Thursday, July 14, 2005

Shinkansen (Bullet Train)

We rode the Hikari bullet train south from Tokyo. Our plan was to stop in Nagoya for the day and go to the Aichi Expo (world fair) just outside of Nagoya and then on to Kyoto in the evening. The ride was about two hours and relatively uneventful. I bought a bento at the Tokyo train station before we left. (A bento is a Japanese-style flat lunch box - kind of like a tv dinner but with fresh foods meant to be eaten cold).

Five minutes before we arrived in Nagoya, Lisa suggested that we skip Nagoya and head straight on to Kyoto since there was so much to see and do there. I agreed, hopped up, and ran through about five train cars to find the conductor and explain in mixed English and Japanese that we wanted to stay on the train through to Kyoto and was that OK. They said yes, and I walked back to our seats, dodging people getting their luggage out for the Nagoya stop.

It was another 45 minutes or so to Kyoto and we arrived in Kyoto before noon.

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