Thank you for your feed back! I thought I could get to the bullet train part today but life got in the way. Had to get my son to the airport to get him back to school after the Thanksgiving break. I'll try to resume tomorrow. I plan this series will last probably another week or two with plenty of pictures to post.
Before arriving in Japan we purchased a JR Rail Pass, which allows you to ride on any JR trains including Shinkansen bullet trains as many times as you want! A rail nut's dream! Even though our trip was 15 days, we purchased the 7-day ticket. We didn't activate it until it was time to leave Tokyo. This gave us a window of 7 days to travel to the remainder of our cities. The cost of the pass was $205/person. That may sound expensive but it gives your unlimited rides and the Shinkansen is like air transportation without the hassle of dealing with airports. So for us, in our minds, it's 3 trips on a plane for $205. And when you see the seats, it's like flying First Class. Not bad at all! At first glance it looks like a toilet icon ( ) but directions to the Shinkansen in Tokyo Station. Remember earlier I mentioned no eating and drinking on subways and commuter trains? But fully allowed on the Shinkansen. Weird huh? The reason is that Shinkansens are long distance trains and like air travel, people can get hungry with multi-hour trips. In major stations like Tokyo Station, they have "Ekiben" stores. It's a play on words with Eki meaning station and Ben short for Bento box. The idea here is that people will buy their Bento box meals before getting on the Shinkansen. Again, full-on experience as they have 10+ sections like this offering all kinds of Bento boxes. Fish, beef, pork, chicken, eel, etc. We spent so much time here because there were so many choices! Although they are cold'ish, they are meant to be eaten at room temperature. But there are a few that are "self-warming". They have a string that you pull and it activates a heating element which heats the Bento box thoroughly. Talk about Japanese innovation! It's not an open flame so it's allowed on the trains. We didn't get any self-heating ones to try as when we went Tokyo was having a heat spell with temperatures between 90-95F. Then this caught my eyes! WHAT-IS-THIS???!!! A kids meal Bento box in a Shinkansen box??!!! No friggin' way!!!! I HAD to get one because, although no toy inside, you get to keep the container. I settled on an E7 Shinkansen! As we waited for our particular train to arrive I walked around the platforms to get some pictures. This is the train we took. A N700 Series model operated by JR West. Notice no bug splat on the nose? Either it's the tail section or they clean it at the end of each trip. Here's the E7 which my kids meal is based on. I tried to look for a N700 kids meal but I couldn't find one. At the end of the platform you can see Shinkansens coming and going. They arrive and leave ON-THE-DOT-TO-THE-SECOND! Since the Shinkansens are their cream of the crop trains, they have their own dedicated tracks and platforms without mixing it up with the other trains and subways. It's the only way to have total control. (Thus Tokyo Station has 28 active tracks! )
I suspect this is the front of a train as you can see the bug splats! But still, I'm amazed that there wasn't more compared to what's on my car's grill doing only 70 MPH. Maybe they use some kind of special aerodynamic Shinkansen anti-bug wax. Our train has pulled in and I always wondered what the interior was like. It's similar to an airplane in First Class but it's roomier, brighter and the seats are more comfortable. Notice the spotless floor again? Surprisingly it's not carpeted. Probably better to keep things clean should there be spillage. Remember, you can eat on Shinkansens. Remember the E7 Bento box? Well here's what's inside. The tangerine juice was separate. Like all kids meal around the globe this one is no different. More cutesy than tasty! It was just ok but I didn't buy it for the food. It was for the container. And speaking about the container, it was VERY well made. Nice thick plastic, well molded and it just exuded quality! I said to myself it would be quite funny if Kato made this. So I flipped the container over to read the bottom and no Kato. But, it was Made In Japan. How not surprising. Also, note the distance between the tray and the seat in front of you. This gives you some idea of seat spacing. As the train left Tokyo Station, it picked up speed once out in the country side. It was quite steady and very quiet. The only time I noticed something was "different" was when it went in and out of tunnels. I can feel the pressure change in my ears! While I was eating and drinking I realized the liquid inside the bottle was barely moving. Hmmm......! So I decide to find something online that can give me a speed from GPS calculations. HOLY COW! It actually did 185 but I was too slow to do a screen shot. I text the image to my brother and he said to pull up Google Maps for grins. I did. You know that blue dot that is "you", often in a car, following the road in a smooth motion? Not so on the Shinkansen! It jumps about 1/2" at a time. What a hoot! During the almost 3 hour train ride, I had a lot to drink so now we need to look for a bathroom. By coincidence there was one in the front of the car we were sitting in. This is pretty interesting. A large roomy area and I thought space was a premium on trains. With no words saying "Rest Room" I noticed the Women/Men symbol on this round pod-like structure on the left. And not knowing how to open the door I figured through deduction that the green/red buttons were probably the answer. Last thing I want is to press the red button and activate the emergency brakes on a bullet train! I pressed the green button and the curved door opened like some kind of space ship pod in a sci-fi movie. All that was missing was that "swish" noise. I was greeted with this. Holy Moly! Another full-on experience! This bathroom is bigger than what I have at home and it has all kinds of contraptions and gadgets! I spent more time in there than I should have just examining the whole setup. LOL!!!!!! Now I can brag and ask what's the fastest you were going on land while doing a #1???? And finally here's the view from the window and that is Mt. Fuji in the distance. It's not the iconic image you often see with the snow capped peak. It was summer and a heat wave was going on. Oh, if you ever do this trip from Tokyo to Kyoto, sit on the right side so you can see Mt. Fuji. My wife did the research before hand.
