tripitaka 0 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Someone told me that there was an article on the front page of the Nikkei about ETC prices going back to pre-1000 yen days. I haven't sourced the article in Japanese nor in English. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Thought it was till Apr 2011? Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 There is a report on the Nikkei web site that the highway tolls will revert to normal from 12/26 through 12/31, to reduce traffic jams and keep highway shipping flowing. On the flip side, the 1000 yen tolls will apply from Jan. 1st through the 5th, including the weekdays of the 4th and 5th. Argh. That throws a wrench into my post-Christmas ski trip plans... Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 It sounds like the "highways will become free" policy of the DPJ has been put on hold. They say the country can't afford it. Dunno about the 1000 yen thing. Link to post Share on other sites
tripitaka 0 Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Well the tolls were at 1000-yen stages. For example, from Osaka to Nagoya, Nagoya to Tokyo. I'm not sure how it worked but it's been going for some time. Reverting back to pre-1000 yen will probably have the effect of making the highways ghost towns again (except for on the major national holidays). Also, it won't be so good for the ski resorts I would think. Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 The highways were ghost towns during the off peak times even with the 1000Y business. Enjoy it while it lasts! I was able to make it from Shizuoka to Kochi last summer for 3000Y!! Thinking about some mad trips this winter as well... where should I go? Link to post Share on other sites
tripitaka 0 Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Originally Posted By: Black Mountain The highways were ghost towns during the off peak times even with the 1000Y business. Enjoy it while it lasts! I was able to make it from Shizuoka to Kochi last summer for 3000Y!! Thinking about some mad trips this winter as well... where should I go? Yeah, well I know people who have bought cars because they thought it was going to be cheaper to travel. Also, there seems to be a "grey area" (surprising in Japan) when it actually ends so we're at the mercy of the govt and the bureaucrats again. I also thought that one of the ideas was to get people out spending money in the prefectures, and Nagano would have to be a good example of an area desperate for tourism. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Sorry I meant "I dunno whether the 1000 yen on a weekend special will be stopped too". It was the LDPs policy. I'm a bit of a green but I think that once built, roads should be free at offpeak times. Its easy to forget, but Japan is pretty much all mountains. All the rural highways run on bridges above valleys and shoot through massive tunnels, not simply and cheaply on the ground like in other countries. The maintenance cost must be huge. It is crazy to pay this cost and then price people out of using the road. It won't be cars that damage the road so much, it will be trucks and Mother Nature. Link to post Share on other sites
tripitaka 0 Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Originally Posted By: Mr Wiggles Sorry I meant "I dunno whether the 1000 yen on a weekend special will be stopped too". It was the LDPs policy. I'm a bit of a green but I think that once built, roads should be free at offpeak times. Its easy to forget, but Japan is pretty much all mountains. All the rural highways run on bridges above valleys and shoot through massive tunnels, not simply and cheaply on the ground like in other countries. The maintenance cost must be huge. It is crazy to pay this cost and then price people out of using the road. It won't be cars that damage the road so much, it will be trucks and Mother Nature. You're right. What I can't understand is why they weren't able to find "middle ground." From memory, I think the standard toll from Kyoto to Hakuba used to be close to 10,000 yen then reduced to 1,000 yen on weekends. Surely they could have found a price point that maximized utility. Link to post Share on other sites
rider69 18 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Kansai to Toyoshina is　￥7600 or there abouts one way. The Free roads were a pipe dream really. Let us hope though that the roads are better priced. Also improving the ETC so that everyone can use it would be nice. This would allow for a reduction of staff at the tool booths and speed up the flow. Link to post Share on other sites
tripitaka 0 Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Originally Posted By: rider69 Kansai to Toyoshina is　￥7600 or there abouts one way. The Free roads were a pipe dream really. Let us hope though that the roads are better priced. Also improving the ETC so that everyone can use it would be nice. This would allow for a reduction of staff at the tool booths and speed up the flow. Is that the standard toll? In that case, you can get as low as JPY5320 with the 30% discount that always applies. I have heard about someone who often drives straight through the ETC barrier (True!) all the time. I would never do this and I'm surprised that you can get away with it. Link to post Share on other sites
