Nights 1 and 2
It’s hard to fathom the Japanese rail network until you experience it. There is simply no equal to it by any metric - the frequency, speed, comfort and overall usefulness of their trains is second to none. In fact, the only thing I can really compare it to is the US airline industry, just considerably better in all ways.
This trip was the very first time that my wife and I were able to get away, just the two of us, since our son was born 13 months ago. Due to a minor part-time relocation to Hong Kong because of a family member passing away, we have been spending a lot of time here in Asia. I had only been to Japan once before, and only for an airport transfer, so it certainly was a bucket list item for me. I love the trains, my wife loves the food, and we both love skiiing, so Japan was a perfect, and surprisingly affordable choice. We could only manage to get away for four nights/five days, so we barely scratched the surface, but I certainly got my fill of trains.
We flew from Hong Kong to Narita. The flight was only 4 hours, but due to a one hour time difference, and an early sunset, it sort of feels like the day was long gone by the time we made it to Tokyo Station at 5:30pm. Oddly enough, the airport was completely sold out of Suica cards, so we never ended up getting one - this proved to make things difficult when returning to the airport a few days later.
Arriving into Tokyo Station was unbelievable and a little overwhelming. The place is huge. I always vaguely knew that metro and train stations in Asia were malls and destinations unto themselves, but Japan takes this to a level even beyond Hong Kong (Hung Hom and West Kowloon Station are comparatively underwhelming). Winding through the low ceiling labyrinth of restaurants and shops below the concourse was an adventure.
Our first night was spent aboard the Sunrise Izumo half of the Sunrise Express, Japan’s last existing night train. The route serves Tokyo to Izumo and Takamatsu, with intermediate stops in between - most notably Okayama, which was our destination, as well as the location where the 16-car train splits in half. To suggest the experience was beautiful was an understatement. Even my wife - who’s fondness of night trains exists solely to make me happy - said she slept well, and enjoyed the ride. Due to the popularity of this train, and the fact that tickets are only available 1 month prior to departure, we unwittingly booked our accommodation in the smoking car. This was quite a stain on an otherwise perfect journey, as by morning, it was quite hard for me to breath. One thing to note is that the shower cards, which can be purchased in the lounge cars, sold out within minutes. We were among the first to board the train, and we still didn’t get a card.
The train, scheduled for 6:57am, arrived to Okayama about 17 minutes late (which i welcomed for the extra time and daylight). After a brief but failed foray to find some breakfast, we settled on a small joint within the station. Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat very much, as most things contained fish or meat. Overall we spent about 90 minutes in Okayama before heading up to the platform to catch a Nozomi Shinkansen to Kyoto.
In interesting anecdote to illustrate the crazy frequency that makes up much of the Shinkansen network, we actually boarded the wrong train (a regular Shinkansen rather than a Nozomi). We went up to the platform at 8:41 for our 8:45 train, and boarded an N700 that was on our track. When the train began to move at 8:42, it took my 30 seconds to realize that our train wasn’t simply leaving early, but that we boarded the wrong one - our train hadn’t even arrived to Okayama yet. Three minute headways in rush hour are insane for any type of transit, let alone high-speed inter-city trains. The journey from Okayama to Kyoto was a mind blowing introduction to Japanese high speed rail. I loved the TGV, but this was far superior.
Kyoto did not disappoint - the city has many attractions worthy of an entire day’s worth of tourism. We decided to focus on two places: Areshiyama in the day, and the Nishishi market in the evening. Our trains to and from Areshiyama were packed, the ride back to Kyoto uncomfortably so. The train was so packed that you could not move in any direction at all. At each subsequent stop, I was convinced no more passengers could board. I was wrong each time. Unfortunately, the railway museum was closed the one day a week we were there.
Picturesque Areshiyama has many attractions: the bamboo grove, authentic clothing rentals, myriad street food and restaurants, and a few temples. We visited the bamboo grove, and ate lunch at a wonderful Yudofu house, with an excellent vegetarian menu. They also serve buckwheat noodles, but one has to make a reservation for that.
In the evening, we visited the Nishishi Market. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any quality pictures. If you’re looking for a fun, energetic experience, this is for you! We visited about 5 or 6 different places. Kyoto is a walking city. My wife and I ended up with 20,000 steps each (around 8 miles). Bring your sneakers.
We stayed in Hotel Granvia above Kyoto station. It has incredible value; borderline luxury for roughly
$100 a night plus fees. The station, similarly to Tokyo, doubles as a gargantuan shopping center. I purchased a Kato H0 scale trainset for much less than it would be in the USA and it was fun to wonder around and window shop.
I’m a big fan of the Japanese non-Shinkansen rail system. It’s convenient, frequent, and easy to use, assuming Kyoto is at all reflective of other places.
