So Amanda left Japan on Friday night, and since then I've pretty much just been in bed trying to get better. Lost my voice for a bit and had the worst sore throat and then started to develop a really nasty cough. Luckily its starting to go away which is nice. I was getting sick of having to cough every 5 seconds...Today was my first day out since Friday. Its been a really miserable day here. Really cold and raining. My cousin Mai and I went out to Omiya to do some shopping. We are sending my sister a christmas package, so we bought a few more things to put in there, then we came back home and had pasta and some hot cocoa with marshmallows and sat in front of the heater watching tv. A lovely afternoon...
Anyway, this isn't the point of my post. Being in bed has given me some time to ponder on pointless topics. My brain finally decided on public transport...
So we as Melbournians know how awful our public transport system is. I think I can say in one word that it's shit. It's highly unreliable. If you get a train, tram or bus that comes one time, I am amazed. Every time I go to catch the train to uni I get the dreaded announcement "The 10:00am Flinders Street train has been delayed, and is now expected in 10 minutes (15minutes, 20minutes etc). Metro apologies for any inconvenience". I can't count the amount of times I've been late to class, work or meeting friends because of our below par public transport. It seems like all this "money" they are putting into public transport is going somewhere else.
Something I've noticed in Japan, and that I'm sure many of you have experienced, is the fantastic public transport system they have here. I have only ever encountered one late train in Japan in my life, to which they apologised profusely, and within 5 minutes the train arrived. That doesnt happen in Melbourne.
I find that Metro don't really inform the passenger of what is going on with delays regarding trains. Sometimes if a train is really late or even cancelled, they fail to tell us, and we are left standing on the platform clicking our tongues and stamping our feet. Whereas in Tokyo you get told of every little detail. If the train stops only for a moment, they let you know why eg. Waiting for a signal to change or a change in the tracks etc.
One thing I really love on the trains over here is the tv screens they have that play daily news and weather reports for passengers. They also play ads, snippets of tv and cute trivia questions to keep you occupied. Mind you, I think that if we had this in Melbourne, some bunch of wankers would probably bash the crap out of the screens or stick lots of gum on it. They also have heated train seats in winter-time which is really nice when you have been outside in the cold. Just dont wear a big coat, because it gets super hot.
Public transport goers here are generally really polite. An older person walks in and someone will automatically jump up to offer them a seat. In Melbounre I find that to be quite rare. All the high school kids occupy the special seats and have their headphones in and ignore everyone else. The only time I've found Japanese public transport to be quite rough is in the morning and night-time rush, when you literally get shoved onto the train by JR Rail people. At these times of the day, its everyone for themselves. Note to people thinking of going during these peak times. Dont take bulky items. You will be REALLY squashed.
Over here they use a similar system to the Melbourne Myki. But I'm sure you can guess that the system here is much better. Yes, it has been running for almost 10 years now, but it hasn't encountered as many problems as our awful Myki Card.
Suica is so much more likable than Myki. Not just because Suica means watermelon in japanese (that only adds to its awesomeness) or because it's mascot is a cute penguin. It's because its reliable and commuters trust it. I've only started using Suica for the first time this trip (all past trips I've used the old ticketing system, which is just as reliable, and still runs alongside the Suica system for people who dont travel often or arn't travelling far) and after just about 2 weeks of using it, I don't want to have to go back to Melbourne and use Myki again.
Suica has so many benefits which include:
lame.
anyway. enough of that. Just some thoughts.
Anyway, this isn't the point of my post. Being in bed has given me some time to ponder on pointless topics. My brain finally decided on public transport...
So we as Melbournians know how awful our public transport system is. I think I can say in one word that it's shit. It's highly unreliable. If you get a train, tram or bus that comes one time, I am amazed. Every time I go to catch the train to uni I get the dreaded announcement "The 10:00am Flinders Street train has been delayed, and is now expected in 10 minutes (15minutes, 20minutes etc). Metro apologies for any inconvenience". I can't count the amount of times I've been late to class, work or meeting friends because of our below par public transport. It seems like all this "money" they are putting into public transport is going somewhere else.
Something I've noticed in Japan, and that I'm sure many of you have experienced, is the fantastic public transport system they have here. I have only ever encountered one late train in Japan in my life, to which they apologised profusely, and within 5 minutes the train arrived. That doesnt happen in Melbourne.
I find that Metro don't really inform the passenger of what is going on with delays regarding trains. Sometimes if a train is really late or even cancelled, they fail to tell us, and we are left standing on the platform clicking our tongues and stamping our feet. Whereas in Tokyo you get told of every little detail. If the train stops only for a moment, they let you know why eg. Waiting for a signal to change or a change in the tracks etc.
One thing I really love on the trains over here is the tv screens they have that play daily news and weather reports for passengers. They also play ads, snippets of tv and cute trivia questions to keep you occupied. Mind you, I think that if we had this in Melbourne, some bunch of wankers would probably bash the crap out of the screens or stick lots of gum on it. They also have heated train seats in winter-time which is really nice when you have been outside in the cold. Just dont wear a big coat, because it gets super hot.
Public transport goers here are generally really polite. An older person walks in and someone will automatically jump up to offer them a seat. In Melbounre I find that to be quite rare. All the high school kids occupy the special seats and have their headphones in and ignore everyone else. The only time I've found Japanese public transport to be quite rough is in the morning and night-time rush, when you literally get shoved onto the train by JR Rail people. At these times of the day, its everyone for themselves. Note to people thinking of going during these peak times. Dont take bulky items. You will be REALLY squashed.
Over here they use a similar system to the Melbourne Myki. But I'm sure you can guess that the system here is much better. Yes, it has been running for almost 10 years now, but it hasn't encountered as many problems as our awful Myki Card.
Suica is so much more likable than Myki. Not just because Suica means watermelon in japanese (that only adds to its awesomeness) or because it's mascot is a cute penguin. It's because its reliable and commuters trust it. I've only started using Suica for the first time this trip (all past trips I've used the old ticketing system, which is just as reliable, and still runs alongside the Suica system for people who dont travel often or arn't travelling far) and after just about 2 weeks of using it, I don't want to have to go back to Melbourne and use Myki again.
Suica has so many benefits which include:
- Affordable: 2,000yen in total: 500yen for the card, and the remaining 1,500yen can be used on trains, metro or buses. You can get your 500yen back if you choose to return the card to a JR Rail Station, which is great for tourists. You can also get back the money you haven't used on your card.
- Easy to re-charge: You can re-charge your card at any JR station Suica card machine.
- Easy to use: just hold it for a second on the detector and it opens the gate. At your destination, touch off and it will tell automatically calculate your fare.
- Can be used on the JR rail system, Buses and Tokyo Metro system.
- The card can be used to buy drinks from vending machines on train platforms. Just touch it to the detector, select your drink and voila!
- Can be used to buy locker space at stations and also used as a key for the locker.
- Can be used to make purchases at chain stores such as 7-Eleven, am/pm, Family Mart and various other stores.
- Can also be used to make some online purchases with participating companies
lame.
anyway. enough of that. Just some thoughts.
