When our iPhones alerted us that the temperature had crept past 37C, we paused. Every sun-drenched step outside felt like we were wagyu steaks sizzling on the grill. Was honeymooning in Japan in July – one of its hottest, most humid months – really a good idea? From Osaka to Kobe to Kyoto, my wife Erin and I planned every day with one goal: avoid melting into puddles. Around us, hordes of tourists were in the same sweaty boat. But a few days in, I noticed something. The locals looked noticeably cooler, less crabby, more comfortable. Why? The answer should come as no surprise. Japan, a nation renowned for its design thinking and innovation, is armed with a fistful of ways to survive punishing heat. While they love air-con as much as the next heat-stricken country, they also find respite in creative remedies, from electrically ventilated clothes to water-based rituals. Solutions like these epitomise a nation where ancient traditions fuse with hyper-modern cities reaching endlessly towards the future. Here's six ways that locals cope with extreme heat.
Japan Rail Pass, One of Travel’s Great Deals, Gets Pricier
29.08.2023 - 09:49 / nytimes.com
Since 1981, the Japan Rail Pass has provided overseas visitors with budget-friendly access to unlimited rides on the country’s local and regional lines, as well as the famed shinkansen bullet trains, which can reach an operational speed of 200 miles per hour, at prices unchanged in decades. Indeed, visitors to Japan in 2023 pay the same unadjusted amount for a two-week rail pass as they did in 1989.
But all good things must come to an end, and the train operator, Japan Railways Group, announced in April that steep increases to the rail pass — as high as 76 percent, depending on pass duration and class — are coming in October.
Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming changes.
An enduring draw of visiting Japan is the chance to experience high-speed rail travel aboard the country’s extensive network of sleek and immaculately maintained, but notoriously expensiveshinkansen.
Inspired by similar systems such as the Eurail Pass, the Japan Rail Pass, available exclusively to overseas travelers in seven-, 14- and 21-day increments in both Ordinary and premium Green Car classes, allows for flat-rate access to shinkansen and JR-operated regional and local lines at a fraction of what it would cost to buy individual tickets.
Indeed, one common rule of thumb for the seven-day pass is that it essentially pays for itself after a single Tokyo-Kyoto round trip. For motivated travelers, a pass can mean savings in the thousands of dollars.
In April, the JR Group, which operates the expansive network of shinkansen as well as local and regional lines, announced that prices for an ordinary class, seven-day rail pass will jump to 50,000 yen (about $342) from 29,650 yen (about $203), while Green Car class seven-day passes will increase to 70,000 yen from 39,600 yen. The 14- and 21-day passes will see similar increases in the 65 percent to 71 percent range.
In an email, a spokesman for the JR Group noted that despite improvements to its services — including extending shinkansen lines and increasing the coverage area, updating reservation systems and adding automatic ticket gates — it has not increased prices since the company’s establishment. “As a result, the actual benefits greatly exceed the product price,” he wrote. Now, he added, “we have decided to revise the price to an appropriate level.”
The changes, however, are not all bad news for travelers.
A notable limit on the rail pass was its exclusion of Nozomi and Mizuho trains on the Tokaido and Sanyo shinkansen lines, which combine to offer service between Tokyo and Fukuoka; functionally identical to other shinkansen, these trains are more convenient with faster, direct routes between major stations.
Come October, for a supplemental fee, rail pass holders will now
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