A very personal Decade of Dreams tour! UPDATED 6/5 About This Page:

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Wendyismyname

How long did the bullet train take to get back to Tokyo?? I don't remember reading that.

Chez, you should have pointed out the big yellow signs in front of her. That dense of a comment really needed a smart arse comeback.

We need to adopt that tipping policy.

It took us about 30 minutes...

[lauren-roxy]

Another great update!! I thought you were quite kind to the woman considering her rudeness.

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures Cheryl! You were very kind to the rude woman.....I don't think I would have been as nice!!

[Desurae]

You were so patient with the rude lady! I would have totally lost it! Prawn, hmmm, think McD's would bring that to our area??? Love the cherry blossom pics!!

[lauriep]

Beautiful photos of Fuji and the cherry blossoms at night. That is one cool-looking train. It's so clean! Can't wait to see your photos of Kyoto.

[BeckiO5]

Cheryl I loved your next update, however too bad you had a thorn in your side (The Australian Woman). Geez, I would have lost my patience with her if I were in your shoes. I'm glad you got to experience the train, and they do have a wonderful waiting system for their trains in Japan More please!

[KMB733]

The bullet train sounds awesome! Sorry about the rude lady. You kept your cool though.

[HiddenMinnie68]

Another great update and gorgeous pictures.

Why is there always someone on a tour like that??? Usually they're on my bus.

[christiejay]

I wonder how much repeat business she does with her travel agency clients ...

Great pictures of Mt Fuji once again. The resort area sounded very nice, I enjoyed seeing the variety of boats in your pictures. The bullet train must have been amazing, looking forward to hearing your next experience with it. Loved the pics of the cherry blossoms at night.

[mcc0313]

What a great day...loved the pictures, the landscape was breathtaking. The pictures of the train were great. Just from the few photos you shot while the train was moving you can get an idea of how fast that thing is. Can't wait to hear how your longer trips were on it. You definitely kept your cool with the TA from Australia, I probably would have tried to lose her at the station . As always...can't wait to hear about the next step of your journey.

[Lemap760]

Just read your report from the beginning. I'm very impressed with your ability to learn new languages and find your way around a foreign country.
As for the Australian woman, well this had me laughing but I probably would have tried to lose her in the subway.

[chezp]

Saturday 4 April – part one: was that an earthquake?!

It was a very early start for us, 5.00 to be precise. However, neither of us had slept that well. Apparently Mark woke up at around 1.00 and felt like the place was moving. We guessed it could have been a minor earthquake, as Japan is well known for earthquakes and Tokyo is supposed to experience hundreds each year, but it could also have been the Shinkansen, as I had had a similar sensation last night, as we had dinner in McDonald’s. Who knows?

We were packed and ready to go not long after 5.30 and I checked out and we got a taxi to Tokyo station. It was a small driver who was quite prepared to deal with our two reasonably heavy cases. That’s what I love over here, there’s complete equality. People think nothing of women doing traditionally male jobs, such as bell services, that involves lots of manual lifting. She got us to the station very quickly, with one case perched on the front seat, as it wouldn’t fit in the trunk of the taxi (you get an idea of how small the taxis over here are, as our luggage wasn’t that big!) and then it was into the station.


Pictures in the taxi on the way there


The area outside Tokyo station

The signs were easy to follow and, despite our original fears, it wasn’t too bad, as far as steps went. We had to navigate one set and then we found an escalator up to the platform itself. Of course, wouldn’t you know it, we then found an elevator when we got up there. :rolleyes> We quickly found the car that we were due to board, number four, and were first in line for it. It’s all marked out on the ground how you line up for it. Very orderly, but then you wouldn’t expect anything less from the Japanese. :



The train pulled in about 15 minutes before it was due to depart and we were probably one of the first on board, so we got some photos before it start to fill up.



Sadly, as it had worked out last night, when we went on the Shinkansen, we wouldn’t have a window seat this trip, which was a shame, but at least we would on our next two trips. I kept hoping that no-one would take the window seat next to us, but a guy did a few minutes before we left and stayed there for the whole journey. In fact, the carriage was pretty full, a surprise to me, as it was an early start, but I guess that doesn’t bother the Japanese.

We stowed our luggage at the back of the carriage. That had been a concern to us, as there didn’t appear to be anywhere to put it when we first boarded last night, but we had asked Take and he had explained that there was a luggage storage area and where to find it. You then just have to inform a member of the train crew that you have put luggage there, which we did.

We were off promptly at 6.30 and, once again, it was a very smooth and very speedy ride. We didn’t see much of the countryside, as obviously we didn’t have a window seat, but we also both napped a bit. At one point. I went out to the doors between the carriages and take some photos of Mount Fuji, which we could see to the right.


Mount Fuji


I tell you, it’s quite an adventure walking along the carriage at high speeds, as it’s then you do feel the motion and it does throw you around a bit. Each of the seats by the walkway have small handles that you can grab on to and I was very glad of those, as they did help to steady me.

We ate our breakfast that we had bought a couple of days earlier as we went along and, an hour and a half later, we were pulling into Nagoya, the first station outside of metropolitan Tokyo. From what we could see of it, it looked a lot more spacious and open than Tokyo, but I guess that’s no surprise, as you’ll probably find land values here are a lot cheaper. It also looked more industrial, but no photos, as I couldn’t bring myself to take photos across someone else.

Soon, we were back out into the countryside again and, once again, it’s very green here, something we’ve noticed ever since we landed. It’s also pretty hilly.

The further we got, the more overcast it became as well, which didn’t bode well. In fairness, the long range forecast had been saying that today would be rain for the whole two weeks before we left, so the weather didn’t surprise me, but of course, it still disappointed me.

We got to Kyoto dot on time at 8.50 and were straight off the Shinkansen, with no problem, despite having to deal with our suitcases. We stopped to take some more photos, as this was another Shinkansen haven. They were everywhere.



We headed outside to get a taxi and managed to find one that took credit cards, which was a relief to us, as all too often, you just can’t pay by card in Japan. The only problem was getting the driver to understand which hotel we were going to, but we got there in the end.


Outside the station

The journey to the hotel only took about five minutes and the hotel, the Karasuma Kyoto, looked really nice from the outside. We went in and checked in, but sadly our room wasn’t ready, so we left the luggage and headed out. We didn’t get far, before I realised that I was missing something very vital – my camera, which was in my hand luggage. D’oh! I quickly went back and rescued that and we were off.



Next: a very odd view at the top of a tree!

[Wendyismyname]

Very nice. I can't wait to hear about Kyoto!

[Desurae]

More great pics! Looking forward to more!

[Colexis Mom]

The train ride looked nice!! Can't wait to see Kyoto!!