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Japan

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Okinawa	Sapporo	Shikoku	Shimonoseki
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Hiroshima	Hokkaido	Hokkaido	Honshu

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Niigata Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Mount Myoko Mount Myoko Nicholas Klar Niigata Prefecture is on the northwest coast of Honshu. It lays in beautiful mountain surroundings on the Echigo Plains and is easily accessible via the Joetsu or Nagano shinkansen (bullet train). Not many foreign tourists get here but the region is famed for the quality of it's rice and sake. Many Japanese families buy these items from here because of their high quality. The region is also steeped in history and tradition. The 'Snow Country' of Niigata is famous throughout Japan and has inspired countless writers, poets and artists. If you want a glimpse of rural Japan through the window of an old one-carriage train, this is the place. Across from Niigata is Sado Island (a former place of exile for outcasts), made famous by the Kodo drummers and the Earth Festival held in Ogi each summer. Niigata is also famous for it's skiing and onsen (hot springs), particularly around Myokokogen and Yuzawa - which are easily accessible from Tokyo. Famous resorts such as Akakura can be almost deserted on a weekday, with reasonable lift prices. _________Sights Edit This terao kita niigata ken train schedule _____Getting Around Edit This Myoko station Myoko station Nicholas Klar Local Buses Get on the bus at the rear, collect a ticket as you get in. Get off at the front. Easy! Pay the driver with exact change. The amount is shown on a display near the driver. Most buses throughout Japan have this system, though some have a flat fare for any distance. Look at the ticket for a number. If there is no number look at the fare schedule display for latest stop after you get on. You can get change at the machine by the driver. If unsure just watch what other people are doing. Don't use ¥1 or ¥5 coins. Taxi In most towns you generally can't hail a taxi from the street, but must go to a taxi rank or book one on the phone. In the main part of major cities like Niigata, Nagaoka and Takada they will generally stop for you. Base rates start at around ¥660 depending on the time of day. Trains With a few exceptions the train service in Niigata is great. Town trains (blue and white or orange and green - called futsu), stop at every station (eki). Buy your ticket at the departure station and give it to the attendant at your destination station. If you're not sure of the cost buy the cheapest fare, and it will be adjusted at the other end, or by the train conductor. Town trains are cheapest but stop every station. You can go as far north as Akita, as far south as Toyama, Kanazawa, or Fukui, north-east to Muikamachi and Echigo Yuzawa, and east to Myoko, Arai, and Nagano on a direct town train. Limited Express trains (generally brown and white, or blue, orange and white - called tokkyu) usually stop only at major stations. These trains can go as far as Osaka in the south, Aomori in the north, and overnight to Tokyo (Ueno) in the east. Occassionally there are semi-fast trains called kyuko. These are faster than futsu but slower than tokkyu. You only pay the same price as futsu. The overnight trains to/from Osaka and Ueno are kyuko. There are always large schedule boards at eki, so once you know the kanji it's easy (not so easy when you're travelling around!). Hint - At large eki always check the board above the attendants booth that gives the time and platform. Occasionally times will change and they don't get around to updating the main schedule board straight away. When the conductor stands at the front of the carriage and makes an announcement it generally means that he is checking tickets. Try to make sure you sit in the non-reserved section if you don't have a reserved seat. Otherwise you'll cop a few hundred yen 'adjustment'. Reserved/Non-reserved are marked on the outside as such, and have a green (reserved) or blue (non-reserved) sign on the door inside. Generally the first or last car on a tokkyu is a non-reserved, non-smoking carriage. You used to be able to get an English/Japanese train schedule from JTB for about ¥500. Look around any in big book stores to see if they are still available. Remember that schedules can change every month so make sure to update it occassionally. To read the large JR books at the eki first look at the rail map in the front. Each line shows a page number. Go to that page and match up the kanji. Hard to do at first, but it gets easier. Keep an eye out for discounted JR special fares (example: one day free kippu - anywhere on local trains in Niigata for ¥1,300 