[How To] Train Guide: Minami-Kusatsu Station to Kyoto Station and Back

Our International Student Ambassador, Shaiful Nizam, is back with another How-To guide for us.

This time it is a train guide. Ever wondered how to navigate a Japanese train station?

Shaiful Nizam shares each step by step.
Come take a read, and you will be sure to have a better idea of hoe train stations operate in Japan. Click to read on...

This post is part of a [How To] series directed by our ISA, Zam. He is an Ambassador for College of Information Science and Engineering. All information on this page is as of mid-summer 2020. 
 *The College of Information Science and Engineering will be relocated to Osaka Ibaraki Campus in April 2024. Visit our website for details.

Hi Everyone, if you have been reading my Bus Guide articles, welcome back. This time, I am going to show you how to take a train from Minami-Kusatsu to Kyoto and then back from Kyoto to Minami-Kusatsu. I would recommend getting an IC card such as ICOCA, PASMO or SUICA (Check my prevoius article), as it is so much more convenient, compared to carrying around coins, especially if you are planning to take trains a lot.

Minami-Kusatsu Station to Kyoto Station

Let’s begin our journey!

Here we will be taking the Japan Railways or JR for short. 

Figure 1: Two paths going down to the platforms

We start off at the ticket gates in JR Minami-Kusatsu station. As you go across the ticket gates you will see two paths going down to the platform. Platform 1-2 goes in the direction of Osaka and Kyoto, and Platform 3-4 goes in the direction of Kusatsu and Maibara. Since we're heading to Kyoto, we should take the stairs down to Platform 1-2. Notice that most of the sign boards are also in English. Even the electronic time table board would alternate between Japanese and English.

Figure 2: Train platform

This is how a typical Japanese train platform looks like. Those are the stairs that you will come down from. There will always be an electronic time table board on the platform displaying train arrival times. Similar to the electronic board in front of the ticket gates, this will also alternate between Japanese and English. As a safety precaution, always stand behind the yellow braille blocks

Figure 3: JR Minami-Kusatsu station sign

In case you could not recall if you have gone down to the correct platform, look for the station sign on the platform. It will tell you the next station in the line, and the previous station. In this case, the previous station is Kusatsu station and the next station will be Seta station. Cross checking with your choice of map app, such as GoogleMaps, this tells you that the train is heading in the general direction of Kyoto.

Figure 4: An electronic time table board

Next is to make sure you get on the right train. For this you need to know how to read the electronic time table board. (See Figure 4) The electronic board displays the following information.

• The left-most and right-most column indicates the side of the platform the train will arrive at, denoted by the big orange arrow.
• The second column indicates the type of train, either Local or Special Rapid etc. A Local train will stop at every station on the line, while a Special Rapid train will only stop at certain stations. The stations will be announced over the P.A (Public Address) system before the train arrives, so pay attention to the announcements.
• The third column indicates the boarding position. The numbers displayed corresponds to the numbers printed on the platform which indicates the position of the doors of the trains when it stops at the platform. The shapes (circle, triangle and arrow) correspond to the markings printed on the platform indicating where you should queue up. Since trains going to different destinations might use the same platform, Japanese train stations have a system where people would make different queue lines for different destinations so as not to block others waiting for different trains with different arrival times.
• The fourth column indicates the train’s arrival time.
• The fifth column indicates the destination. The sixth column is used to indicate when a train is delayed or special notes.

When you are coming from Minami-Kusatsu station, you will arrive at Kyoto station on Platform 5. At Kyoto station’s platforms you have two options, either you go for the West and Central exit or use the Underground East exit.

Figure 5: Kyoto station - Platform 5

The Underground East Exit leads to the subway system, and other exits located at different locations allowing you to exit from the underground to street level at different points outside the Kyoto station building. Also located within the underground, there is a whole shopping arcade and restaurants worthwhile to explore. I will leave this exploration to you.

Figure 6: Underground East exit

Going up the stairs/escalator to the main station building, you will exit into a hall way. The West exit is located just next to platform 5. Depending on which stairs/escalator you came up from, the West exit would be either to your right or left. Just look out for a large yellow sign board that says “West Exit” or “西口”.

Figure 7: West exit

If you continue walking pass the West exit, you will come across the yellow sign board for the Central exit. Continue walking to the end of the hall way, and you will come to two escalators. The one to the left goes down to an express train platform (Platform 30) for the Haruka Express that goes to KIX (Kansai International Airport), and the one to the right leads to the Central exit.

Figure 8: Central Exit

Coming down from the escalator you will already be able to see the huge Central exit sign board. This is Kyoto station’s main entrance and exit. Just outside is the main bus terminal where you can get a bus to anywhere in Kyoto. Within the Kyoto city limit, the bus fare has a flat rate of 230 yen for adults and 120 yen for children under 12 years old.

Figure 9: Ticket gates at Central exit

Kyoto Station to Minami-Kusatsu Station

To get back to Minami-Kusatsu, look for the stairs/escalator for Platform 2-3. This is located on the same hall way that you exited from Platform 5. If you are coming from the Underground East Exit, the stairs/escalator will also be marked similarly.

Figure 10: Platform 2-3

This is important, Platform 2 is generally for Minami-Kusatsu. Even though both trains that stop at Platform 2 and 3 are heading in the same direction, at one station, the line splits and go to different line and direction. Biwako line (Platform 2) goes around the east side of lake Biwa, while Kosei line (Platform 3) goes around the west side of lake Biwa. Minami-Kusatsu is on the east side of lake Biwa, so be sure to take a train that is on the Biwako line.

Figure 11: Platform 2 for Minami-Kusatsu

The usual trains that I take to return to Minami-Kusatsu are Kusatsu, Yasu and Maibara. Fortunately, it does not matter whether it is a Local or Special Rapid train since all the trains stop at Minami-Kusatsu station. Unless you want to get off at another station other than Minami-Kusatsu station, then you should check to make sure that the Special Rapid does make a stop at your desired station.

Figure 12: Platform 2 electronic time table board (sorry, it's a bit blurry)

Before I end this journey, I would like to point out that the trains do display their destination on the side of the train. In case you are not sure if it is the train that you were waiting for just look out for this display.  

Figure 13: Train destination display

So, with that we come to the end of our journey, and hope that you enjoy your train rides.

Zam

*The College of Information Science and Engineering will be relocated to Osaka Ibaraki Campus in April 2024. Visit our website for details.