The first impression when you come to Japan is that everything works. That’s not a little thing. Millions of things running symbiotically as a result of good design and smart planning is a definite thumbs up for the modern japan.

Trains are an important part of Japanese life and in Tokyo there are literally hundred of subway and train lines that connect every two points in Tokyo and as an important tip for anyone visiting japan, the Japan Rail Pass is an absolute must have. Not only that it can be cheaper than paying for each trip individually, but figuring out the connections and the system of payment it is a very time consuming task. More about that later.

I had to travel a few hundred kilometers north to Matsushima, near Sendai for my conference. The trip is only a little over 90min, by the high speed bullet train.

Very comfortable and fast it makes the life of tourists very easy. It is also very convenient for Japanese, but it is quite pricy even compared to North America. For instance a ticket Tokyo-Sendai, a little longer than Toronto-Kingston (~350km) and a little shorter than Toronto –Otawa) takes about 97min and it costs about $105 one way.