It’s hard to fathom the Japanese rail network until you experience it. There is simply no equal to it by any metric - the frequency, speed, comfort and overall usefulness of their trains is second to none. In fact, the only thing I can really compare it to is the US airline industry, just considerably better in all ways.
This trip was the very first time that my wife and I were able to get away, just the two of us, since our son was born 13 months ago. Due to a minor part-time relocation to Hong Kong because of a family member passing away, we have been spending a lot of time here in Asia. I had only been to Japan once before, and only for an airport transfer, so it certainly was a bucket list item for me. I love the trains, my wife loves the food, and we both love skiiing, so Japan was a perfect, and surprisingly affordable choice. We could only manage to get away for four nights/five days, so we barely scratched the surface, but I certainly got my fill of trains.
We flew from Hong Kong to Narita. The flight was only 4 hours, but due to a one hour time difference, and an early sunset, it sort of feels like the day was long gone by the time we made it to Tokyo Station at 5:30pm. Oddly enough, the airport was completely sold out of Suica cards, so we never ended up getting one - this proved to make things difficult when returning to the airport a few days later.
Arriving into Tokyo Station was unbelievable and a little overwhelming. The place is huge. I always vaguely knew that metro and train stations in Asia were malls and destinations unto themselves, but Japan takes this to a level even beyond Hong Kong (Hung Hom and West Kowloon Station are comparatively underwhelming). Winding through the low ceiling labyrinth of restaurants and shops below the concourse was an adventure.
Our first night was spent aboard the Sunrise Izumo half of the Sunrise Express, Japan’s last existing night train. The route serves Tokyo to Izumo and Takamatsu, with intermediate stops in between - most notably Okayama, which was our destination, as well as the location where the 16-car train splits in half. To suggest the experience was beautiful was an understatement. Even my wife - who’s fondness of night trains exists solely to make me happy - said she slept well, and enjoyed the ride. Due to the popularity of this train, and the fact that tickets are only available 1 month prior to departure, we unwittingly booked our accommodation in the smoking car. This was quite a stain on an otherwise perfect journey, as by morning, it was quite hard for me to breath. One thing to note is that the shower cards, which can be purchased in the lounge cars, sold out within minutes. We were among the first to board the train, and we still didn’t get a card.
The train, scheduled for 6:57am, arrived to Okayama about 17 minutes late (which i welcomed for the extra time and daylight). After a brief but failed foray to find some breakfast, we settled on a small joint within the station. Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat very much, as most things contained fish or meat. Overall we spent about 90 minutes in Okayama before heading up to the platform to catch a Nozomi Shinkansen to Kyoto.
In interesting anecdote to illustrate the crazy frequency that makes up much of the Shinkansen network, we actually boarded the wrong train (a regular Shinkansen rather than a Nozomi). We went up to the platform at 8:41 for our 8:45 train, and boarded an N700 that was on our track. When the train began to move at 8:42, it took my 30 seconds to realize that our train wasn’t simply leaving early, but that we boarded the wrong one - our train hadn’t even arrived to Okayama yet. Three minute headways in rush hour are insane for any type of transit, let alone high-speed inter-city trains. The journey from Okayama to Kyoto was a mind blowing introduction to Japanese high speed rail. I loved the TGV, but this was far superior.
Kyoto did not disappoint - the city has many attractions worthy of an entire day’s worth of tourism. We decided to focus on two places: Areshiyama in the day, and the Nishishi market in the evening. Our trains to and from Areshiyama were packed, the ride back to Kyoto uncomfortably so. The train was so packed that you could not move in any direction at all. At each subsequent stop, I was convinced no more passengers could board. I was wrong each time. Unfortunately, the railway museum was closed the one day a week we were there.
Picturesque Areshiyama has many attractions: the bamboo grove, authentic clothing rentals, myriad street food and restaurants, and a few temples. We visited the bamboo grove, and ate lunch at a wonderful Yudofu house, with an excellent vegetarian menu. They also serve buckwheat noodles, but one has to make a reservation for that.
In the evening, we visited the Nishishi Market. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any quality pictures. If you’re looking for a fun, energetic experience, this is for you! We visited about 5 or 6 different places. Kyoto is a walking city. My wife and I ended up with 20,000 steps each (around 8 miles). Bring your sneakers.
We stayed in Hotel Granvia above Kyoto station. It has incredible value; borderline luxury for roughly
$100 a night plus fees. The station, similarly to Tokyo, doubles as a gargantuan shopping center. I purchased a Kato H0 scale trainset for much less than it would be in the USA and it was fun to wonder around and window shop.
I’m a big fan of the Japanese non-Shinkansen rail system. It’s convenient, frequent, and easy to use, assuming Kyoto is at all reflective of other places.
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