkansen. Yet Japan still runs several heritage steam locomotive services on scenic regional lines. Find out more here.

Japan is a dream destination for cycle tourers, with long coastal routes, mountain roads, and one of the most efficient rail networks on earth to stitch it all together. Want to combine riding with train travel? Find out how to do it for free.

Something that trips up many first-time visitors is that the JR Pass is not run by a single company. The nationwide Japan Rail Pass is jointly honored by six separate regional operators. Find out more in our special explainer.

Getting food on board the famous Shinkansen now works differently than it did before, but the solution is simple, and the station options are often better than what the old food trolley offered. Read our article to find out more.