Train Riding Etiquette

On Shinkansen trains, can we eat large meals on board ? Can we bring alcohol, beer, vodka, sake and the like and drink too.

If beer is not acceptable because of the alcohol, can we bring other beverages on the train, iced tea, juice and things like that?

On the longer train journeys such as Tokyo to Kyoto / Kyoto to Takayama / or Kyoto to Hiroshima, do the shinkansen trains have dining cars and or bar cars?

Do people strike up conversations on train journeys or do people just veg out and prefer not to be bothered?

Whats the atmosphere and ambience like on long trains? Do they play muzak on the loudspeakers?

On Shinkansen trains, can we eat large meals on board ?

Yes. But the space is limited to a small table similar to the tables on airplanes. So, I recommend to keep you large meal in small containers that fit onto the table. Also, you might want to avoid meals with a very strong smell such as hamburgers and french fries, since the strong smell could bother the neigboring passengers.

Can we bring alcohol, beer, vodka, sake and the like and drink too.

Yes!

On the longer train journeys such as Tokyo to Kyoto / Kyoto to Takayama / or Kyoto to Hiroshima, do the shinkansen trains have dining cars and or bar cars?

No. But there is a food cart passing regularly, offering small boxed meals, snacks and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Do people strike up conversations on train journeys or do people just veg out and prefer not to be bothered?

Ususally the latter, but there are always exceptions, especially if you are a foreigner. Being able to speak Japanese greatly enhances your chances to get a discussion going. If you want to talk, I recommend to initiate with some small regular remark. You will then feel whether the person is interested in talking with you or rather not.

I once had an very joyful "drinking party" on a train from Sapporo to Aomori with a few Hokkaido locals who happened to sit next to me.

Whats the atmosphere and ambience like on long trains? Do they play muzak on the loudspeakers?

No, there is no music. Japanese trains are usually quite quiet. many people don't appreciate loud voices. But espeically on weekends, you have some joyful group of travelers (often women in their 50s and 60s) who bring some noise into the car.

In any case, it is recommended to keep one's voice down out of consideration.

Trains to ski resorts, which are full of young skiers and snowboarders, also tend to come with a high noise level.

On the shinkansen, beer is sold together with bentous (lunchboxes.) It is not unusual for people to bring their own bentou or sandwiches to eat on the shinkansen. However, it is all very quiet and it is certainly not to idea to start a noisy party in your corner of the train.
Eating in commuter trains is not a good idea. Especially since they can get really crowded all of a sudden. I usually use the following rule: if the train has seats with the back towards the sides, I don't eat or drink, if the train has seats in rows which have traytables, I eat my bentou.

On the longer train journeys such as Tokyo to Kyoto / Kyoto to Takayama / or Kyoto to Hiroshima, do the shinkansen trains have dining cars and or bar cars?
Shinkansen trains do usually have a 'cafe' car where you can buy things and often you'll see somebody with a car coming through the train to sell you drinks and food. It is often cheaper to buy your drinks and food before boarding the train and you'll find lots of small shops on the platforms having usually a larger choice of bentou.

Do people strike up conversations on train journeys or do people just veg out and prefer not to be bothered?
Usually people (pretend to) sleep.

Whats the atmosphere and ambience like on long trains? Do they play muzak on the loudspeakers?
It is all very quiet, even taking a mobile phone call is frowned upon and you'll see the people getting calls dash off to one end of the train car to talk.

On Shinkansen trains, can we eat large meals on board ? Can we bring alcohol, beer, vodka, sake and the like and drink too.

Yes you can drink.



On the longer train journeys such as Tokyo to Kyoto / Kyoto to Takayama / or Kyoto to Hiroshima, do the shinkansen trains have dining cars and or bar cars?

No, just a food cart that is pushed up and down selling various items, such as drinks, snacks, box lunches etc, like on an airplane.


Do people strike up conversations on train journeys or do people just veg out and prefer not to be bothered?

Most times people keep to themselves, again its sorta like being on an airplane, you usually stay in your seat most of the journey. There isn't much opportunity to strike up conversation with random people other than maybe the person you're sitting next to, but often times (myself included I like to be left unbothered).


Whats the atmosphere and ambience like on long trains? Do they play muzak on the loudspeakers?
No they do not.

I'm wrong, there are some snack cars as well. I just never use them to remember.

If I remember correctly, the snack cars that some Shinkansen trains have and some don't are all-standing. They don't have seats. Also on very crowded dates such as the Golden Week, Obon and Year End/New Years, the Shinkansens can get extremely crowded with people standing around that it would be difficult to go to a different car such as the snack car.

The locals choose and buy from a great variety of lunch boxes and alcohol and non-alcohol beverages that are sold at the Shinkansen station's platforms. Each station has its own unique lunck box(es) and it's always fun to enjoy what you can get only when you're traveling. However, almost all lunch boxes are not served hot, so some people prefer to eat hot soup noodles at the platform.

As for striking conversation, I often see similar questions on Japanese forums (the ones used mainly by Japanese people, I mean). As it is on planes, it seems to depend on the person. Some like to talk, some don't.

What I always do whenever I'm traveling long distance is, as I choose my seat I'd say hello with a big smile to the person sitting next to me. The rest I leave it to that person. I've shown that I'm okay with having communication, so if the person wants to talk (s)he will start talking.

I think I remember some cars were designated as "Quiet Cars" where all noise and even conversation are minimized so that people can sleep. The snack carts usually have a little music playing as they go by but I think they turn it off in the quiet cars.

I think I remember some cars were designated as "Quiet Cars" where all noise and even conversation are minimized so that people can sleep.

Yes, there is such a car on the Hikari Rail Star between Osaka and Hakata, but I have not seen them on any other train.

The snack carts usually have a little music playing as they go by but I think they turn it off in the quiet cars.

I remember having seen snack carts with music in the past, but recently not anymore. They were either abolished or exist only on certain routes or in certain regions of Japan.

hi, may I know whether the on-board bentou and meals on the shinkansen are expensive?

food on trains, whether Japan or Europe is nearly always more expensive than food purchased on the platform or just outside the station.

It also depends on the atmosphere of each train car too. When I went to Kyoto, there was a ton of school girls in my car, so the atmosphere was very lively and people were chatting quite a bit. Some of the kids rotated the seats around to face each other too.

On the return to Tokyo, there were your typical Japanese 'salarymen', so the car was quiet and conversation was pretty much dead.

The food cart lady came by a lot, and, yes, the food is fairly expensive. I had a snack on the trip to Kyoto, but we had a big dinner before the return trip and didn't buy anything on the train. I'd recommend bringing your food and snacks.