Like most of the people we have talked to we got a Japan Rail Pass for our first visit to Japan.
Of course we did a lot of our rail travelling on the Shinkansen which is a great service.
I did find that a problem with the bullet trains is a lot of the journey is either in tunnels, or behind noise reduction walls
This means you may not see much of the countryside.
The Alternative
The shinkansens are only a small part of the Japanese overall network.
There are a wide range of other trains from slow country trains to expresses, many with far better views than the Shinkansen.
One of the best train journeys we took was the Shimano Limited Express from Nagano to Nagoya .
This runs through the Hida Mountains (sometimes called the Northern Alps)
Book early and you might find yourself enjoying this kind of view through a full width window behind the driver.
A great trip for me and my daughter, who are both train geeks!
On some of the cross country trains the driver sits above the passengers.
That means you can get an unobstructed view of the scenery.
Have you had any memorable rail trips in Japan?
