Tokyo Bullet Train

The bullet train is one of the most comfortable and fastest options for discovering every corner of Japan from Tokyo. With an extensive rail network that includes nine lines and routes covering almost the entire country, the Shinkansen, as they call the high-speed train, is one of the great prides of the Japanese.

Among the things to see and do in Tokyo, there are some tours that include trips on the Shinkansen to optimise the comfort of transfers and save time thanks to its speed of up to 320 kilometres per hour. Here are the tours you can opt for and the cities you can visit on the high-speed train.

Among the bullet train tours departing from Tokyo, the most popular are the tours to Mount Fuji and Lake Ashi. Fuji is Japan' s highest peak and a natural site revered and considered sacred by the Japanese since ancient times.

It is now one of the most visited attractions in Asia and millions of people come to Tokyo each year to see the mountain, which offers some of the best panoramic views in Japan and the most interesting hiking trails.

Because of Tokyo's proximity to the mountain and the convenience of being able to reach it by Shinkansen, many tour service providers offer a full-day trip from the Japanese capital to Mount Fuji, Lake Ashi at its foot and other nearby destinations such as Mount Komagatake and the Owakudani Volcanic Valley.

Both Mount Fuji and the Shinkansen are symbols of Japan and the photograph of the bullet train passing in front of the omnipresent volcano is one of the most representative images of the country, uniting the traditional with the technological.

If you want to take the bullet train tour from Tokyo, take the Tokaido line to Mishima Station and then board the bus to Fujinomiya, near the top of Mount Fuji.

The organised tour usually arranges a meeting point with the local guide in Shinjuku, and from there you will be taken by private bus to Tokyo Station to start the bullet train ride.

Details of interest

• Price... These tours have an initial cost of approximately 118 euros, including transfers, expert local guide and entrance fees to the attractions.
• Duration... The tour lasts approximately twelve hours from departure from Tokyo to return.

Kyoto is one of the most important cities in Japan. It was the country's capital until the 19th century and the only one that was not destroyed by the bombings of World War II, so it remains unchanged.

It is noted for its Buddhist temples, gardens and imperial palaces, as well as its exquisite gastronomic traditions, such as kaiseki meals. From Tokyo it is possible to visit it by bullet train with an organised tour.

On these tours you can visit the city's main attractions, such as the Buddhist temple Sanjusangen-do, the Shinto shrine Fushimi Inari Taisha and the Kiyomizu-dera temple, which stands out for its complex hilltop architecture.

If you have decided to visit Tokyo in summer, you will be able to see Mount Fuji from the Shinkansen along the way.

On this tour, once you meet the local guide and your group at Tokyo Station, you will use the Tokaido line, which is the busiest line of the Shinkansen, connecting the Japanese capital with Osaka and Yokohama, Japan's three largest urban areas, and you will get from Tokyo to Kyoto in two hours.

Interesting details

• Price... These tours have an initial cost of approximately 95 euros including transfers, expert local guide and entrance fees to the attractions. As Kyoto is one of Japan's most outstanding gastronomic sites, these tours usually include lunch.
• Duration... The tour lasts approximately twelve hours from departure from Tokyo to return.

Yokohama is Japan's second largest city and has many attractions that make it worth a visit. Famous for its financial district and shopping malls, it's also home to lush gardens and the Minato Mirai 21 waterfront urban area with museums and an amusement park topped by a Ferris wheel.

From Tokyo it's possible to visit on a day trip by bullet train.

The star of the futuristic city of Yokohama is the Landmark observation deck, Japan's second tallest building, which offers a panoramic view of the bay and Chinatown, home to the country's largest Chinese community.

Opposite Minato Mirai 21, on Shinko Island, you can visit the Ramen Museum, dedicated exclusively to the Japanese noodle.

Other places of interest around Yokohama include the Enoshima Shrine with its huge red-painted cedarwood torii and the Aquarium, although these are not usually included in the tour circuit.

Once you meet the local guide and your group at Tokyo Station, for this tour you will take the Tokaido line of the Shinkansen to the city of Yokohama.

Details of interest

• Price... These tours have an initial cost of approximately 85 euros including transfers, expert local guide and entrance fees to the attractions.
• Duration... The tour lasts approximately ten hours from departure from Tokyo to return.

Osaka is another of Japan's great cities and with a bullet train tour from Tokyo you can discover its best attractions, such as the Imperial Castle, the Dotonbori district, Shitenno-ji Temple and the Tsutenkaku Tower observation deck.

A day tour will also give you enough time to visit the Kuromon Ichiba flea market and Universal's film studios.

Osaka also has an extensive museum circuit, including the National Museum of Art, the Science Museum and the Museum of History, which mainly commemorates the events of World War II.

In any case, discovering this cosmopolitan city is an occasion not to be missed, especially if you travel to Tokyo during the spring and decide to take one of the tours to Osaka, which has large parks and gardens full of cherry trees where you can take the best pictures.

