First Class Travel
On JR train lines and the Shinkansen, there are first class carriages known as Green Cars. You can tell them apart from the other carriages because they are double-storey and have an interior like an airplane.
An extra charge is required to ride on the Green Car. The cost varies from line to line and is dependant on distance, but when I rode on the Green train recently from Shinjuku to Yokohama on the Shonan-Shinjuku line, it cost a basic charge of 540 yen and an extra Green Car charge of about 800 yen.
The place on the platform where the Green Car will stop is clearly marked out. You form a queue there. On some trains (I presume they are older trains without the new technology), you will have to buy a paper ticket and have a conductor stamp it as you’re lining up.
But on the newer trains, you can pay for the Green Car in advance on your Suica card (at a special vending machine on the platform), then once you’re on the train, scan the card against the ceiling. The red light above your seat will turn green and stay like that for the route you have paid for.
Pretty cool.
So, why travel on the Green Car?
The first thing you will notice is that it’s very quiet. It’s much more insulated from the noise of the train than normal carriages. The seating is guaranteed, of course, so if you’re not keen to stand up squished against someone’s armpit in peak hour, the lure of a Green Car seat for a few hundred more yen may compel you.
Also, the seats are big and reclining. There is also a fold out table and a drink holder, in case you want to eat or get some work done. You may also find some celebrities, or at least free-riding politicians there.
For the average gaijin living in Japan, Green Cars aren’t something you would need to deal with very often, if ever. Just make sure you’re not trying to get into one if you haven’t paid for the ticket.
But if you’ve had a long day where nothing’s gone right and you just want a little bit of peace on your way home, the Green Car is a nice alternative to the sardine can you get inside normal carriages.
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