Thanks for this thread, Mike. I am really enjoying it. The Shinkansen is truly incredible! I wish we had trains like that here in the USA.
So true! After personally experiencing it myself, this eliminates air travel by 50%. We traveled to 3 major cities in Japan without having to make use of the airport. And it probably was faster given all the time padding you need for air travel. Imagine, traveling up and down the east (or west) coast without a nary of worry! Fast, comfortable, cheap and you arrive with no stress and a smile on your face. Alas, it will probably never happen here in the US. We just don't have the infrastructure and cars rule the world here. "Sorry guys, we have to move (or tear up altogether) an interstate so we can put in this high speed rail." Ha! Imagine the uproar!
The truly amazing part is that for most of the day there are SuperExpress (Shinkansen) trains every 10 to 15 minutes between Tokyo and Nagoya/Kyoto/Osaka. Outside of certain holiday periods there are almost always reserved and/or unreserved seats available. And, there are many other cities one can visit via Shinkansen and far more when connecting via regular trains. There is never a problem getting around on trains, all of the stations have numbers, so it's hard to get lost. Unfortunately, the price of the national JR Rail Pass went up dramatically back in October. It's still a bargain if one wants to visit a lot of places scattered around the country in a short period of time. Otherwise, I'd concentrate on a few major cities, buy Shinkansen tickets (or plane tickets which are often cheaper) to move between them, then use lower cost regional JR passes to explore using limited express and local trains. We were last there in May for three weeks, with stays in Osaka, Kotohira, Matsuyama, Tokyo, Nikko, Kanazawa, Takayama, then Osaka again (plus day trips to Kyoto, Kochi, Toyama), all via Shinkansen or express train. I only managed to hit a couple of hobby stores in Osaka, though, coming back with a Kato 9 car Thunderbird set I've long coveted (although I've yet to actually ride on a Thunderbird, I think they look cool).
Before we leave Tokyo and move on to our next city of Kyoto, I forgot to talk about the following and to further answer @Rich_S 's non-seafood inquiry. How about some Wagyu beef at a street food store in Tsukiji Fish Market? Yeah, a beef store in a fish market. I have never had Wagyu beef before because it's a rarity in the US and I've heard it's ultra expensive. I have heard about how the cows are raised with champagne, daily massages, and piped in music to make them as stress free as possible. Given the opportunity in Japan, I had to try it. Not only is it cheaper by miles but there's a pretty good chance that it's 100% authentic and never frozen. If you get it in the US think about how long of a journey the meat must take and how many hands it has to go through thus increasing the chances of counterfeit and increased cost. Here is the dude butcher that was cutting this slab of Wagyu beef. Just take a look at that marbling! It ain't no Sirloin! After trimming the meat, he cuts it into cubes and directly hands them over to the chef, whose was 5 feet away. You actually watch this so the chain of custody is genuine. No behind the black curtain swap-a-roo trick! And here's the end result. We also ordered a Wagyu beef rice bowl. These were not cheap by any means. The bowl and the skewer were around $18 each. Not much food for $18 per. But you only live once and we had to try it since we were already there! So how was it? IT-WAS-AMAZING!!!! WOW! All of a sudden that $18 each was totally forgotten after the first bite! The best way I can describe it is like eating beef that is like a stick of butter out of the refrigerator. The first bite has the consistency of steak but it soon melts (really, like melting butter) and the taste of beef fat goes all over your mouth! If you had NO teeth, you would have been able to still eat it! I wouldn't recommend this to those who has high cholesterol. As you can see in the picture, they only give you salt, pepper and horse radish sauce as the condiments. Nothing else to ruin the taste of the beef. I only used a touch of salt as nothing else is really needed. The next day we had to go cheap due to the extravagant Wagyu beef meal - just kidding. There was rumor on the internet that McDonald's in Japan is like gourmet and nothing like McDonald's in the US. I heard they have a shrimp burger! Take a look at bottom row, middle! And if look at the pricing, it's 770 Yen, that's like $5+. What the heck?! Value meals are like $10+ here in the US and you ain't getting no shrimp burger! I had to get one and try it out. So how was it? IT-WAS-AMAZING if you are a seafood or shrimp lover. Every bite full of shrimp and NO filler! No bread crumbs, no chopped onions and carrots, no dough, nothing, just bits of shrimp in every bite.
That beef looks amazing! I have never been much of a traveler, but images of their food makes me want to take my N scale shopping list and go to Japan!
I will be glad to take you and be your tour guide! ANY excuse to go back! I'm still looking for that photo that I took of a Wagyu beef all-you-can-eat buffet. I *think* it was like $50 or so. Oooohh, it was so tempting!
