All my life, I've wanted to travel to Japan. In fact, that was one of my big motivators for joining the Navy - there are few jobs outside the military that can get you here to live for an extended period of time. Of course, Navy life usually lets you sample only bits of Japan, so I was really looking forward to taking an extended Japanese vacation.
Day One
I decided to leave Sasebo for Tokyo a day earlier so that I could take care of any lodging issues, etc with plenty of lead time. So around 1:00pm, I headed for the train station, to begin the vacation I had waited a lifetime for.
The Shinkansen
Sasebo is not on a Shinkansen line, so to take the Shinkansen I would have to travel to Fukuoka first, and change trains. I arrived at 1600, and my train didn't leave until 1628, so I had enough time to buy a bento box and some Aquarius.
Since l didn't have a reserved seat, I was a bit nervous. What if there was a mad scramble for the non-reserved seats? Where was the right seating section? Getting it wrong was going to cost me another 7700 yen. Ouch! It turns out they had announcements in English. Phew! I've been working on my Japanese, but still that was a relief.
Shinkansen notes so far:
- the ride is comfortable: almost no shaking or noise
- if you are getting on the Shinkansen a a terminus, there isn't much sense in getting a reserved seat. This is the first stop! You're almost guaranteed a place to sit.
- the train really moves fast! You can hear the train whoosh past entire towns like a low-flying plane.
- there are a lot of tunnels. How else do you build a straight track in a country with so many mountains?
1730
The train is already in Hiroshima. One hour from Fukuoka! Who knew it was this close? This train ride totally changes my perspective on distances in Japan.
2130
The train arrives in Tokyo, and I'm ready for another action-packed adventure. As Tokyo Tower looms large through the concrete canyons besides the train tracks, memories of my previous Tokyo adventures from last year come rushing back. Guess who's back, back again? Ali's back, tell a friend...
2200
Took me a while to find the hostel after getting off the train at Ueno station. Worse yet, because I'm here a day early, they're full. About the only affordable hotel nearby is a hole-in-the-wall place. I managed just enough Japanese to get a room, and for $40 a night, it was rather basic Tokyo accomodations - a small, smoky room with a low ceiling, but it did have a tamami floor and traditional Japanese futon. For the night, it got the job done.
