More uninteresting crap… Now from England!

6:18pm local time

Oh, dear lord… another 3 hours on a train. At least I was smart enough to eat before getting a reservation. I didn't think it could get hotter or more humid, but Tokyo terminal and especially trackside were as hot as… my ass, I suppose. I bought some more iced tea (by Kirin, it's the best iced tea I've ever had) from a kiosk just to briefly bathe in it's air conditioning.

I'm on the Hikari SuperExpress train toward Shin-Osaka… I'm getting off at the next to last stop, Kyoto. This line is along part of the original shinkansen line, and at least so far it is not nearly as smooth as the newer Tohoku line that runs north.

If it wasn't for the constant haze I'd be seeing some impressive scenery. Mountains looming in the distance, a neighborhoods crammed into every nook and cranny in the hills near the tracks. I've given up trying to photograph them from the train. Each time I'm ready we're in a tunnel… When I'm not it's only a brief glimpse of a picture postcard view.

It is now close to 7pm and its getting quite dark. No DST, so no long summer nights like I'm used to.

There is a couple seated across from me enjoying a bento box together… Watching them is making me a little heartsick as I know if my wife was along we'd be having a good time too.

6 more days to go…

2:15pm local

We arrived in Hachinohoe at 1:55pm. I took care of business and headed for the reservation desk. At 1:59 I was issued a seat reservation to Tokyo… train leaving at 2:04pm! For some reason they keep giving me tickets in Japanese instead of English. I know they can do both because one clerk said “oops” or the Japanese equivalent and reissued me another ticket in English. So the speed at which I had to get to the train took a few seconds to sink in. Since I'm going first class I had to jog the entire way to the end of the train to the Green (1st class) car. I didn't want to go almost 3hrs without a drink, so I gambled by stopping at one of the ubiquitous vending machines found here in Japan. The first coin I grabbed was a 500

1pm local

Shinkansens are great, so great the set unrealistic expectations for the other trains. Even the Super L'EX are just a few notches up from Greyhound. I decided to abort my multiday trip in Hokkaido, after reaching Hakodate. It was nearly as hot and humid as the south, and I was spending more time traveling than doing. Maybe if the AC was a cranked up a bit mote I'd be ok… But after a day on these trains I feel like I've spent the day in a swamp. That goes double for downstairs, right now the family jewels are slightly poached… Another few days and they'd be hard boiled.

Also I really liked having a base of operations in Sendai. My pack is remarkably light for a two week trip, but lugging it around everywhere gets old quick. The first week in August is vacation week in Japan so lodging can be a bit more scarce too. I had a stomachache sinking moment in Hakodate when I found my desired hotel completely booked… It was already after 9pm and I started getting nervous. After an hour of head scratching and wandering around I lucked into a decent hotel far enough from the center to have a room available. The shower alone was worth the 9500