The Bullet Train to Kyoto

aka Travelling in Hope.

The Japanese Bullet Train is a classic. Like the Eiffel Tower in France, kiwis in New Zealand, Langkawi Sky Bridge in Malaysia, or toasted rye bread in Finland, it’s something you really shouldn’t miss if you’ve made the effort to go visit the country. Especially for me, I guess I have a soft spot for forms of transport. I am pretty exciting, yes.

In Japanese, the Bullet Train is called the Shinkansen, which I was rather disappointed to find out lacks the romance of the other names for bullet trains, as it translates as ‘New Trunk Line’. The fastest Shinkansen is called the Nozomi, which means hope or wish, and the second fastest, Hikari, translates as light. (Though in Finnish high school slang it means nerd or geek.)

Most Japan visitors get a JR Rail Pass, which allows you limitless travel on trains and monorail around the whole country for a fraction of the normal price (but remember this is Japan, so even ‘a fraction of the normal price’ means ‘a few hundred euros for a week’). JR Railers are not allowed to travel in hope, but they must satisfy their trunk line cravings with light. I decided the JR Rail was not worth it for me, as I had the time to do only one long trip through the country. Which also meant: I COULD TRAVEL ON HOPE. (Now yes, that is a highly symbolic thought which I would write a long poem about. Except I don’t write poems. Any deep thoughts sprouting into your minds about that sentence?)

The Shinkansen was invented by Hideo Shima, who wanted to create trains that felt like aeroplanes.

The trains started operating in 1964 and originally it took them four hours to go from Tokyo to Osaka, a trip of 515km. Today, it takes 2h 25min on the fastest super limited-stops option. It goes at about 300km/h, and its record is 603km/h.

As with all things Japanese, the Shinkansen are sleek, shiny, silent, efficient and on time to the dot. The tracks are welded smoothly together to eliminate the clackety sound normal mortal trains may suffer from time to time, and they usually leave on time to the second. The average delay in 2012 was 36 seconds. This includes all delays due to anything from train misfunctions, staff issues and heavy rain to natural disasters, doomsday etc. And talking of natural disasters, Hope and Light and friends have a computerised system which automatically slows the train down in the case of an earthquake.

I was super excited to go on the Shinkansen, giddy with expectations of a futuristic train and a completely novel experience.

It reminded me of the time when I first went on the Eurostar in 2009 through that EXCITING TUNNEL WHICH LITERALLY GOES UNDERWATER. When the prices were not so ridiculous. When the prices were so reasonable, actually, that I went to and fro from France to England twice within two weeks (though this was mostly due to my acquiring of sudden riches as I started my first ever full-time job au pairing with the crazy salary of 70 euros a week. I was astounded by my wealth. I am literally not even being sarcastic.) Anyways, when I went through the Eurotunnel, I did try and psyche myself up about the fact that dude, you’re UNDER WATER right now, imagine WHAT IF the oceans burst through the tunnel… But in the end, it was just a train ride, a train ride with no views, a train ride in the dark. Cool, but not THE most exciting moment of my life.

And neither was the Shinkansen. In all fairness. (Maybe the second most.)

I was ecstatic when my train arrived, I didn’t even mind the nearby train drivers laughing at me as I took selfies.

The train ride was cool, I got to see the best view I’ve seen of Mount Fuji (I regret not being able to see it any closer, though… But next time!), but it was getting dark, so didn’t end up seeing huge amounts. Ok, at least I think it’s Fuji…

However, I’ve travelled on the Japanese Bullet Train, I can tick that one off my mental bucket list…

I arrived in Kyoto, starving. As an obtuse tourist (again, cheers thesaurus, it means ignorant) I had not been aware that the one public area it is not frowned upon to eat in is the Shinkansen. Not the metro, not the buses, not any other public transports or public areas… But in the bullet train, one is encouraged to eat. One is encouraged to buy these beautiful lunch packs of sushi, one is encouraged to enjoy these beautiful lunch packs upon the Shinkansen and one is encouraged to drink numerous large cans of ‘Strong Zero’ cidre muck. (It’s 8%. And looks so unappealing I don’t think I even tried it. Why would anyone drink anything else when you have Umeshu.) Unfortunately, I had neither.

Luckily Kyoto station had this bakery thing that continuously was giving out free samples of some kind of green tea swiss roll. OM NOM.

Survived a few hiccups, and managed to get on the right metro, change at the right place, and walk the seven minutes through this long, cool shopping arcade street before arriving at my hostel.

My hostel was called Khaosan Kyoto Theatre. I’m not completely sure where the name comes from, because it’s neither in Khaosan (Khaosan Road is the notorious party street in Bangkok where you can get your full supply of deep-fried cockroaches on sticks, huge cans of questionable beer and balloon-inhaled laughing gas, to mention a few of the more tame ones.) nor is it a theatre (maybe it was?).

But anyways, my first Kyoto vibes were extremely positive. With all the other places I’d been to, I’d always spent the first day, or at least first hours, slightly melancholy about the fact that I left that awesome place behind with all those awesome people I’d just got to know… but not with Kyoto. Didn’t have time for melancholiness here. I got there about 7pm, and my arrival happened to coincide with their monthly fun-evening-event, where the staff made cool traditional Korean/Japanese pancakey things with various ingredients (and you never knew what you’d get in them – they took care of vegetarian needs by making vegetarian ones, but they were put on the plate mixed with the seafood ones and the pork ones… so kinda potluck I guess).

I came to Kyoto in hope, and in a different kind of hope we continue… Coz Kyoto’s awesome. Definitely one of my favourite cities in the world.

Hooray!

Next up: Templing it in Kyoto.

Stay tuuuuuuuuned!!!             

Emzy

xxxxx

PS. Thank you to all who participated in the exciting postcard competition!! <3 Your cards are being delivered asap.

PPS. Lesson of the day: How to act (or not to act) on Japanese public transport.