Part Five: Transportation

1. Water Transportation

Closest Major Port: The closest major port to Japan is the port of Busan located in South Korea. The city is home to about 3.6 million people which lends itself to why the port is so large. The port can harbor ships over 500 feet and length, and has much of the modern technology that a large port should have such as lifts and cranes.

Ports in Country: There are approximately 940 domestic and 130 international ports in Japan. Some of the largest of these consist of the port of Tokyo, the port of Osaka, and the port at Yokohama.

2. Land Transportation

Railroad (freight): There is approximately 27,000km of railroad in Japan that are used by over 100 different companies. The Japanese Railroad Freight company along with over a dozen major companies provide railway services. 

Railroad (passenger): Six companies comprise the Japanese Railways Group that provides public transit in the country. There is an estimation that over 22 billion passengers being carried by the Japanese transit system, making it one of the most used in the world. The Japanese public train system consists of conventional lines as well as high-speed bullet trains that can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour.

Highway and road network: There is about 7,000km of expressway on the main islands of Japan. Most important signs along these are in both English and Japanese, with speed limits usually being around 80 to 100 km per hour. The expressways are often subject to tolls of which can get as expensive as about 30 dollars.

3.Air transportation

International Airports: Japan is home to five different international airports, which are n the cities of Osaka, Tokyo, Aichi, Chiba, and Hyogo.

Other Airports: Japan has 98 airports in total. Many of these are important in transportation between the many islands that make up Japan. There is also about 30 airports exclusively used for military use.