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Nebuta festival float, Aomori
Rail travel
Stretching from the southern tip of Kyushu Island
to the far north of Hokkaido, Japan’s extensive
rail network is justifiably the envy of the world,
running with a speed and efficiency that make
travel by train an absolute pleasure. Furthermore,
with English increasingly in use around the
network, it is becoming ever easier for the
first-time visitor to make the most of this fantastic
service. The world-famous, futuristic shinkansen
‘bullet trains’ link Japan’s main cities and make
journeys from Tokyo to Kyoto (and beyond) an
experience in themselves. There are also some
truly scenic rail journeys in Japan: among the best
are the journeys that show off the coastal views
around Tottori and Matsue or the dramatic river
valleys and mountain vistas leading up to the
Japan Alps region. In the majority of trips,
we will include a Japan Rail Pass for either
standard or first class seating, which
allows free access on almost the
entire Japan Rail network.
These passes represent
excellent value (a one-week
pass costs less than a return
Tokyo to Kyoto ticket)
and allow a degree of
flexibility that puts
you in full control
of your trip.
Regions of Japan
For the purposes of this brochure we have
broadly split Japan into three sections. Northern
Japan encompasses the northerly island of
Hokkaido and the region known as Tohoku
which stretches north from Tokyo to the
tip of the mainland, Central Japan, which
takes in central and western Honshu island
and Southern Japan, which covers the
smaller southerly islands of Kyushu
and Shikoku and the sub-tropical
island chain of Okinawa.
Rice fields, Shikoku
www.audleytravel.com/japan ● 01993 838 210 ● Introduction 5