Thundercat 60 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 The Hakkodate extension is due to open in 2016. I think I remember reading that the Sapporo extension is being planned for 2020. Certainly in my lifetime (fingers crossed ). Anyway, there are no current plans to even have a stop at Niseko. Link to post Share on other sites
mitchpee 10 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Originally Posted By: Black Mountain The Hakkodate extension is due to open in 2016. I think I remember reading that the Sapporo extension is being planned for 2020. Certainly in my lifetime (fingers crossed ). Anyway, there are no current plans to even have a stop at Niseko. Wow, that is something that would seriously bolster the tourist industry and bring about some development. I'd be interested to take that up and see what it may actually provide! Link to post Share on other sites
mfriedm 4 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Originally Posted By: Black Mountain The Hakkodate extension is due to open in 2016. I think I remember reading that the Sapporo extension is being planned for 2020. Certainly in my lifetime (fingers crossed ). Anyway, there are no current plans to even have a stop at Niseko. Not at Niseko station, but yes at Kutchan, which is where most people who arrive by train come in anyway. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: MitchPee Wow, that is something that would seriously bolster the tourist industry and bring about some development. I'd be interested to take that up and see what it may actually provide! Remember it will run at Shinkansen prices, which are a lot more than flying with Skymark. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: Mr Wiggles Originally Posted By: MitchPee Wow, that is something that would seriously bolster the tourist industry and bring about some development. I'd be interested to take that up and see what it may actually provide! Remember it will run at Shinkansen prices, which are a lot more than flying with Skymark. And if it's anything like the prices during Obon to Kyoto then it will cost a pretty penny. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Aren't Shink prices the same every day and any time? Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Was just talking about train prices over summer to some friends who could not believe that the price of the Shinkansen ticket from Yuzawa to Tokyo has not changed in (at least) 15 years, and I guess from when the line first started. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: BagOfCrisps Aren't Shink prices the same every day and any time? Nope, they do vary depending on how far in advance you book, if you book just the ticket or a deal, and if you pay by credit card, cash or suica. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Do they vary by time of day? I think compared with say the UK though, it is a very stable price. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: muikabochi Do they vary by time of day? I think compared with say the UK though, it is a very stable price. Yep, they do. Forgot to add that too. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Well, it can't be as wacky as here when a ticket can literally cost 5 times as much depending on the time of day. Must be a nightmare for tourists. We found the prices very simple in Japan. You are just talking about special offers etc, Rob, aren't you? Buy a ticket at the station and it's pretty much the same price every time isn't it? Well, it was when we were there using them. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: BagOfCrisps Well, it can't be as wacky as here when a ticket can literally cost 5 times as much depending on the time of day. Must be a nightmare for tourists. We found the prices very simple in Japan. You are just talking about special offers etc, Rob, aren't you? Buy a ticket at the station and it's pretty much the same price every time isn't it? Well, it was when we were there using them. Na seriously, regular prices can vary quite a lot, sometimes by 500yen, sometimes up to 3-4000yen. Check on eki-net. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Na seriously, I'm talking about our actual experience of going to the station and buying tickets. Same price all day. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: BagOfCrisps Na seriously, I'm talking about our actual experience of going to the station and buying tickets. Same price all day. Seriously? Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Very seriously. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I don't use the train much but I know that if I go to the station and buy a ticket to Nagaoka, or Niigata, or Yuzawa - it's the same price it has been since I got here. I know you can buy monthly tickets and perhaps there are some special deals to be had somewhere, but I don't know about those. Go to the station and prices are as stable as they possibly could be! Perhaps it is an inaka thing. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: BagOfCrisps Very seriously. So you sat by the ticket machine and checked all the prices for the tickets at all the times throughout the day. That is serious. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Er, no. There was a sign saying how much it was to each destination. Regardless of time. Even I could understand that. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: BagOfCrisps Er, no. There was a sign saying how much it was to each destination. Regardless of time. Even I could understand that. Cool, I use eki-net to get my tickets though. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 And ticket prices also vary if you buy reserved or unreserved seats too. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: Man_In_Japan And ticket prices also vary if you buy reserved or unreserved seats too. Well, yes. That's expected surely. First Class or Green whatever you call them vary from Standard!!! But they do not by the time of day. And they do not vary by date. And have not changed in 15+ years. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: muikabochi Originally Posted By: Man_In_Japan And ticket prices also vary if you buy reserved or unreserved seats too. Well, yes. That's expected surely. First Class or Green whatever you call them are different from Standard!!! But they do not by the time of day. And they do not vary by date. And have not changed in 15+ years. Like I said, I use eki-net to buy my tickets, where the prices DO vary. Go check it out if you want. I believe you when you say that they haven't changed in 15years, heck, I still pay 290yen to go from Ofuna to Yokohama and that has been the same for 8years or so. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 No thanks I hardly even use it, but I believe it works for you. The fact remains that generally the price of train tickets bought at the station are the same throughout the day, every day, throughout the year. Certainly round these parts anyway. That is definitely a very different situation from, for example, the UK where almost every train in a day is a different price with wildly different prices depending on the time, and it costs you an absolute fortune if you happen to go and buy a ticket there and then at a station rather than book way in advance. And where the prices go up by huge amounts every year (up to 18% increase next spring I think I read?) Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 yes, seriously, thats the situation Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Yes UK train prices and system is madness. There is no "basic price" from which special offers might be available... it's just all over the place. In Japan there is a basic charge. What Rob is on about are all special reductions from that base price, special offers if you will. But if you don't take advantage of those, then you go up to a station safe in the knowledge of how much a ticket will cost. Link to post Share on other sites
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