Japan Rail Trip 2010

The Japan Rail Pass made this two-week itinerary possible. Click here to jump to my photographs of the Japanese Railway System. Other quick links into this page follow:

Kyoto/Gion	Kiyomizu-dera	Kinkaku-ji	Kodai-ji
Nara	Todai-ji	Kofuku-ji
Miyajima	Itsukushima Shrine	Kyushu/Aso/Kagoshima	Nakasendo Trail
Takayama	Shirakawa-go	Kanazawa	Kenrouken
Obuse	Sapporo	Wakkanai	Rebun Island
Otaru	Kakunodate	Samurai Quarter

New York to Japan via Korea

My ride from JFK airport to Seoul, Korea (where I catch my connecting flight to Kansai International):	Flight attendants appear in Korean national dresses:

Food court in Seoul's Incheon Airport:	Hearty Korean breakfast:

En route from Seoul to Osaka's Kansai Airport:

Arrival in Osaka / Kyoto

Inside the Haruka Lex (Limited Express) from Kansai Airport to Kyoto:

First looks at Japan out the window of the Haruka Lex:

Kyoto

After checking in (and collecting the "loom key") at a hotel near the Osaka bullet train station, it becomes clear from the toilet instructions that Japanese consumer tech is going to prove challenging:

Kyoto is only a 17-minute commute by bullet train from Osaka, and it's "free" with the JR Pass, so it's time for an evening walk in Kyoto's Gion district.

The bird in the stream alongside Minami-dori is eating a snake or something:	I didn't get out my camera in time to photograph the Geisha in Gyon, but here are two from the next morning:

Intersection at Shijo-dori, the main drag in Gion:	A more pedestrian alley:

Restaurant:	Ponchoto-dori, the place to bar-hop:

Kiyomizu-dera (Kyoto)

The gates to Kiyomizu-dera:	Statute of the Buddha in the main temple:

Another building in the Kiyomizu-dera complex:	View to Kyoto city from the balcony:

The centuries-old spring below Kiyomizu-dera:	UV-sanitized cups available to use:

Steps leading to the Jishu Shrine, adjacent to Kiyomizu-dera:

Love challenge at the Jishu Shrine:	About to succeed on my sixth attempt:

Ancient paths (Ninen zaka and Sannen zaka) from Kiyomizu-dera to Kodai-ji:

Kodai-ji (Kyoto)

Zen garden in Kodai-ji:

Tea houses:	Bamboo-lined pathway:

Lunch break:

Kinkaku-ji (Kyoto)

Yup, gotta see it:

Mt. Fuji

Bullet trains are fast and also "free" with the Japan Rail Pass, so with a couple of hours to spare, how about a ride to Yokohama and back to Osaka just to see Mt. Fuji?

Nara

Nara cops prepare:	Nara attack deer approaching to check out my camera:

Todai-ji (Nara)

Entranceway . . .

. . . to the world's largest building made of wood:

The massive Daibatsu, and others inside Todai-ji:

Crawlway to good fortune in Todai-ji (they might have to call the fire department if I get stuck in there):

Kofuku-ji (Nara)

Tall pagoda near the main feature:

Miyajima Island

Later this afternoon, I'll get to the top of Mt. Misen to get a look at Hiroshima (to the top right in the picture):

But first, a walk at low tide to the torii (entrance) to Itsukushima Shrine. The gate rests on its own weight, and the green stuff on the sea floor appeared in a really tasty soup I ate for lunch:

Next, it's up the two-stage ropeway, followed by the hike to the top of Mt. Misen. On the way to the mountain hut at the top, there are views of the Inland Sea, a shrine, and a 1,200-year-old eternal flame (hidden under a kettle):

I have to say, this is perhaps the most fun I've had in a while. But the decision to walk down the steep forest trail back to sea level was an unfortunate one, even though I recovered in time to catch the incoming tide at Itsukushima Shrine. The vermillion lacquer wards off evil, and also protects the wood from rot:

