As if Japan itself isn't exciting and alluring enough as it is, the icing on the cake is Japan's rail system, surely one of the best on the planet. The country has consistently invested in the development and maintenance of its rail infrastructure. This includes high-speed shinkansen (bullet trains) and extensive urban transit networks,…
If you visit our site often, you'll know how much we love trains and the railways. In these days of a worrisome climatic future, and the growth of the global population and diminishing resources, we need to be efficient. Rail is just that . . and more. Recently, probably the longest train trip has been…
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Whooossshhhhh. What was that? That was 300 kph!
No pain, no gain? That’s insane.
Sleep your ride away. Show up fresh in Chongqing.
If you spend any time scouring the travel sites (including ours) it won't take much effort to see that China is - finally - becoming the place to visit. The doors are opening up, westerners are welcomed with open arms (provided that you don't prove yourself to be an idiot) and the ways and…
There are precious few countries that celebrate the simple things in life as much as the Japanese. Joy is almost a mandate, and lucky are those who visit this delightful part of the world. Naturally, most of the focus is on Tokyo, and rightly so, but one of the best things in life…
The fastest sleep you’ve ever had.
This could be another one of those "been there, done that" stories, where frenzied travelers (or travel bloggers) flee at full speed just to meet their self-imposed deadlines. But, seriously, that's not what travel should be about. You likely flew for ten or more hours to get there, so why rush it? …
We will remember this time in history as the time where everything went wrong all at once. Between Covid, forest fires, floods, earthquakes and people fighting each other, probably not even knowing why. So, to add salt to the wound, there are even problems with obtaining planes to be able to shuttle those who…
Tokyo Cyberpunk City. Neon. Coffee. Noise. Lights. Food. Yeah!
Europe’s first trains to use batteries as a main source of power have arrived. The future is now.
We love travel. We love places. We love people, everywhere. But one place that always tickles our fancy is Japan. If there has ever been a country that has gotten the balance right, it's them. The country and its people seem - almost effortlessly - to display to the world…
Ho ho ho. Another bad pun courtesy of the Admin. (We'll show him the door.) But that doesn't mean that he's wrong. No, not by any means. You'll want to get Krabi. For those not in the know, Krabi is a popular tourist destination located on the west coast…
Leave it to the Japanese (as ever) to create an efficient process, but then to add a layer of fun on top. Sure, in this case it's mainly for making commuting more efficient. About 800,000 people take the trains daily and their network now extends to numerous cities, covering over 2,400 km. Specifically, you may…
Like many modern, progressive countries, Japan has its eyes wide open when it comes to the environment and what we need to do to save it. In addition to Japan's willingness to live in smaller, more sensible dwellings, they are also world leaders when it comes to rail versus auto travel. And, this…
We live in North America, but have lived in other parts of the world, too. It still boggles our minds how so many the residents of this part of Mother Earth still cling to the idea that a fossil-fuel burning vehicle is the way to go when it comes to getting around. Admittedly, some have…
Here we go again - Matouring waxing on with dreamy eyes about the world's state-of-the-art rail systems. Today it's - no surprise! - Japan. Like most of Asia (and Europe as well) they realise the complete 360º view of what train travel brings to exploring the earth - or even just getting to work and…
We here at Matouring have often written about the wonders and the practicalities of rail travel. Much of the world uses it as the default mode of travel. But the United States has still not caught on to this global way-of-life. Like it or not, the United States has a big transportation problem. According to…