While in Japan, I discovered what I consider to be the ideal form of transportation:  quick and efficient, comfortable and relaxing, with an excellent view to the surrounding world.  The Bullet Train or Shinkansen.

We used a 1-week Green Class Japan Rail Pass to access the train.  We went for the Green (premium) class because we were traveling over the New Year holidays and wanted to ensure we had a seat– regular class should be sufficient for non-holiday periods.

Gratuitous timelapse video of the ride into Tokyo station:  IMG_2799

If you order overseas, Japan Rail mails you a voucher which you can redeem at the airport upon entry into the country or at any Japan rail station.  When you redeem the voucher (and receive the pass in return), you can also make seat reservations for specific dates and trains.  Lonely Planet says that if you’re doing more than a single roundtrip between Tokyo and Kyoto, the Rail Pass is worth it and I wholeheartedly endorse this.  We found it to be fast and convenient.

I found the websites for both Japan Rail and their U.S. subsidiary to full of good information, but a bit confusing…that may have just been me or perhaps something was Lost in Translation.  Whatever the case, I’m fully convinced that the Rail Pass is the way to go in Japan.

Japan Rail Pass official site here:  http://japanrailpass.net/en/index.html

U.S. Distributor here:  http://online.jtbusa.com/JRpass.aspx

Background on the Shinkansen here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen