To Tokyo
Trip Start
Dec 17, 2007
1
7
30
Trip End
Feb 14, 2008
Tokyo,
Japan
Saturday, December 22, 2007
got up at 7 am to finish
drying my clothes which I split into two loads (I learned my lesson). My train
left at 9:30 so I was
watching the clock. The first load finished and put in the second load. At 8:30 , I took out
the slightly damp clothes and packed them away. I decided to take a taxi to the
station as it was kind of far and I didn't want to struggle carrying my bags
and getting on and off the street car during the morning commute. Talked
baseball with the Taxi driver who was a Hawk fan and I learned that Fukudome
signed with the Cubs for 54 oku yen ($40 million) for 4 years- wow! Actually
got to the station at 9 am so I had
plenty of time to buy my breakfast (couldn't find my papers). I could have
given my clothes 5 more minutes to dry.
Today's
train is the White Kamome (I rode the old version yesterday) and it's another
beauty with a sleek nose and a very modern fashionable cabin with seats in
black leather. The interior doors are of glazed glass and the bathroom cabin
had a curved wall and a waiting area. Overall, another very pretty design. The
journey to Hakata takes less than two hours but I saw on the train map (in the
JR Kyushu on-train magazine) that they want to build a branch of Kyushu
Shinkansen to Nagasaki . I see many
problems as it is pretty mountainous near Nagasaki meaning many
expensive tunnels have to be built along with the fact that the government does
not have extra funds. I was thinking if they work on rebuilding and
straightening the current line along with advances in train technology, they
could cut the time down towards a little over one hour and save a lot of money.
At
Hakata, I had about a half hour wait so I bought a taste of Kyushu ekiben (the
best hits collection of all the Kyushu prefectures)
and my newspapers which I then almost left behind in the bathroom. Finally, it
was time to catch the queen of Japanese rail and the workhorse, the Nozomi
Shinkansen (700 series) for the one way, 5 hours and 12 minute run from Hakata
to Tokyo . Sure it
would have been faster to fly to Tokyo but I just
wanted once to make the run in one shot. I think it was the farthest I have traveled
on one train. After the great trains of Kyushu , the Nozomi
was sort of plain; the interiors are vanilla, 5 seats across with 20 rows. The
train is long with 16 cars so there can be over 1500 people hurdling up the
Japanese island of Honshu at speeds
close to 300 km/h (180 miles per hour). So I watched the countryside and cities
fall behind me; Hiroshima , Okayama , Himeji , Kobe , Osaka , Kyoto , Nagoya and Osaka as the train
races towards Tokyo station.
I
must sound like a train geek (densha otoko). Ok, I am. Sure, I'll buy the phone
book size train schedule every year or so. I think it is the best way to travel
and see the countryside and it is interesting to see the different types of
trains. Also, coming from Oregon where people
don't ride trains, I have a sort of romantic notion of trains, where they take
you to many far off and wonderful places. The weather was cloudy all day so I
didn't expect to see Mount Fuji but as the train rolled
through Shizuoka , I looked up
and saw the grand mountain, and not fully snow capped but long white streaks of
snow. The Nozomi Shinkansen finally arrived at Tokyo Station and the huge busy
exciting crowded megaplex that is Tokyo . The station
was crowded with people and I had to hunt and peck to find the underground
passage to the Yuracho station which is several hundred meters to the south but
I finally found the way. By taking the Yuracho line, I could go straight to my
friends house without the hassle of lugging my bags up and down stations
stairs. Finally, just after 6 pm , I arrived
at my friend's house and I was able to relax.
Review
of Kyushu
I
enjoyed the five days I spent in Kyushu . I was a
little disappointed that I couldn't go to Yakushima as I originally planned but
I saw many great places, walked through history, ate delicious food and soaked
in my own private onsen. Traveling through Kyushu was easy and
the cost wasn't too bad as I stayed in nice budget inns which ran from 3600 to
4200 yen (except when I stayed in Yufuin).
The
top 5 of Kyushu
5.
Eating tonkatsu ramen in a Hakata yatai
4.
Visiting the Nagasaki Atomic museum
3.
Following the trail of Saigo Takamori
2.
Riding the Yufuin no Mori train (along with the rest of the great Kyushu trains).
1.
Taking a bath in my own private bath in Yufuin.
On
a health note, I woke in Nagasaki with a
swollen right eye which hurt a little but after a couple of days got better. No
idea what was wrong or what caused it.
