Transportation in Japan

My class here in Japan is taking place at Liberty Towers, the political science and economics building of Meiji University.  Luckily, our hotel is very close to Liberty Towers. It is only a 10 minute walk away. So every morning I walk to class. On the way to class, there are many food options. There is a McDonald’s, a Korean barbeque, Ramen, Gyoza and many other restaurants on the way there. The walk to class is definitely a great way to see Japanese society in the morning. Kids are wearing their respective schools uniforms and the salary men are in black suits and ties.

Public transportation is key here in Japan. The public transportation really takes you everywhere in Tokyo. The fare is based of distance and the trains are always on time. The train comes in uniform intervals and the wait is not that long. It is actually pretty fast and efficient. The use of a refillable card called a “Suica” card makes it very quick checking in to a train station because all you have to do is tap. The trains are also very clean with absolutely no litter. This is amazing considering the fact that there are vending machines at all the stations. The only cons that I see about public transportation here are situational. The fares can get kind of expensive, as it is based on distance. The trains can also get very crowd. It is so crowded that there is no need to grab onto the poles in the train. This only occurs during rush hour though.