Travelingmommy

Getting ready for my March trip to Japan. Just got back from an excursion to Europe and planning another already.
I have been into Hyperdia and no where do I see the platform number of the trains. I have been reading all the info on the board and can not seem to find this question. Also is there such a thing as a map of each major train station?
Thanks.

Mara

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/estation/index.html

Above link has some maps and the legend shows which tracks are associated with which line.

On my two trips to Japan, one to Tokyo and one to Kyoto I found the signage to be quite good. Plus there are maps you can get although they are mostly in Japanese. I learned the Kanji for my station so I was able to figure out the fare prices on the Tokyo subway.

Also the large stations have the big boards that display the destinations and track numbers similar to the ones you see in European stations. They usually flash back and forth from Japanese to English.

Plus I found the station employees understood enough English if I had a question.

mrwunrfl

When you get a reserved seat ticket it will tell you the track number (and your car and seat number). You can ask the JR person to print the ticket in English (they likely will do this if you don't ask, but not always). If it is printed in Japanese then just ask the ticket person which number is the track number, car number, row/seat.

mrwunrfl

Like Mara says, the JR people understand railroad English. Questions like &quot;track number?&quot; (sounds like <i>turack numbah</i> when the Japanese says it) are easily understood.

It really is pretty easy.

kuranosuke

well, speaking of platforms, dw and i went down to the hibiya line platform at the ginza station this pm. as we walked down the stairs to the platform, there were 4 red boxes painted on the platform right next to each other.

each box said women only. naturally, dw was shocked to see that sign(i guess she thought japan was taking a giant step backwards concerning equality). why do the women have to stand in these boxes to get on the train, she asked.

keep cool, i said. this entry point is for women only, but they can enter from any point on the platform.

then why these signs, she asked. because, at peak times, the trains are crowded, and women have been getting groped on the train.

really?, hai, sad but true.

btw, first time i've seen blue skies since i left hi. nice day today in tokyo. glad to hear all our friends at home are ok.

thanks for all your well wishes.

tomorrow, sushi again!! jaa.....

mrwunrfl

Hi kuranosuke, good to hear from you. Ginza station on the Hibiya Line? I would guess that you were heading to Tsukiji to visit Sushizanmai.

someotherguy

It's worth learning enough kanji to decode a train ticket and the departure screen.

There's good information here (check out the picture of a ticket about a third of the way down):
http://wikitravel.org/en/Japan#By_rail

melen

We just got back yesterday. And the tickets on the JR reserved only tell you the train no. Like Hikari 362; Car # and Seat #. Everything is in Japanese and English. If it is a major train station the ticket agent knows the track number but if it is a train station like Odawara or Maibara and you ask an agent in Tokyo they do not know. We had to transfer from Tokyo to Sabae at Maibara and had 9 minutes to do it in....with 2 suitcases and no one could tell us what track until we got there. And then when you get to the wicket to show your pass and ask and the agent is busy sometimes your heart starts to pump a bit faster...we made it with 4 minutes to spare. There are maps of Tokyo Station just ask at the ticket office when you get your Rail Pass....
It also helps when you are riding the commuter trains to know what town or city is at the end of the line even if you are getting off in between.....then you can see which side of the track you need to be...have fun we always do...

kuranosuke

mrw, actually, had breakfast at sushizanmai, and was heading back after tenzaru-soba lunch in asakusa.

had an excellent sushi dinner at fukuzushi. rather pricey, so won't rec it unless you want to go for a special occasion. other equally good places for a better price.

its almost 9pm here, and time for my sake night cap. oyasumi.

W9London

Platform at tokyo subway stations are clearly marked by line-specific colour (eg grey for hibiya, green for chiyoda) and destination (of major terminals).

For JR stations, signs for destinations/lines are posted in English as well. Tokyo station has more than one platforms for popular lines (esp tokaido or tokaido bullet trains) so you'll need to look up the display board.

Oh, btw, don't ask for bullet train platforms. Don't forget bullet trains in Japanese is &quot;shinkan-sen&quot;.

Travelingmommy

I see now the only one without the platform # mentioned is the Kansai airport to Kyoto - is that because there is only the one platform for the JR Hikari.