00:03
Welcome to Kevin's English Room Podcast
Hello
Hello
Let's talk about the JR
JR?
Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that.
JR、新幹線特に
Yes
No, only 新幹線
新幹線チケットシステムはとてもとてもとても混雑です。
Yes
You can buy tickets through an app, right?
Yeah
And there's not, there's two.
Yeah
EXとエキネット
Yeah
What the fuck?
And then like, do you actually need to get the paper ticket?
And when you get two, do you have to put both in?
Or like, there's sometimes like you put tickets in the machine and you suikai it.
Yeah
What?
Sometimes it's like, it's all suikai.
Yes
Sometimes it's all suikai and all you have to do is just tap once and you're good to go.
Who is understanding all that?
That's right.
Like, I've been in, I've been, you know, accustomed to the Japanese railroad system for a very long time.
You've been there longer.
Yes
And like, and I am a fairly geeky guy.
Like, I like to, I like new techs.
Yeah
I like new systems.
I like apps.
I like to get into all these digital stuff.
And be as digital as possible.
Yeah
So I love getting tickets online and then using just my phone to get in shinkansen.
But like, I spent one or two hours trying to understand the whole system.
Right
I was not able to do it.
Yeah
I was not able to do it.
Right
I was not able to do it.
How are you understanding the shinkansen system?
So a few days ago, like two, three days ago, I went to Nagoya.
OK
And I bought a ticket for shinkansen.
OK, yeah.
Through EX.
OK, yeah.
And that was my first time buying a ticket through the EX.
OK, OK.
And so this time I bought a ticket through the system.
Usually you'd buy like at the green counter?
No.
I have no like my own way.
Got it, got it.
Because it's too confusing.
OK, yeah.
All the time I just...
You kind of shy away from it?
Yeah, like...
Yeah, and then as a result I just go to the ticket counter and just buy like this.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And get a credit card.
And that's the fastest way.
Right, that's easy to understand.
That's simple and easy to understand.
So that's what I've been doing.
And this was the first time I used those system, the apps.
And then I bought a ticket through the service.
Yeah.
And then I register my PASMO or SUICA.
03:03
Right, they ask you.
Yeah.
They ask you to do that.
And I enter the code, like the number.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And then it says done.
And nothing came out.
Yeah.
OK, yeah.
But like that's all.
And I have nothing else.
And I was very kind of...
Until the moment I touch my SUICA.
Is this like...
Like is this valid?
Yeah.
Is it like...
Is the ticket in here actually?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Or should I like buy different thing at the ticket place?
Yeah.
Or like is that...
Can I...
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And yeah.
The only thing I used was just SUICA through the EX.
So I now kind of understand how it goes.
And it's very convenient.
You only need the SUICA or smartphone.
Yeah.
But it's very confusing.
And also I wanted to change the trains to a different time.
That is disaster.
Yeah.
And I went through the site.
And change the things.
And then change the timings.
And it says like it cost exact the same amount money.
OK.
Like 10,000.
So you don't have to pay extra.
Yeah.
But it was very confusing.
As if I have to pay extra fee.
Oh, really?
That's what it looked like.
Yeah.
I have to pay another like...
Now it's double?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But it should be free.
It's just a time changing for one time.
So it should be free.
But they says like it will cost you this amount.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
What?
But I just go like I said yes.
Yeah.
And then at the last page, it says like you purchased this amount.
And this time you purchased this amount.
And somehow like zero.
Oh, it's like so-so?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And then, oh, it was free.
OK.
Kind of.
Wow.
But before that, the page was very confusing.
It's like, yeah, I didn't like that.
Terrible, terrible UI.
Yeah.
Terrible UI.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
UI, UX, both very terrible.
Yeah.
It should be like changed.
Yeah, someone's got to get in there.
Yeah.
What is Ekineto, by the way?
So what I'm understanding, how I'm understanding is Ekineto is just a reservation system.
OK.
No?
So you can reserve a seat through Ekineto.
OK.
But you actually have to, and you can pay through Ekineto.
06:02
But you have to print the ticket at the ticket counter, no?
OK.
That's how you're understanding it, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Don't know if it's correct or not, but that's how you're understanding it.
Yeah.
OK.
