Are trains very cold in summer?

We will be spending quite a few hours on trains (Shinkansen ans limited explress, mostly) in July. It will probably be very hot outside, but how cold do they cool the trains? Will I want to bring long jeans and a warmer jacket just for train rides?

Rootles,

It's very subjective, but some trains (and buildings) can be quite fiercely air-conditioned in mid-summer, so it's not uncommon to see women in particular carrying shawls or blankets. In my experience, it's the local trains in Tokyo that are cooler than the shinkansen or other long-distance trains. I don't think you would need/want to wear long jeans specially unless you are exceptionally sensitive to air-conditioning.

Rootles,

Light long-sleaved jackets and long pants will be handy anyway. In the cities, not many local adults wear short pants, and in the countryside, short pants will cause insect bites. Also, it can often get chilly during the night, and when going into nice hotels and restaurants, short pants aren't appropriate.

So if you say you can handle the air-conditioning in your flights in short pants, I wouldn't really say that jeans are necessary, but I usually wear long flexible cotton pants for any international flight and wear those at my destination whenever I feel the need. Same goes with jackets.

Btw, a lot of the slower trains have "jaku-reibo-sha (cars with weaker air-conditioning)." Look for the sign Žã—â–[ŽÔ on the outer wall of the train.

http://www.google.co.jp/images?q=%E5%BC%B1%E5%86%B7%E6%88%BF%E8%BB%8A&...

I'd say, bring with you a cotton, long-sleeved cardigan or a light parka or something, so that if you find it cold you can just pull it out of your bag and put it on. Some restaurants can be cold too. As others have said, I find the local Tokyo trains quite chilly in mid-summer, and the long-distance ones aren't that bad.

I've been to various parts of Japan over the years and always travel in May. I took a train towards Kanazawa and was very uncomfortable (hot). It only gets warmer in the summer. For the most part, I would say just under 80 degrees.

Note that maxdurango's experience is very rare these days, especially in case of urban trains and major inter-regional routes.

I am trying to keep my suitcase light, but I think I will bring a cotton long-sleeve nice jacket, and also a lighter long-sleeve cotton blouse that I can wear over short sleeve shirt. When you say not to wear "short pants" do you also mean what we in the U.S. call "capri" or "crop" pants? (They fall somewhere between the knee and ankle, and are often quite stylish design). I will not be wearing sports-type "shorts" but thought that the more stylish capri pants would be suitable, even for adults in the cities.

Yes, capri pants are a very common sight here in summer, I wear them almost every day. When Uco san says "short pants" she would most likely mean ordinary shorts- Japanese people tend to call shorts "short pants" since in Japanese, shorts usually means underwear.

Some trains can be colder than others and it depends a lot on how long you spend on the train how much it can bother you really. As above commuter trains tend to be more strongly air-conditioned than long-distance express trains.

I always have a cardigan with me in case I get cold on trains- you tend to sweat a lot in the humidity here in summer so it's easy to get chilled. This doesn't only apply to trains of course, some buildings are quite heavily air-conditioned as well, although not as much as they used to be.