Inside the shrine, a Shinto priest (in white) prays for a penitent:	The priest steps back to shake prayer flags:

I hope these giggling tweens weren't reading other people's prayers:

Nearby, the world's largest wooden rice spoon weighs in at 70 tons:

Kyushu

On the way from Kumamoto to the Aso-san volcano, the local train driver silently points to objects, gauges, and things outside all along the way. I guess he was going through his checklists on the hilly route:

After a train, bus, and ropeway ride to the summit, here's Aso-san spewing stinking gases:

Let's not forget the other crater nearby:

The day ends with a bullet-train ride to the southern city of Kagoshima, thriving in the shadow of the active Sakurajima volcano (clouded over in the picture):

A monument near the Kagoshima bullet train station to the Satsuma youth who traveled West and returned to lead Japan's modernization:

Of course, there are great views from that ferris wheel. But it's time to head back to my Japanese-style hotel room in Kumamoto:

Nakasendo Trail - Magome to Tsumago

Bus driver prepares to set out from Nakatsugawa station for the old post town of Magome:	I'm goint to walk five tough miles from Magome to Tsumago, starting here:

Peering into the lobby of a minshuku (low-end ryokan):	Climbing away from Magome:

Scenery along the way:	More scenery along the way:

Getting more remote: ring the bell against bears:	Waterfall:

Japan Alps

The next leg starts in the town of Matsumoto on a Friday evening, where loud, inebriated salarymen and women crowd the bar-lined streets near the station. Here's the view from my hotel room the next morning:

This Matsumoto-Takayama-Shirakawa-Kanazawa leg is by bus, because the rail tracks run one way along the valleys, and we want to take the short cut across. Takayama is the afternoon stop on the way to Shirakawa:

Gourmet food:	Note the ingredients have been placed on a hoba leaf in the picture above, to be cooked over the fire inside the pot. I regret that I mistook the dish for an exotic sashimi. I suppose the Japanese restaurant staff were too polite to comment on a gaijin's table manners.

Shirakawa-go

I think this picture-perfect village appeared in the Tom Cruise samurai movie:

Huts in Shirakawa:	Mill with koi pond:

A look inside a loft:	Gentleman rice farmer:

Here's my ryokan for the night:

Our hostess explains dinner to a Canadian guest:

View of the Japan Alps from the ryokan:

Kanazawa

Next, the ancestral home town of the Honda family: Kanazawa.

Entrance to a mall adjacent to the station:

Kenrouken (Kanazawa)

The main attraction in Kanazawa, the Kenrouken garden, with the stream that once supplied fresh water to Kanazawa castle:

Tea house:	Reeds along stream:

Big old interesting tree:	Women frolic in plum grove (pr. prum glove):

Waterfall, lamp, stone lantern:	Said to be the oldest fountain in Japan:

The samurai quarter in Kanazawa, with a look over the wall into a samurai home:

Obuse (pr. oh-boo-say)

A quick stop at a highly touted small town known for its chestnuts turns up scenes of fruit bagged on the vine to keep out predators, and delicious chestnuts treats, but no chestnut liqueur:

Chestnuts and rice:	Chestnuts with ice cream:

Here is a typical backyard of a home in Obuse, with bicycle, car, and vegetable garden:	I thought the Japanese lamp museum skippable, except for this one lamp made out of a former Fugu fish:

Sendai

Just a stop for the night on the way north to Hokkaido, with a look inside a local izakaya (Japanese pub):

Hokkaido

Sapporo

Late arrival in Sapporo, where we are just going to wait for the overnight bus to Wakkanai at the northern tip of Hokkaido.

