13 November, Shinkansen Hikari 462
Our train today is due to arrive at Tokyo station at 12:40. You can bank on it! Every train we have been on has left exactly on time, to the second. Even local clunkers at the end of a 2 hour journey, will come to a stop as the clock clicks on to the scheduled arrival time.
Every few minutes, a flash of blue and white at the window announces the passing of another 16 car train travelling in the opposite direction. Closing at close to 600 kms/hr, the flash lasts no more than a second or two. We have done this trip before and so we are prepared for the amazing sight of almost solid high-rises for the remainder of our journey. Mt Fuji also awaits, an hour or so before we hit Tokyo. Good visibility in the area is rare, but it is a very clear day today, so we are hoping for a better view than we had last time.
As a treat on our last night in Okayama, we took ourselves off to a sashimi restaurant. A mixed plate of seafood and red meats, including horse, arrived at our table – after we had convinced our waiter that we understood what we had ordered was, indeed, raw. Enjoyable, but far from filling. Our emergency supply of snacks was raided as soon as we got back to the hotel. Food prices, at least where we have been eating, are extremely reasonable. $35 for last night's delicacies included two beers.
Sadly, cloud obscured our view of Mt Fuji. Maybe our return journey will offer a better view?
14 November, Hikari Shinkansen 473 to Shin-Osaka
Given the number of these blogs written on trains, readers could be forgiven for thinking that we only come to Japan to ride on trains. Not true, but it is a big part of the fun.
Our hotel in Tokyo last night was a bit further out of town than we had expected, if there is such a thing as 'out of town' in Tokyo. As a result we just ate locally rather than having a big night out in the city. We spent the morning wandering about Akihabara, the district of Tokyo know as 'Electric Town'. Just after the war, this area was the home of a large black market in radio parts. It has grown into what can best be described as 'geek central'. Electronics stores and electric component stores are still here, but the dominant business is now in the popular Japanese culture of anime. Multi-storey stores feature thousands of models of fantasy characters. Other stores have rack after rack of computer games featuring the same characters, but the weirdest of all are the comic book shops where grown men in business suits and raggedy teens stand side by side, browsing fantasy comic books. And of course, the roar of the Pachinko Parlours floods the streets every time one of the doors to these houses of “fun life” opens.
No comments:
Post a Comment