The transport issue in Kyoto

It is time to talk about how we traveled with a baby on the ancient Japanese capital.

The yen: 1000 yen = 330 rubles.

Will be 36 photos and comments of the author.





2.Otel we specifically chose in the city center, but not far from the main train station in Kyoto. The calculation was correct, the main attractions were located within a radius of walking even with the stroller with the child, and a taxi ride with things from the station and back to cost no more than nine hundred yen (that is, less 300 rubles) in any case, in practice it did not work More than eight hundred.
Since I mentioned the Taxi, I finish about this form of transport. Catch a car on the street in Kyoto is quite simple. Firstly, on the main thoroughfares in the center there are taxi ranks, and secondly, the machine constantly ply the streets. I never had to stand with his hand raised more than two or three minutes. It is clear that in the narrow alleys, built mainly private houses, this trick would not pass.



3.Taksi in Kyoto there are at least two types of cheaper cars in the middle class and a little more expensive on a large machine. In fact, little difference between them, I noticed, well, a little more space for passengers seated behind. In an expensive taxi landing costs 660 yen and includes a two-kilometer run, then every 263 meters the counter counts down to 80 yen. "Cheap" taxi evaluates landing at 550 yen, which includes 2, 5 kilometers and an additional 300 meters worth 75 yen.
All machines are equipped with a drive opening the passenger door, salons often decorated quite ridiculous lace curtains and covers with lace trim. Once we are traveling by car, where the driver, as it usually happens in China, the cabin is surrounded by a plastic wall. I suppose that Japan, with its extremely low crime rate, it is a rare reinsurance. Additionally, all machines were installed camera, shoot what is happening in the cabin.
The drivers are very polite and honest. Even elderly taxi drivers, puffing, helped me to fold the stroller and tried to push her own (and heavy suitcase in returning to Tokyo) in the trunk and get out of there. The driver appearing on embodied here card (common practice in Japan, as in many other Asian countries - I think that it is more than reasonable rule), and does include the counter, just after we turned around, past several quarters, since I caught on the back of the car towards our target band.
In the tourist mecca of Japan, of course, language barriers when communicating with taxi drivers did not arise - the English language, at least as part of their professional duties, knew everything, without exception, so that half of the cases managed to do without finger-pointing at a map or a business card of the hotel. < br /> In general, this type of transport remains the best impression: fast, convenient, clean interiors and stained. Price, however, is high. If we were not the center by taxi would have punched in selling a hefty budget gap. The average trip within the center of Kyoto costs somewhere in the 1, 5-2 thousand yen.



4.Dorozhnaya network in Kyoto seems well-developed, at least superficially tourist. Condition of pavement large urban highways almost perfect, markings and signs read perfectly. The sidewalks are wide and reliably separated from the roadway.



5.Sovsem differently this is the case in the narrow alleys, and their big set in the city - they are like the capillaries permeate virtually all major districts, which is on the grid, cut into urban areas. Here and there are blotches asphalt patching in the spirit, and the width of the roadway, not to mention the similarity of sidewalks, depressing. With a pram to go very, very uncomfortable. We have tried to move on the smaller side streets, even if had to make a small detour. However, to completely avoid them still did not work, because sometimes crawl out too long.



6.Yaponskie drivers in the vast majority of road polite and correct (would we like that!), But raskoryachishsya car in the alley, blocking the way for pedestrians and hinder other road transportation, apparently, for a particularly great sin is not counted. In the 1990s and even in the early 2000s in Khabarovsk is often punished stud on board.



7.Mne had to meet Kyoto reviews about traffic jams, but I personally have not seen them. A small queue in front of the traffic lights are not in the bill. In general, never seen anything heavier than that in Khabarovsk would call a dense traffic, not to mention the permanent stand in traffic jams Moscow.



8.Za highways and major intersections watching a lot of video cameras. I suppose that they are not only part of the management of car traffic by adjusting the modes of traffic, but also fraught with penalties can capture traffic violations.



9.Podzemnyh pedestrian crossings in Kyoto as such I have never met, except that you can try to get to the other side of the street through a subway station. But viaducts ground crossings across often. I never saw that they were equipped with elevators, so that wheelchair users and people with pushchairs in such cases one has to choose the long way bypass. However, this is with subway stations - often equipped with elevators only one entry from the surface of three or four, so I have to run. I understand that by the standards of, say, the Moscow metro, or even viaducts in Khabarovsk Avenue 60 years of October is a mere trifle, as mentioned domestic facilities for people with disabilities in principle insurmountable.



10.Naibolshuyu threat (talking about it and the sad statistics) for pedestrians in Japanese cities, oddly enough, are not cars and cyclists who like to drive on sidewalks with a breeze, even in cases where it is prohibited. A flow of cyclists and pedestrians are divorced, but again, the Japanese are not too strictly adhere to these rules - a striking contrast with the overall high level of law-abiding residents of the rising sun.



11.Naskolko I know most of the bike is designed for the movement of the edge of the roadway, but usually much more willing locals rushing on the sidewalk.



12.Parkovki - a separate and quite an interesting topic, especially if you remember that the territory of the Japanese islands is small, but significant part of it is covered by mountains. Hence the extremely high population density with the widespread shortage of land. It is therefore not surprising garage, built in the first floors of high-rise buildings.



13.U I even had the impression that such premises garages often not thought of, and there were homemade adapted for these purposes is already directly during operation.