or two days ¥2,500). A good source for travel specials is the Niigata English Journal. Getting to and from Tokyo/Narita Airport (from the Joetsu region) There are several options. TAXI: The most convenient is a new taxi service (as of early 2001) direct to Narita from Joetsu, Arai and Myoko. It's called "I Am Taxi" and can be contacted on 0255-23-3188. The cost is ¥11,000 and bookings must be made 3-4 days in advance. It can leave quite early in the morning though. Set that alarm (or just don't go to bed)! TRAIN: The most expensive train is catching the tokkyu to Nagaoka or Nagano, then the shinkansen bullet train to Ueno (Tokyo). Another way is to catch an overnight tokkyu that goes to Ueno via Nagaoka and Naoetsu from Kanazawa, and a couple that return the same way. The tokkyu is cheaper than option one but about 2-3 hours slower depending on the train. Another is to take the Hokuhoku line from Naoetsu to Echigo Yuzawa via Tokomachi and Muikamachi. From there connect to a shinkansen. At present this is probably the best public transport option at reasonable cost, being only slightly more expensive than the tokkyu - but much faster. BUS: Catch a bus from Joetsu City or Nagano (see Highway Bus section). I'M IN TOKYO. WHAT NOW?!: To Narita the best option is the Keisei line. Follow the signs out of JR Ueno eki to Keisei Ueno eki. The Skyliner express is around ¥2000 and takes about 1 hour. The limited express takes about 80 minutes but is roughly half the price. Make sure you take a train that stops infrequently. If you get a 'local' it will take more than two hours. Make sure you get off at the right terminal. There are two terminals, so the one you get off at depends on the airline you are flying. At Narita there is a JR booking office if you want to check availability of trains ex-Ueno or book a seat Getting to and from Osaka/Kansai Airport This is a little more time consuming than going via Narita, but not too much. JR runs trains to Osaka very regularly from Niigata, Naoetsu, Itoigawa or Toyama, then you can connect on the train from there. Overnight trains run from Nagano to Osaka, and there are also special trains from Osaka to Myoko (and vice-versa) during the ski season. The express from Osaka to Kansai is quicker, but only by about 20 minutes. The local train to Kansai costs around ¥1,200 You can book a ticket straight through from Joetsu or Itoigawa if you want. There's also an overnight bus to Osaka from Toyama (and vice versa). It leaves Toyama eki at 11.00pm (arrives 5.00am), and Osaka at 10.10pm. The cost is around ¥5,200 (return ¥9,300) - but you need to pre-book through an agent like JTB. For the Toyama bus from Osaka you have to go to the Nankai bus terminal which is above Nankai Namba eki (not JR Osaka). The Nankai Rapi;t train (yes, that's how it's spelt) costs around ¥1,500 to/from Kansai. The cheaper 'express' train (which stops at every station!) is around half that. The first express train goes @ 5.24am arriving around 6.05am Highway Bus The Highway Bus service is cheaper than JR, and quite often just as quick - but it's far less regular. Buses go from Itoigawa, Kakizaki and Joetsu to Niigata and Nagaoka (and vice versa), and you can also catch a bus to Osaka (from Niigata, Nagano and Toyama). There are a few daily buses to Tokyo (Ikebukero) via Takada, Naoetsu, Kakizaki and Kashiwazaki. This is cheapest way to Tokyo and not much slower than the train. It can be okay if you want to catch it overnight (leaves Takada at 10.30pm and arrives at 4.30am), and fly out in the morning. The Takada bus station is just up from the eki past Nakamachi-dori. Cost is around ¥5,200 Ferries There's a number that leave from Niigata. Ferries go to Sado Island from Naoetsu and Niigata-city. If you want to go to Kyushu the ferry is definitely the cheapest option and takes about 22 hours. There is also a ferry to Hokkaido. Kyushu (return) - around ¥20,000 Sado Island (one way) - around ¥2,000 (bike ¥1,030 extra) Cycling Rides up into the mountains around Joetsu are good therapy when the weather is nice, but you have to be reasonably fit. There are very picturesque rides to Ichiburi (3 - 4 hours) and Oyashirazu (2 - 3 hours) from Omi via the mountain road, but generally any road up will be a good ride (and often tough!). A day ride from/to Naoetsu/Itoigawa (about 50km) is also great - there is a bike track a lot of the way. You can generally con JR to let you put your bike on the train back, just plead ignorance. If you take the wheels off, strap it together, and carry it on there's generally not a hassle. However if you're going to do it a lot a bike bag is recommended. From Naoetsu you can also put your bike on the ferry to Sado Island. The Japanese are not the best drivers and there are some crazy truckies - wear a helmet and be careful!