Public transportation in Japan was one of the most influential factors over my year abroad in Japan. Japan has the most convenient public transportation system that I have seen anywhere. In metropolitan and urban areas, there was always a train station and/or bus nearby that could potentially connect to any destination within the area. They are also very consistent and on time, unlike most systems in San Diego. Although this was intimidating and complex at first, I soon became comfortable using public transportation anywhere, such as from Yokohama to Tokyo, or from Kyoto to Osaka. Learning Japanese definitely helped me gain this confidence as I was soon able to understand the maps, signals, and sometimes even what the conductor would say. Everyday would consist of some use of public transportation, whether if it were for commuting to campus or travelling of some kind; I soon assimilated public transportation as a natural part of my life in Japan.
The pricing on public transportation was also very affordable. It would average around $2 per ticket and could even go as low as around 25 cents for some rides. One of the best parts about paying for transportation was that Japan, mainly city areas, had all conformed to some kind of universal card that you could load with money and use as your way of paying almost anywhere in Japan. For instance, on my trip to Osaka/Kyoto, because me and my partner, Charlene, had planned our routes, we knew exactly how much to load our cards and never had to bother with buying tickets during the trip. These same cards were also used by most students as commuter passes from Gumyouji to YNU’s campus and were very convenient and decently priced. They offered ranges from one, three, and six month passes that would grant unlimited usage of any of the train stations in between the two. So if you do decide to study abroad in any place that mainly uses public transportation, try and see if a commuter pass exists if it has not already been recommended in some way or another. The more and more I used public transportation, the more I understood the the culture around it. First off, the trains would always be busy during weekday mornings. Since I had to take the 8 a.m. trains for classes most days, I became very familiar with this. This would consist of literally cramming yourself in the train in order to be on time. I was very uncomfortable with this at first, but soon came to accept it as just part of the culture and everybody does it. It wouldn’t be anything like trains in Tokyo, where attendants would have to help squeeze everybody in the train, but something close to it. Another aspect of Japanese culture associated with public transportation is to never really talk loud or at all on the train. There would be posters in every other train car showing some aspect about being a respectful person on the train. This consisted of watching your voice level, not taking up seats you don’t need, turning off your phone or using it on silent mode, etc. It was very interesting when people would not adhere to these manners and to see how people would stare at them or leave to a different train car all together. I’ll miss these little nuances and guiding myself through the train systems whenever I have to take a bus/trolley back home as nothing in San Diego can come close in comparison to the public transportation system in Japan. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI am Kyle Sablan and I studied abroad at Yokohama National University (YNU) during the 2016-2017 academic year. This blog was created as one of the requirements for receiving the Gilman Scholarship. The purpose of this blog is to share my personal experience with everybody and encourage interest in studying abroad. Archives
April 2018
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