Japan17 from Tokyo to Takayama

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Takayama is a city in the mountainous Hida region

of Gifu Prefecture. Takayama retains a

traditional touch like few other Japanese cities,

especially in its beautifully preserved old town. It now ranks as one of the prime

candidates among travelers wishing to add a

rural element into their itineraries

The trains are clean, efficient, punctual, and comfortable

In a display of the Japanese' trademark discipline, passengers queue patiently while waiting for the arrival of a Shinkansen bullet train

The Tokaido Shinkansen is a shinkansen line that connects Japan's three largest metropolitan areas (Tokyo/Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka/Kyoto) with each other. It is Japan's best used shinkansen line with departures every few minutes

The ‘Angels’- A train cleaning team Everybody in their places

Cleaning crew (in pink) waiting for the train to arrive

At least one book has been written about these train cleaners, CNN produced a special report on them and dozens of magazine articles have covered them in detail

The Japanese railway system takes it to a whole new level; impeccably clean, efficient, and reliable. There is no better way to get around the country.

Specific queuing etiquette at Japan's stations

The Angels of Shinkansen cleaning Top team of Japan

Shinkansen is almost as expensive as a flight ticket, but in many cases much faster. What you can do to get a discount is to order the JR pass online before you go to Japan

You can buy a JR pass if you are a

foreign tourist visiting Japan

from abroad for sight-seeing,

under the entry status of

"temporary visitor.“

It can be used on Japan Rail

operated trains (including

Shinkansen), local lines of JR bus companies

and JR Miyajima ferry

The Japan Rail Pass can be used by foreign tourists only, and offers unlimited use of JR trains for one, two or three weeks at a cost that residents of Japan can only dream of.The JR Pass must be purchased before your arrival to Japan, because it is not available for sale inside Japan

 A soft voice announcing in English (and in Japanese of course), which stop is the next one

When opened in 1964, the Tokaido Shinkansen was the world's first high speed railway line. Then trains already ran at 210 km/h. Nowadays they reach speeds of 285 km/h. The line is operated by the Central Japan Railway Company, also known as JR Central or JR Tokai. Tokaido is the name of the main road, which connected the former capital of Kyoto with today's capital of Tokyo during the Edo Period

From Tokyo to Takayama (via Nagoya) Pictures taken through the window of the train… 

The kanji that make up Japan's name mean "sun origin", and Japan is often called the "Land of the Rising Sun"

Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago of 6,852 islands

Japan's population of 126 million is the world's tenth largest

Approximately 9.1 million people live in Tokyo

The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts

from the 1st century AD

The country has the world's third-largest

economy by nominal GDP

The country has the world's fourth-largest

economy by purchasing power parity

Japan is the world's fifth-largest exporter 

 It is also the world's fifth-largest importer 

Japan consists of forty-seven prefectures

Each prefecture is overseen by an elected governor,

legislature and administrative bureaucracy

Each prefecture is further divided into cities, towns and villages

The nation is currently undergoing administrative reorganization by merging many of the cities, towns and villages with each other

This process will reduce the number of sub-prefecture administrative regions and is expected to cut administrative costs

Japan has a total of 6,852 islands extending along the Pacific coast of East Asia

About 73 percent of Japan is forested, mountainous, and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use 

The habitable zones, mainly located in coastal areas, have extremely high population densities

Japan is one of the most densely populated countries in the world

The islands of Japan are located in a volcanic zone on the Pacific Ring of Fire

Japan has 108 active volcanoes. During the twentieth century several new volcanoes emerged, including Shōwa-shinzan on Hokkaido and Myōjin-shō off the Bayonnaise Rocks in the Pacific

Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunami, occur several times each century

Due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan is substantially prone to earthquakes and tsunami, having the highest natural disaster risk in the developed world

The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate, but varies greatly from north to south

Japan is a world leader in fundamental scientific research, having produced twenty-one Nobel laureates in either physics, chemistry or medicine, three Fields medalists, and one Gauss Prize laureate

Japan's road spending has been extensive. Its 1.2 million kilometers of paved road are the main means of transportation. However, at just 50 percent of all distance traveled, car usage is the lowest of all G8 countries

There are 175 airports in Japan

Since privatisation in 1987, dozens of Japanese railway companies compete in regional and local passenger transportation markets; major companies include seven JR enterprises, Kintetsu Corporation, Seibu Railway and Keio Corporation. Some 250 high-speed Shinkansen trains connect major cities and Japanese trains are known for their safety and punctuality

Pictures: Nicoleta Leu Sanda Foişoreanu InternetCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

Sound: Memoirs of a Geisha - Sayuri's Theme 2015