14.Chastny sector gets out as he can. Most often, the residents of these homes put the car in the alley on the areas marked with white paint (as permitted for parking spaces along the roadside in the UK). In apartment buildings the situation is even more interesting: as I said a resident of Tokyo, owners and tenants every year throw lots who get where parking place. The reason is that not all parking spaces were comfortable somewhere protected vehicles roof, and somewhere there are open-air, etc.



15.Chislo paid parking in Kyoto impressive. Under them are often used almost every free piece of land like this tiny partition between two houses, turned into parking only for two cars.



16.Otkrytaya more parking. Absolutely large I have not seen - certainly it affects the high cost of land.



17.Tarify parking services are very high. The weekday every 20 minutes, costing 200 yen on weekends and holidays are half an hour 400 yen, and at night a 20-minute counter natikaet hundred. In other words, per night parking will have to pay more than a thousand rubles. However, it is still cheaper than paying fines for parking in the wrong place - 15 thousand yen.



18.Krupnye parking doing such that they occupy as little precious land - as a vertical parking.



19.Konechno, not all Japanese are paying for more than three thousand yen a night shelter for the iron horse. If the apartment is purchased or leased under the agreement, it is usually attached to it one parking place, the fee for which is small - about three to five thousand yen a month. However, if you rent a car place an option (for example, for the second car in the family), it would cost a pretty penny. For example, in Tokyo, according to the area it is a pleasure worth 20 to 50 thousand per month.



20.Lyubopytno even how long the process takes an average of multilevel parking exit using the elevators and turntables. Complicating matters is that the building has to go, crossing the pavement often crowded streets, and pedestrians are not eager to give road vehicles.



21.Stoyanka bike in front of the multi-storey residential building.



22.Inoy time in private garages adjoin vehicles a variety of formats, as they say, for all occasions - from a bicycle to the expensive European sports car.



23.Na roads meet Kyoto unusual car, but not as often as in Tokyo. Even the composition of road traffic shows that the old Japanese capital of living is much more modest current.



24.Nastala time to go to public transport. Just I admit that trackless species we did not use it - traffic patterns throughout posted only in Japanese, which inevitably instantly cuts off the vast majority of tourists. Nevertheless, I want to mention that the intra-urban bus service in Kyoto sufficiently developed, and travel within the center of the municipal bus costs 220 yen for adult, and 110 yen for children aged 6 to 12 years. In private companies, I think the prices are kept at about the same level.



25.Naryadu metro, which I will discuss below, the role of public transport in Kyoto operate railways belonging to different companies. For myself I have christened them aboveground, though the stations are often underground and to a certain degree integrated into the municipal subway and the national railways (JR).



26.Tut elevated viaduct can be seen ferrying Keihan Railway in the city center.



27.Esli subway stations in at least one vending machine tickets can boast a menu in English (in Tokyo, and they did most of) the private sky train less friendly to foreigners. I managed to buy tickets only by sitting in his office at the turnstiles railway worker. English, he did not own, but with a card I was able to somehow explain where we need to pass, then my dear young man for me conjured with yaponogovoryaschey machine on the fingers showing how much money should be to feed the changer. By the way,
Not a very small coins or notes over a thousand yen machines are generally not accepted.



28.Snachala I was glad that travel to the purpose of the journey, to which there were four stations with transfers, cost only 300 yen (cost of two adult tickets, Alex went free in the light of a young age) at all.



29.Uvy, it was found that 100 rubles we have only one stage to the station transplant with a private line to the elevated Municipal Subway Tozai, and the street length of haul was only a couple of hundred meters. Very inconvenient system where tickets are not "through"! In Tokyo, by the way, the same picture. In this sense, the British public transport unlike the more convenient, although there are also whole heap of owners.
I have a general impression that the municipality does not like its private competitors. At least on the official website of Kyoto under intra-communication is silent about the "merchants" and rail public transport scheme is displayed in a surprising kutsem.



30. Underground Railway Station. Shown here the type of trains used the elevated several private lines. Along with intracity trains run as suburban and long-distance part of other types, but they are likely to bypass the majority of the urban stations on the surface.



31.Vagony extremely comfortable - they are much more convenient to their counterparts from the subway. Emphasis is placed on seats, upholstered dominated by something like velvet chair at the beginning and end of wagons set wide sofas.



32.Obychnaya metro station. No frills kind of art familiar to us through the old stations of the Moscow metro, but very clean, bright and quite spacious.
Escalators in Kyoto the way, I have not seen (only at the city railway station) - the station lie deep.



33.Chasche go all the way around the edges in the center of a common platform for both directions, but there are exceptions. Get lost inside it is practically impossible - everything required to duplicate inscriptions in English and signs hung in great abundance. Often there are benches on the platforms, vending machines or newspaper, and sometimes - drinking fountains.



34.Nekotorye stations are equipped with doors enclosing the platform from the paths. Law-abiding Japanese at the arrival of the train (and the interval of trains in Kyoto is much higher than in Moscow) is usually arranged in a neat place.



Unlike 35.Glavnoe subway cars from the elevated rolling stock - a clear focus on the carriage of standing, not seated passengers. Even on the basis of his multiple experiences, I can say that the subway ridership significantly higher. Cleanliness and neatness as subway cars in no way inferior to colleagues from the elevated.



36.Poskolku during peak hours in the Kyoto subway, I did not go, can not say anything about the very common in Tokyo discourtesy towards other passengers. Anyway, the old capital of Japan, I was not able to observe that healthy foreheads occupied the space reserved for the elderly, people with children and people with disabilities to push each at the turnstiles, etc. In this context, the return to Tokyo was a genuine shock.

That's all. Thanks to all. I was interested to read.



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