Leaving On A Fast Train

Included on our unofficial list of things to do while we're here was to take a trip across the country on the Shinkansen, also known as the famous "bullet train".   So to get to Kyoto this weekend we bought tickets and checked the Shinkansen off the list. 

The first Shinkansen started service in the 60's just before the Tokyo Olympics.  It travels at about 186mph although it has broken world records at 300+ mph in test runs.  We made the trip from Tokyo to Kyoto (almost 300 miles) in about 2 1/2 hours.  In the map below, we went almost the entire length of the yellow line.  One day we want to try taking the long green line to Hokkaido in a sleeper car.

One thing that really surprised us was the pressure that you feel in your ears when you're on the train.  It was similar to airplane pressure, but our ears never popped and swallowing/chewing gum didn't help at all.  We just had to deal with it.  We think it was because our elevation was changing so quickly---it was especially noticeable when we went through tunnels.

Also, we went right past Fuji-san (aka Mt. Fuji) but he continued to hide from us (in the mist and clouds) as he has for the past year.  :(

walked down to the front for photos

we rode the 700 series

We also splurged on "green car" seats.  These are a little nicer and roomier, kind of like going business class.  But there was a little more room than you get in business class on a plane. And it was a little expensive.  Round trip for both of us was several hundred dollars.

inside the Shinkansen green car