What a great fun thread! When in the Navy, I hit two ports, Sasebo and Yokuska. I don't remember much from Yokuska, it was a short stop, but Sasebo was fun. I did get into a Dept store there and saw their model and trains section, which was impressive then! Had no time either trip to even ride the train anywhere, so I am thoroughly enjoying these posts. Keep it coming!
Glad you guys are enjoying it. Initially I thought maybe the pitchforks would come out saying to take my journey elsewhere as this is a model train forum! I may be diverting here and there to other worthwhile locations in Japan but I assure you that at the end your minds will be blown when I describe (with pictures) hitting the Mother Load. Please be patient... Back to the journey... After an almost 3 hour DELIGHTFUL ride on the Shinkansen and having lunch on board zipping along the Japanese countryside at 185 MPH, we arrived at the historical and cultural city of Kyoto. Kyoto was the ancient capital of Japan, for over 1000 years ending in 1868. Again, like most major cities in Japan, the railway station is the cornerstone of city buildings. Even though Tokyo Station is the largest, we arrive at this monstrosity! This is the main hall of Kyoto Station and what a first time visitor would see upon entering. Just look at the steel lattice work! However, before discovering the main hall, we were wondering about the inner labyrinths tying to find the exit to the station. What? I came across this! No way! WAY! It's a Kato factory store INSIDE Kyoto Station! What a way to carry on the railroad theme. Unlike the monster Kato Hobby Center in Tokyo, this one is much much smaller but very high class and elegant. Further evidence that Japan is a train focused (whether real or model) society! That's my kind of town! Kyoto is an art and cultural city. It has the most temples and shrines of all the cities of Japan reason being it was spared the Allied bombings of WWII. Rumor has it (still being argued on the internet) that the then US Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, crossed off Kyoto on the list of cities to be bombed because he honeymooned there and fell in love with the city. I can tell you that everything is done with an artistic flare. Every store was like an art gallery on how merchandise was displayed, how the employees greeted you, and discussions about esthetics of their products. You can even see that in the Kato store. Look at the rich wood cabinets and shelves displaying the trains. Nothing out of place! Outside Kyoto Station and right across the street is Kyoto Tower. I don't know it's original purpose but it is now a radio broadcasting antenna as well as commercial shops. I was getting artsy one night (hey, we're in Kyoto!) and got a shot of the reflection of the Tower on the glass facade of Kyoto Station.
I can’t wait for the next stop on your tour. Each one is a treat. The Kato store at the station is a very pleasant surprise. I love your artsy photo! You did good.
Sorry for the absence. Too much holiday stuff getting in the way of trains! LOL!!!! Here is the business end of Kyoto Station. Although it looks big, it's probably smaller than Tokyo Station. In the distance you can see the dedicated Shinkansen tracks. No comingling with the regular trains! This day, Hello Kitty was in town! Not the pink Shinkansen. I think this is just an express inter-city train. It's pretty cool to see it in person. If we were on the right platform, you could have just walked in and take some pictures. Some of the cars had their doors open. Cab ride! Our inter-city train pulled in and it just happened that we were standing at the lead car position on the platform. I could not believe that the glass separating the general public is that close to the engineer! I felt I was in there with him. If I was the engineer I would be annoyed that people are so close behind me even though that is glass separation. This was taken with my cell phone, no zoom. While I had my phone at the ready a freight train comes zooming by on the left. That's a rarity to see them during the day. Passenger trains do not run 24 hours in Japan. Many stop at around 11pm-12 midnight. After that freight trains rule the rails and they stop just before the passenger trains start up again. At one of our station stops while touristing around Kyoto I was unexpectedly faced with this. What is this? Don't they need the space for other things other than a model railroad layout and diorama in the middle of a station? Unfortunately the day we were there it was closed. I'm assuming the layout is inside as the doors were closed/locked and the lights were off. But there was a layout outside. And if you look carefully it looks like you can try it for 200 Yens. I don't know how much time you get but 200 Yens is like $1.40. Like I said earlier, trains are big time in Japan! Imagine, running some N-scale trains before catching a real train. Very cool! It's not a humongous layout but it's pretty decent sized. And there seems to be station employees manning it in case there are problems. How would you like that job and have all the corporate benefits that come with it? As if that wasn't enough, just to the side on the left they have various coin operated rides and what not. One was a kiddie ride in a revolving Shinkansen. Then there's this. A train simulator! I did not partake as, again, we were on the go. It would have been interesting to give it a try. Here's the control you have access to.
That is truly impressive. I find it interesting to see the Kato powerpacks for the "renters" to use on the layout. It speaks highly of their durability to survive such public use.
That's an interesting observation that I've never considered! One can only assume they are like the "Timex" of power supplies. The electronics should be fine because they have no moving parts. Maybe a blown capacitor as they age. But the potentiometer! Especially with kids cranking on that thing. As a similar example Digitrax's UT4 series of throttle always break at the knob as the potentiometer have hard stops at 0 and 100%. Emergency stops tend to be over zealous and boom there goes the potentiometer.
