A massive storm was moving in towards Japan, and so it was no surprise to wake up to a rather wet Yokohama on our day of departure to Kyoto.
After yet another nice hotel breakfast room breakfast, we purchased umbrellas from the FamilyMart convenience store downstairs (seriously, these are everywhere!), and Ryan and I braved the wet weather to take a quick stroll through Yokohama Chinatown, which is incidentally the largest Chinatown in Japan (and in fact, Asia as well)!
(Mind you, we only did this because the impressive gate was literally next door to our hotel!)
After our brief, wet walk, we returned to the hotel, grabbed our luggage and checked out, making our way on foot to the train station in order to eventually end up at the impressive Shin-Yokohama Station, where the mission was to find the Shinkansen (bullet train) counter, organise tickets and enjoy a high speed rail ride to Kyoto!
Once again Ryan navigated all of this pretty much effortlessly, and before long we were on the platform, waiting for the bullet train which was guaranteed to be exactly on time – as pretty much all Japanese trains are famed to be.
(As it turned out, we were exceptionally lucky. Not long after we left, the storm became much, much worse, leading to the closing of all public transport routes!)
The bullet train ride was an absolute thrill let me tell you. Comfortable seating, reminiscent of a plane’s seating arrangement (complete with snack trolley!), the journey was an incredible pleasure – everything rushes by at incredible speeds, meaning that if you blink you miss it!
Oh, and at this speed the train banks for turns, which itself is a pretty weird sensation.
I can’t remember how long the journey itself from Yokohama to Kyoto took, but I do know that my eyes were glued to the window pretty much from start to finish!
An awesome travel treat indeed! :)
Related Link: Shinkansen | Shinkansen Travel