The other Soka kids and I have been looking for the cheapest way to Tokyo for Spring Break... 5,000 yen for night bus? 8,000 for day bus? 12,000 yen for shinkansen? And then I found the Seishun 18 Kippu.
For 11,500 yen, you get 5 "units" of unlimited travel on JR train lines, one of the larger train lines in Japan. That makes 2,300 yen for one unit of unlimited travel. Those units can be used as days or people in any combination: One person can have 5 days of unlimited travel, or two friends can travel together for two days and use four of the "units," etc.
The three of us split the cost of a ticket (I paid for three units worth), and we'll be traveling all the way to Tokyo on JR local trains tomorrow. Using this website, we were able to plan out which trains we have to catch (this website is amazing because you can specify in the search field what kind of transportation you want to take--anything from trains to walking--and it'll give you a schedule).
A 9 hour ride. ><
But I like to think that my experience with roadtrips between Okiehomer and San Antonio have prepared me for this kind of experience. I'm kind of afraid we won't get seats, though, and might have to stand for two hours or something. D: Another hard thing will probably be finding some secret corner where we can quickly eat our packed dinners (it's tacky to eat in public).
One of our Japanese friends has been discouraging me for two weeks from taking this trip. He said we will probably get confused or attacked, and he also worried that we might not be "tactful": enforcing stereotypes of foreigners by talking loudly, eating, getting naked, whatever. He was even so worried as to send me a text last night at 1 am: "This is my last advice. Please do not take local trains." I've been telling him that the best way to make sure that we'll be safe is if he comes with us.
He just came up to me as I wrote the above paragraph and told me that his own ride to Tokyo didn't work out, and now he'll be riding with us. Ha!
I will post an entry reporting how the trip went and whether it is worth it to 18 Kippu to Tokyo. Yeah!
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