Learn Japanese - Riding the Rails 2

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Survival Phrases S2 #24 - Riding the Rails 2

Level: Survival Phrases (S2)

Learn Japanese travel phrases with Japanese Survival Phrases! A little Japanese can go such a long way! Today we cover another high frequency Japanese phrase sure to be of use on your trip, travels or vacation to Japan.

Today, we’ll go over getting tickets for Japan’s high-speed inter-prefectural Bullet Train system called the “Shinkansen.” What are the ticket options and what are the advantages of each ticket? Tune in to find out! And be sure to comb through Japanese Survival Phrases before setting out on your trip to Japan!

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Function: taking the trains | Topic: buying tickets for bullet train

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Survival Phrases (S2) . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

8 Responses to “Survival Phrases S2 #24 - Riding the Rails 2”

JapanesePod101.com says:
Tuesday at 6:30 pm

Mina-san! Have you ever ridden the shinkansen (bullet train) before? What was your experience?

Craig Bourne says:
Wednesday at 1:14 am

I take great exception to your use of the phrase “riding the rails” in a maner that trivializes the experience of the great army of the unemployed in the depression of the 1930s. Among them were a quarter of a million youn men in their teens for whom there was no work. In one year alone 6500 of them were killed by railway bulls.

To begin to repair your ignorance of this significant era in the history of America and the larger world you might have a look at this:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rails/

My Old Man road the rails. It was not just a train trip.

Ron says:
Wednesday at 6:16 am

For those who have never taken the Shinkasen, please do not let the size of the train station overwhelm you. It can seem quite confusing at times. If there are any questions that you may have, look for a station map posted on walls throughout the station. Find the location of the information booth and simply ask, “Eigo hanashimasuka”? Most people can help you out and you will learn a lot in the process.

kabukiguy says:
Wednesday at 8:12 am

Hey, Craig, take it easy big fellow. If you’re old enough to have had a father who rode the rails, you should be aware that “riding the rails” has become a standard expression. No one is denigrating the folks who did so in the Great Depression when they use it; most people haven’t the slightest idea of its origins. Start worrying about every phrase that once had a specific meaning and now has a general one and pretty soon you’ll end up watering down the language as a whole.

indiana23 says:
Wednesday at 10:00 am

I took the Shinkansen to Tokyo once, and yes it is fast and comfortable. However, it’s really expensive–at least for most of us poor English teachers who have spent most of our money on sake and karaoke.

I recommend taking a night bus, which is very popular. (jp101, have you done a night bus episode?) You’ll get where you’re going a little tired and stiff, but you won’t be broke. And maybe you’ll meet some cool people too. It takes about 8hrs from Osaka to Tokyo, which sounds like a lot, but the theory is you’ll sleep through it–that’s why it leaves at night.

Indiana23

Dach says:
Wednesday at 2:00 pm

If you don’t live in Japan, you can get a Japan Rail Pass that will let you ride on every JR train (with only a couple of exceptions) for 1, 2, or 3 weeks. It’s a really good value. But, you can only get it with a “temporary visitor” stamp on your passport. Then, you can go all over Japan, and see what the rest of the country is like.