So what I'm understanding is you can't use your card seeker.
Yeah.
To actually attach the information?
Yeah, yeah.
It's just a reservation service, just like hotels.com for like hotels.
Oh.
It's how I'm understanding it, but I'm not sure at all.
But EX, if you use EX, you can actually connect it to your seeker.
Yeah.
EX was good.
OK.
Yeah.
And once you register your seeker, then it goes on.
You can easily just select your seeker and then just, you only need this one.
Your mobile seeker or card seeker, that's all?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So you didn't have to, so you went to Nagoya, you didn't have to print out any ticket.
All you needed was your seeker, that's it.
Yes, yes.
And you connected.
Yes.
And it was all good.
Yes.
Oh, OK.
So at the Shinkansen gate, I touch my seeker.
And then, you know, there's a ticket exit over there, right?
Yeah.
And that machine prints you a little sheet like this.
Yeah, like these blue, light blue paper.
Like a different one.
Like a squared one.
OK.
It says like the car numbers and seat number so that you can understand where to sit.
Oh, go and sit.
Yeah.
But that's not like a ticket.
It's just a kind of memo paper that came out.
Oh, OK.
To just tell you your seat number.
Yeah, yeah.
So that's the only one you get.
Oh, that's cool.
Yeah.
That's cool.
You don't get like these like blue, green, two.
It's back, the black back.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You don't get that.
Always like, wait, do I put two at the same time?
Wait, do I put just this one?
Right.
Why is there two tickets?
Like, do you know why?
Like literally why there's two tickets when you ride Shinkansen?
So I was working on Travel Legends.
Oh, yeah.
You're a pro.
OK.
So I may be wrong.
Are you OK?
Even though you're a pro, you may be wrong.
This is so confusing.
Yes, yes.
OK.
That's what they all say.
Yeah.
That's what they all say.
Yeah.
Go ahead.
Yeah.
It's like you go, for example, from like Tokyo Station to Osaka Station.
That's like a 乗車券, like a JR 乗車券.
OK.
That's a, you know, fee for the train itself.
Sure.
And then another one is like a 特急券.
Yeah.
Very confusing.
OK.
What's that?
That's like a, that's a fee you pay for riding fast ones.
09:01
Right?
OK.
So if you want to ride a 自由席 新幹線 or 指定席 新幹線 or green 新幹線,
that you have to, you get different 特急 ticket.
OK.
It depends on the like trains.
If you ride a 自由席 新幹線, do you not have to buy the 特急券?
You have to buy 自由席 特急券.
You have to buy the 特急券.
Yes, yes, yes.
I see.
But less expensive than 指定特急券.
I see.
Yeah, yeah.
Right.
It makes sense.
Will there ever be a situation where you just have to buy the 自由席 新幹線 but not the 特急券?
Yeah.
It's just, for example, you enter Tokyo Station.
But you don't have to buy.
If you're using スイカ, that's just the same thing.
It's the same fee from you enter Tokyo Station and then using a 東海道線 and just go.
Locally, like go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And then get out at the Osaka Station.
That's the same amount of money.
That's a 乗車券.
OK, OK, OK.
Yeah.
So it's not necessary.
You can スイカ it.
Right, right, right.
If you like.
So I guess now スイカ is everywhere, like inside also.
So that's why sometimes you only get one ticket for 特急券.
Because 乗車券 is inside.
Or you don't need any 乗車券.
OK.
So confusing.
Yeah.
So confusing.
For example, like if you get on the 新幹線 from Osaka, 新大阪 and then get off at Tokyo Station.
And that's a 特急券 and at the Tokyo Station.
But the 乗車券 still valid within the Tokyo area.
Yeah.
So you can only use now 乗車券 and then riding it with 乗車券 and changing to 山手線.
That's right.
And that's very confusing too.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And you had to explain that to all the tourists that coming in, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's right.
That's right.
Yeah.
Disaster.
Yeah.
I mean, yeah.
I did a group touring.
Yeah.
So there is a ticket called 団結.
That's another.
Oh, that's another.
That's another one.
It's like a group ticket kind of.
12:00
I see.
Yeah.
Wow.
Yeah.
Wow.
That's true.
Disastrous.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
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