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Fabulous Shinkansen
Our long awaited ride on the Shinkansen, first to Nagoya, about 2 hours away from Tokyo. Japan's main island, Honshu, is covered by a network of high speed trains connecting Tokyo with most of the island's major cities. These high speed bullet trains are called shinkansen, and operated by Japan Railways (JR). The Tokkaido shinkansen, which we will be using, connects Tokyo to our others visits: Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya. This line was inaugurated in 1964 as the first shinkansen line and the world's first high speed train service. At that time, the trains already ran at about 200 km/h. Now, they reach speeds of 300 km/h.
We bought shinkansen passes in the states before we left, to help save some money along the way. It was still pricey, but much less than flying or buying tickets piecemeal along the way. There are three basic types of trains:
*Nozomi trains stop only at the most important stations, and reach Osaka from Tokyo in about two and a half hours. The nozomi is one of the very few trains on the JR network that cannot be used with the Japan Rail Pass.
*Hikari trains stop a little bit more frequently than nozomi trains, and need roughly three hours to reach Osaka from Tokyo. On the
Always On Time
Never late,never early, always on time. Sanyo Shinkansen, the Hikari trains are known as "Hikari Railstar". This is the train we use, albeit in non smoking and first class.
*Kodama is slowest category. Kodama trains stop at all stations.
Someday, we will have something like this in California to help us get from San Francisco to Los Angeles in just a few hours. Our travels here on the train and lugging a bag will be a great reminder of our previous Eurail trips in Europe.
The Japan Rail (JR) Pass is highly cost effective for us foreigners, and provides unlimited travel on the JR network. The pass is also good for JR bus lines, and the JR (Miyajima) ferry. The 21 day pass is 58,000 yen, with first class (green cars) at 80,000 yen. Children ages 6 to 11 get 50% off these rates. The JR Pass can also be purchased for 7 and 14 days. Also the JR Pass is not valid for the nozomi trains, couchettes, or private rooms. But we can make free seat reservations and for a smoke free car.
Can you believe that the national railway system is overcrowded? But Japanese commuters always find another tiny space
View of Mt. Fuji from Shinkansen
It was a wonderful 2 hour train ride from Tokyo to Nagoya. to squeeze in a few more bodies. But this overcrowding affords men of vile character to take advantage of the situation. As painful as it is to admit, Japan has a problem with groping and sexual molestation on the trains. As a counter measure, many railway companies have offered "women only cars". A word of warning: if a man finds himself in such a car, he should immediately move to another car!
We arrived in Nagoya in 2 hours, just as scheduled. The trains run to the minute. The stations are immaculate little cities unto themselves, with police, grocery, cafe, and gift stores. It makes our US airports and train stations look like Lego towns. We had lunch at a great sushi bar in the Nagoya station, just before checking in to our room. We saved quite a bit of money since these rooms are over $300, and we used our Marriott points instead.
The trains have attendants who pass out warm towlettes. Then they come through the rail cars with a cart full of food, snacks, and beverages. It is better than air travel, and smoother too. We were able to nap on part of the trip. We also got our first glimpse of Mt. Fuji. The coaches are clean and comfortable. The bathrooms are better than the airlines. Luggage is a little bit of a hassle, but easily overcome with some creativity. We can only hope we get something like this soon in the US, or at least between LA and SF.
It looks like we are going to like train travel in Japan. The hordes of people in the stations are testimony to its utility and speed, both for work and play. Well, time for a nap, or as they say here, oyasu minasai.
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