Osaka Metro is an important railway network of the city. Service is generally fast and reliable... read more
Osaka Metro is an important railway network of the city. Service is generally fast and reliable... read more
One of the most convenience ways to travel. But behold with all the roads junctions gates etc that... read more
We caught the train everywhere. The metro is colour coded and easy to following in conjunction with Google maps. Otherwise we never would have found our way around. Put the destination into Google maps it will track your location and tell you what metro station/ colour you need to get on, it will tell you how many stops before you get there and then it will tell you where to get off or change train.
Metro/subway is different from the local train. The metro system is color coded and each line has a name. The metro and the train stations are near each other and often times are connected through passage way. It could be confusing for first time user. Study the transportation map beforehand to figure out whether the subway or the train station is nearest to your start and end points. There is help available at the ticket purchasing kiosk for directions and how to buy tickets from the machine. Take the plunge and figure out the system. This is part of the experience to travel in a foreign country.
The train system in this city is excellent and at our port station they had English speaking students who advise you on how to get to wherever you wish to go, and give you a station map with the respective services colour coded with bot local and English language station stops. 800 yen (about $10 AUD) gets you an all day pass to travel where you want for the day.
The circuits are easy to follow (green, red blue orange etc) and each station is called out by the internal train speakers before and when you get there in Japanese and English languages.
The services are quite evenly spaced, no more than 5 minutes between trains, also they are well air conditioned so what could be easier?
The Osaka Metro is one of the most reliable that I have ever traveled. The trains are very precise and run very smoothly and very often. They currently have a special deal called the Amazing Osaka Pass. This includes transportation and entrance fees for over 25 popular attractions, including the Tennoji Zoo. the Osaka Castle, Sailing at Cosmos Square on the replica of the Santa Maria (Harbor Cruise) and several River Cruises. It is only 2500 yen (about USD $23 per person). It is an amazing deal. It is on the internet and ticket passes are available at the Station Masters office in the Subway.
It gets you everywhere by connecting with the train network. Save your time reading the complicated network map by buying the minimum fare and do the fare adjustment at the exit. Or you may buy a IC card and preload money to it. Definitely use Google map witch tells you where to transfer and the fares for different route options.
The train stations may look confusing, but after studying the map and understanding how the trains connect, it is not that difficult after all.
Signages were sufficiently put up and looks pretty clear if one understands English and chinese. The waiting time for trains is short and trains are clean.