Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kissmykimchi]

I'm thinking of doing the ferry and then trains to Osaka and Tokyo. Has anyone used theSeishun 18 Kippu? I know it's slow but I can't find the actual amount of time a fukoka Tokyo trip would be?

Anyone? Anyone?

[highdials5]

Use www.hyperdia.com for train times. The classic version is better: http://www.hyperdia.com/classic_en/hyperWeb.cgi Make sure you deselect airplane, shinkansen and limited express - you can't use these on a seishun juhachi kippu.

I travelled all around Japan a few years ago, making good use of the seishun juhachi kippu. The trains are sloooooow and you'll make plenty of transfers, but I really enjoyed it.

e.g. It will take about 7 hours to get from Hakata to Hiroshima, with maybe 3 changes.

[Caffeinated]

Do as highdials5 suggested. I printed out the schedule I got from Hyperdia and followed it. During vacation season you can just follow the crowd during transfers on the busy routes. It took about 12+ hours travelling Fukuoka - Osaka so be warned.

An option you could consider are the highway buses (no worrying about missed transfers). JR has highway buses but the daytme ones were a couple thousand yen cheaper than the overnight ones. There are other companies that do overnight buses between major stops such as Willer Bus company. Seishun 18 Kippu is great for chilling out and taking in the sights, tho.

[b-class rambler]

I lived in Japan for over 10 years and used it several times. It was a great way to see bits of the country that I'd never seen before at a fraction of what it would otherwise have cost.


HOWEVER,.............


That's me speaking from the perspective of someone who was living there long term, had plenty of time and had done all the usual foreign tourist places several times over.

I'm sure there are plenty of people just visiting Japan who could use the juhachi kippu and really enjoy the trip. But there are others for whom I'm not sure it makes that much sense. If you've got a limited amount of time in Japan and places in different parts of the country that you want to spend a decent while seeing, then you need to keep in mind that you may well regret how much of your holiday you waste on tortuously slow train journeys.

As the other poster above said, Hakata to Hiroshima will take 7 hours. (Useful point to note - ferry to Shimonoseki instead of Hakata would give you a starting point a good 2 hours slow train journey east of Fukuoka with a conveniently early start time.) Hiroshima onwards to, say, Kyoto, would be another 7 hours. And then Kyoto to Tokyo would be a 9-10 hour journey. Of course, you'd have to repeat all of that to get back to the ferry port you landed at.

It's only valid for 5 days, so if you were going all the way to Tokyo and back, then that'd be a hell of a big %age of that time just spent sitting on a train. There are night trains you can use that run only during 18 kippu availability periods. But keep in mind that there are very few of them and they're not proper sleeper trains with bunks, so you'll likely get a very poor night's sleep on one of them.

I'm certainly not saying don't go for the 18 kippu, but just think carefully if it's the best idea for your intended trip.

[Kissmykimchi]

Thanks for the advice! The time on that train seems way to steep for only a ten day trip. I've decided to fly instead seoul to osaka to tokyo then back to seoul!