best skier in hakuba 5 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Does he not smash into the gate? I am very surprised he gets away with that repeatedly. They have monitors. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 If you're close, suppposedly you can sneak through in the shadow of the car in front. Sometimes it happens to people inadvertently too. Link to post Share on other sites
tripitaka 0 Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Originally Posted By: best skier in hakuba Does he not smash into the gate? I am very surprised he gets away with that repeatedly. They have monitors. The gates are not "smashable". They are made of foam and are flexible so people can't crash. I was also surprised and couldn't believe it. But by all accounts, it's true. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Originally Posted By: tripitaka Originally Posted By: best skier in hakuba Does he not smash into the gate? I am very surprised he gets away with that repeatedly. They have monitors. The gates are not "smashable". They are made of foam and are flexible so people can't crash. I was also surprised and couldn't believe it. But by all accounts, it's true. Still pretty scary - especially when the wife misses it by a few inches. :S Link to post Share on other sites
tripitaka 0 Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Originally Posted By: RobBright Originally Posted By: tripitaka Originally Posted By: best skier in hakuba Does he not smash into the gate? I am very surprised he gets away with that repeatedly. They have monitors. The gates are not "smashable". They are made of foam and are flexible so people can't crash. I was also surprised and couldn't believe it. But by all accounts, it's true. Still pretty scary - especially when the wife misses it by a few inches. :S Scary.... and criminal. What do you mean "misses by inches"?? Link to post Share on other sites
gaijindrifter 0 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Hopefully they don't revert back, but even if they do you know the Japanese won't complain. Such a horrid consumer society over here... But either way, thanks to the mass loads of people on the highways during the weekends most normal roads were pretty bare when my buddy and I were goin boarding last year, and we found that with 'bending' certain rules we could get to ski-jos just as fast (and a couple times even faster) than we could via the highway. I guess the price change is really gonna affect those heading up to Hokkaido from Tokyo or wherever via car, but as long as you aren't heading more than a prefecture or so away then it shouldn't take longer than an hour or so more, assuming you know how to drive and can dodge shitty Japanese drivers, which ends up cheaper in the end anyways Link to post Share on other sites
ILoveZao 8 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Quote: Such a horrid consumer society over here... I'm curious, in what way? Do you miss all the lawsuits and lack of service that people accept in many places? Link to post Share on other sites
snowsurf 0 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Originally Posted By: Metabo Oyaji There is a report on the Nikkei web site that the highway tolls will revert to normal from 12/26 through 12/31, to reduce traffic jams and keep highway shipping flowing. On the flip side, the 1000 yen tolls will apply from Jan. 1st through the 5th, including the weekdays of the 4th and 5th. Argh. That throws a wrench into my post-Christmas ski trip plans... ARRRRRGGGGHHHH Yeah mine too! Does anyone have alink to the actual news story? Tried looking for it but my kanji reading is rubbish! Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 If you kanji reading is rubbish, you won't be able to read it anyway will you? Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Perhaps snowsurf wants to look at the pretty pictures. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 「1000円高速ã€å¹´æœ«26～31æ—¥ã¯é©ç”¨å¤–　元日～５日ã¯å®Ÿæ–½ 　国土交通çœã¯ï¼”æ—¥ã€é«˜é€Ÿé“è·¯ã®ä¼‘æ—¥ã®é€šè¡Œæ–™ã‚’割り引ã「1000円高速ã€ã‚’年末ã®12月26～31æ—¥ã«é©ç”¨ã—ãªã„ã¨æ£å¼ã«ç™ºè¡¨ã—ãŸã€‚年始ã¯ä¼‘æ—¥ã®ï¼‘～３日ã«åŠ ãˆå¹³æ—¥ã®ï¼”ã€ï¼•æ—¥ã«ã‚‚実施ã™ã‚‹ã€‚年末ã®ç‰©æµã«é…æ…®ã—ã€å¹´å§‹ï¼’ã€ï¼“æ—¥ã®æ¸‹æ»žã‚’分散ã•ã›ã‚‹ã®ãŒç†ç”±ã€‚ 　åŒçœãŒ11月ã«è¡Œã£ãŸä¸€èˆ¬ã‹ã‚‰ã®æ„見募集ã§ã¯ã€åœŸæ—¥ã®26ã€27æ—¥ã®å¹³æ—¥æ–™é‡‘é©ç”¨ã«ï¼˜å‰²ä»¥ä¸ŠãŒå対æ„見ã ã£ãŸãŒã€ã€Œç‰©æµã®å½±éŸ¿ãªã©ç·åˆçš„ã«åˆ¤æ–ã—ãŸã€ã¨ã„ã†ã€‚ 　ã“れをå—ã‘ã€é«˜é€Ÿé“è·¯å„社ãŒå…¬è¡¨ã—ãŸå¹´æœ«å¹´å§‹ï¼ˆ12月26日～１月５日）ã®æ¸‹æ»žäºˆæ¸¬ã«ã‚ˆã‚‹ã¨ã€ä¸‹ã‚Šã®ãƒ”ークã¯12月29ã€30æ—¥ã€ï¼‘月２日。上りã¯ï¼’ã€ï¼“日。10ã‚ãƒä»¥ä¸Šã®æ¸‹æ»žã¯æ˜¨å¹´åŒæœŸã«æ¯”ã¹ï¼—割増ã®258回発生ã™ã‚‹è¦‹é€šã—。30ã‚ãƒä»¥ä¸Šã®æ¸‹æ»žã¯æ˜¨å¹´ã®ï¼™å›žã‚’超ãˆã‚‹17回起ã“ã‚‹ã¨ã¿ã¦ã„る。(19:47) Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Originally Posted By: tripitaka Scary.... and criminal. What do you mean "misses by inches"?? There's been a few times, with the ETC thingy plugged in, where she has forgotten to slow down enough and just go under with the barrier barely halfway up. It's not like she is even trying to skip the toll either as has been without another car in front. Link to post Share on other sites
snowsurf 0 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Cheers Grungy, the wife will be able to make more sense of it than I can! Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 snowsurf, Plain English : 1000Yen toll doesn't apply for Dec 26~31 but applies for Jan1~5 Link to post Share on other sites
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