This page gives a detailed description of how to read a Japanese language railway timetable route map.  It is intended only for those seriously planning their own trips within Japan, and who may need to use the Japanese National Timetable book -- the Jikoku-hyo.  If you did not get to this page from a link on Randy's Japan Guide -- "Riding the Trains" page, then you should go back there for a quick overview of just what the Jikoku-hyo is.

Below is one image of just a part of one of the 20 or so pages of route maps in the Japan National Timetables book -- the Jikoku-Hyo. It is a very busy image of just the area around Osaka and Kobe. I will here try to show you how to use it to find the train timetables you need.  Before beginning to use these maps on your own, you will need:
    A. A good knowledge of reading Japanese  OR
    B. Someone else with that knowledge  OR
    C. Maps in both Japanese and English that you can compare  AND
    D. Lots of time and patience!

Note that, on the map just below:

• I have added a few names in English to help you get your bearings; these do not appear in the real book!
• The maps are not to scale and directions between points are not exactly correct.
• The big red and white line is the Shinkan-sen (bullet train) route. Its name is in red characters -- "Sanyo Shinkansen". The last character is "sen" -- a (rail) line.
• The timetable for this part of the Shinkansen is on page 65; see the red "65"?
• Each train direction often -- but not always -- has a different page number. 
• Note that all trains go "UP" towards Tokyo, and "DOWN" away from Tokyo; the timetables list all route directions as Up or Down. In spoken Japanese, these are called Nobori () and Kudari () trains, respectively.
• The black line below the Shinkansen on the left part of the map is the regular Sanyo Main Line. The timetable for its Westbound trains begins on page 212. Its Eastbound timetable starts on page 224 (not shown on this fragment).
• Hatched black lines, which are not as thick, are private railway lines; their station names are in blue.
• The red lines in Osaka Bay are ferry routes. Their full schedules are on the page numbers shown next to each route, and characters before the page numbers indicate the ferry's destination port.
• The Sanyo Shinkansen passes through Shin Osaka (but not Osaka), then goes East to Kyoto, which is just off the map to the right.
• The black line above the red-and-white line at this point is the Tokaido Main Line to Kyoto, and on to Nagoya, and Tokyo. You can't see its page number on this fragment, but it is also p 212, because the Sanyo Line is a continuation of the Tokaido Line.
• The heavy black line below the red-and-white line at this point is the Katamachi Line, whose timetable is on page 748.
• The next heavy dark line to the south is the Kansai Main Line, whose schedule is on page 310.
• The route to the new Kansai Airport is on page 314.
• Some bus and ferry routes have xxx-C or xxx-D; these pages are divided into several sections; section "-C" is the third down from the top of that page.
• The numbers in green circles are spots of touristic interest, explained in notes above and below the map on that page. #40 (below) says "Osaka, Kobe, Takarazuka". #49 is "Shigi-San" mountain.

Go back to the Train Timetables Page for detailed instructions on how to start from these maps to find your way around the timetables...

Happy Trains!

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