No visit to Sapporo is complete without a trip to noodle alley, Ramen Yokocho, in the Susukino area:

A coupe of ramen maestros delight their customers:

Finally, I am reclined on the night bus to Wakkanai. The first three rows are for ladies only. The driver pulled a curtain around the passenger cabin, and the guy in front soon reclined his seat right into my lap. If there was a night train, I would have taken it instead of this:

Russian road sign in Wakkanai to help out those who arrive on the boat from Sakhalin:

Rebun-to

Ferry leaving Wakkanai for the "flower island" of Rebun:	Our ferry docked at Rebun:

Feeding seagulls on the way:

Dried fish for sale in Rebun:	Cemetery on Rebun:

Along the wildflower trail:	Trail nears the top of the hill:

Here's the rain-soaked, muddy trail to the top of the nearby mountain, where an elusive Edelweiss dwells:

A look at the shrouded volcano on Rishiri island, where we dock briefly on the way back to Wakkanai from Rebun:

Otaru

Sea view on the ride from Sapporo to Otaru:	Otaru's lamp-bedecked station:

Otaru is the "Venice of the East" because of this seaside canal:

Otaru is also good for glass-blowing, Genghis Khan BBQ, and seafood:


Genghis Khan (mutton, or other) BBQ:	Crabs for sale:

Kakunodate

A view out the bullet train window on the way to the old samurai town of Kakunodate in Akita prefecture, with rice, rice, and more rice:

Rice leads to great sake and kiritanpo:

Here are scenes from the centuries-old preserved samurai quarter:

Samurai house:	Garden in front of house:

Furniture in house:	Oven with pots & pans:

Well in yard:	Samurai armor:

Japanese Railways

Bullet trains come in a variety of shapes.

Waiting at Nagano for the run to Tokyo:	A double-decker (called "Max Toki") that just pulled into Tokyo from Niigata via the mostly-through-tunnels run:

Well before travel day, make your reservations (free for passholders) at your friendly JR reservations office in a major station:

Before boarding, you may place your luggage in a coin locker in the station. Heed the sign, which (I think) says not to put your kid in the locker:

To board a bullet train, a passenger must: (1) enter the ordinary train station by waving the Japan Rail Pass at the attendant; and (2) enter again for the bullet train station, which is usually inside the ordinary train station:

Next, (3) read off the train's track assignment from the alternating English and Japanese displays; and (4) follow the signs to the assigned track:

Finally, (5) obtain more specific information about the train from the overhead displays at the track; and (6) line up at the overhead sign for your numbered car, which is exactly where the door will open when the train stops:

The door number on the overhead sign will line up with the number on the door when the train stops:	These painted markings on the platform can be confusing, and not very useful:

Note the high-speed rails in the above picture, with continuous steel rails bolted to concrete slab. There are no "sleepers" that run across and under the rails. On some segments, such as between Tokyo and Morioka, two bullet trains may be joined nose-to-tail. The cars on the second train will be numbered starting with something like 15 instead of 1, to ensure passengers avoid boarding the wrong train:

Service on JR trains is excellent. The conductor always bows upon entering or leaving a car:

There's plenty of ordinary track in Japan, such as these that run to Osaka from the Osaka bullet train station:

The following pictures show some non-bullet trains and in-car service. The first is the Hakucho Limited Express to the northern island of Hokkaido, reached via the world's longest undersea tunnel. The next shows the Soya Limited Express at the end of the line in Wakkanai, the northernmost station in Japan:

How about friendly in-car service in Hokkaido:

Here is a lowly-but-cool local train, and a friendly conductor going around to check or sell tickets:

When you get to a small town, like Obuse here, you may have to cross the tracks:

And let's not forget the station pit stop, here with an open window to the platform:

I used Hyperdia to figure out my itinerary, along with a good rail map. (Note that as of December 2011, Hyperdia cautions that several lines are shut following earthquake or tsunami damage in March 2011.) For general guidance on places to visit, I used the Lonely Planet book on Japan, and the ratings on japan-guide.com. On arrival in Japan, I had no problems getting train reservations, except for the Hamanasu Express and other trains that use the undersea tunnel between Honshu and Hokkaido. Delays? Twice: Never on a bullet train; an hour on the train from Wakkanai to Sapporo; and over an hour on the express from Nagoya to Matsumoto. For more information on rail travel in Japan, see seat61.