The Hyperdia is system can be a most excellent source of schedule information when used correctly. Hyperdia offers the following:

1. You can search point to point by time and date. The search yields the five possible results closest to the information you put in. You can choose the type of service you want to use: airlines, Shinkansen (‘bullet train’) or Limited Express.

2. The Hyperdia search includes local trains as well as Shinkansen and Limited Express trains so you can look for rail connections to even small towns, suburbs or subway stations. It also includes non-JR lines and even airlines.

3. You can link to complete schedules for the individual trains that come up during your search by clicking on the clock, or clock and book symbols under Timetable.

NEW! Hyperdia can now help you find trains you can use with a Japan Rail Pass. If you click the Except Nozomi button on the second page, where you insert your choice of times, you will get schedules only for Hikari and Kodama trains on the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen lines. These are the trains that Japan Rail Pass holders must use when traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and other points on these lines.

In addition to many ‘correct’ answers to search requests, Hyperdia can also yield some strange or misleading responses. The reasons are as follows:

1. Since Hyperdia is based on a system aimed at Japanese rail travelers it does not always ‘think’ like a foreign traveler. For example, it may suggest a route using local trains that require several changes, whereas a more direct express train may be easier for passengers who are unfamiliar with Japan and are carrying luggage, even though it may cost a little more.

2. Hyperdia searches are based on finding the connections closest to the time entered. Some of these connections may be perfect for your needs, but others may be convoluted involving several changes of trains. It is important to note that most long-distance rapid express service may operate only once or twice an hour; Hyperdia may automatically provide slower, more complicated routes occurring in the intervals between these faster, more comfortable trains, so be cautious whenever you see a complex route. This may be correct, especially if you are traveling to smaller spots, but sometimes it may be simply ‘wrong.’

Hyperdia offers its own brief explanation of how to choose the correct station names: just click on the Help link at the bottom of the first page. Note the following two important search facts:

1. All station names must be entered as one word. For example, Minami Miyazaki or Minami-Miyazaki (‘South’ Miyazaki) must be entered as minamimiyazaki.

2. There is a pull-down menu next to station names showing various possibilities. But note that prefixed names will not appear under unprefixed names, e.g. Shin-Osaka will not appear as a choice under Osaka.

Hyperdia can search only if given the correct station name. In most cases the station will be the same as the city, e.g, Hiroshima. But there are places where the station name may be less obvious.These include:

1. Cities where the name of the station is different. Two outstanding examples are Fukuoka in Kyushu where the station name is Hakata, or Kita-Kyushu where the major station is Kokura. These are cases where older cities have merged.

2. Many Shinkansen ‘bullet train’ stations have the prefix Shin- (‘new’) to distinguish them from the older commuter rail stations. For example, there are both a Yokohama and a Shin-Yokohama Station.

3. There may be more than one city or town in Japan with the same name. Hyperdia usually offers a choice based on prefecture or rail line in its pull down menu. For example there are three stations named Ueda, one each in Aichi, Fukushima and Nagano prefectures. Hyperdia lists these in order of importance and also shows two longer names: Uedai and Uedahara.

The following are some stations that may be confusing to you. Please note that out of hundreds of stations, only a relative few will cause a problem.