I'm not sure what I'd do without the online Travel Expert. It's a scaled down version of Japanese software that tells me how to get from point A to point B.

Today I want to know how to get from home (Kasuga) to a town in Hyogo Prefecture, several hundred miles away. I used my Japanese atlas to find the town, then checked for the nearest train station (Teramae). Plugging the stations into Travel Expert, I find out how to get to Teramae:

Duration 4hour 55min (Boarding199min, Walk2min, others94min)

Total 23,980 yen

Distance 668.4 km

Transfer 5 times

The route takes me to Haneda airport, then flies to Osaka. From there, it's a bus and two trains to Teramae. A final bus from Teramae will get me exactly where I want to go.

Or if I prefer not to fly, I can take the Shinkansen to Himeji and another train to Teramae. Since I want to visit Himeji Castle, that's probably the route I will take. It's less expensive, too. Only 15,210 yen (one-way).