On this tour your local guide will meet you at Tokyo Station and from there you will take the bullet train to Shin-Osaka, which is the final station on the Tokaido line, the most important and most used part of the Shinkansen.

From Tokyo you can cover the almost 500 kilometres from the Japanese capital to Osaka in less than two and a half hours.

Interesting details

• Price... These tours have an initial cost of approximately 105 euros including transfers, expert local guide and entrance fees to the attractions.
• Duration... The tour lasts approximately twelve hours from departure from Tokyo to return.

You can book any of the bullet train tours from Tokyo online or once you are in the city.

From the Japanese capital there are many day trips available and the speed of the Shinkansen helps with these tours.

Tours to the cities of Yokohama, Osaka and Kyoto are usually available but tours to Mount Fuji and Lake Ashi tend to sell out, especially if you visit Tokyo during October and November. I recommend that you make sure you book well in advance.

It will depend on your chosen destination, but tours usually last between eight and twelve hours. They all include return transfers on the Shinkansen and start in the early morning hours, returning to Tokyo in the early evening.

The longest tours are to Kyoto and Mount Fuji and Lake Ashi. Please note that the length of tours is always approximate, as inclement weather or cancellation of services due to weather variables may alter the proposed tour. My advice is that when it comes to tours involving natural visits, such as Mount Fuji, check the weather forecast for the day of the visit.

Each of the tours offers different itineraries. On the Mount Fuji and Lake Ashi tours, you will discover the magic of one of the natural sites revered and considered sacred by the Japanese since ancient times.

You will also be able to access the viewpoint of Mount Komagatake and enjoy a panoramic view of the volcanic valleys and the crater lake.

In the case of Kyoto, you will discover what was once the ancient capital of Japan and one of the only cities that remains intact, as it was not hit by the bombings of the Second World War.

A city of temples and hills, you will be able to see magical buildings and enjoy the local food, as it has one of the most exquisite cuisines in the country.

Yokohama is the city of the future, with its huge skyscrapers and observation decks, and its unique museums, such as the Ramen Museum, while in Osaka you'll visit lush parks and gardens, varied museums and some of the city's most distinctive neighbourhoods, such as the brightly lit Dotonbori.

I recommend that you consider the timing of your trip to Tokyo and check out the best time of year to visit Japan's capital.

In some months, especially from August to December, the number of visitors increases and tours, especially those to Mount Fuji, can be sold out. In any case, I advise you to book in advance to secure a place on the tour.

If you are travelling to Tokyo during the winter, I also recommend that you bring warm clothes and a mackintosh, as snowfall is common and persistent and temperatures drop significantly.

Tours are organised and scheduled, but all include rest periods when visitors have time to do whatever activities they wish, so I recommend that you plan an itinerary to make the most of the time in between.

If after the bullet train tour you're interested in touring other cities on your own and the Shinkansen is expensive per leg, you can opt for the JR Pass, which can be very convenient if you're travelling to Tokyo for seven days or more.

It depends on the destination you choose, but there are tours that start at 85 euros, including return transfers from Tokyo and most attraction tickets.

Except for tours to Kyoto, these tours do not usually include a meal.

In any case, a tour can be much cheaper than a visit on your own using the bullet train, as each Shinkansen ticket costs around 30 euros each way.

To cut costs, you can opt for the JR Pass, which will allow unlimited travel on the high-speed trains, but will require continuous use to pay for the investment.

The Shinkansen is one of the great experiences to be had on your visit to Tokyo and from the Japanese capital it is possible to reach virtually any city in Japan on the high-speed trains.

And with a wide variety of tours including bullet train transfers, you're sure to find one to suit your interests, whether you're looking for a futuristic city like Yokohama or a samurai experience

On the other hand, travelling at over 300 kilometres per hour on Japan's mountainous roads can be a blast and a great time-saver if you're looking to see Tokyo's surroundings. And they're very comfortable, even if you're travelling around Tokyo with kids!

Tokyo has the largest metropolitan area in the world and can be overwhelming. To a lesser extent, this pattern is repeated in the outlying cities of the Japanese capital, at least in the most visited ones such as Yokohama, Osaka and Kyoto, so organising the tour on your own can be exhausting and overwhelming.

Also, the experience of travelling by bullet train from Tokyo is highly recommended but not usually cheap, because each Shinkansen ticket costs approximately thirty euros per section, so adding the cost of the attractions to the transfers can be very expensive.

Just as I recommend getting to know the Japanese capital through a guided tour of the city, opting for an organised excursion from Tokyo will solve all those problems and allow you to relax and enjoy the trip and the visit.

On the other hand, some sites such as Mount Fuji or Lake Ashi are a bit inconvenient to access by public transport, so an organised tour will optimise your travel time and also allow you to discover some local secrets, such as the panoramic views from Mount Komagatake and the Owakudani volcanic valley.

You should also bear in mind that, due to the long distances involved, visiting distant cities such as Osaka or Kyoto by car can be tiring and time-consuming.