Kurashiki to Tokyo (Friday, October 8)

It is off the “off the beaten path” track and back to more familiar tourist destinations.  Tokyo is our destination today.

 

We took the Shinkansen today from Okayama to Tokyo (after getting a local train from Kurashiki to Okayama).  There are three classes of Shikansen – the Nozomi (the fastest), the Hikari and the Kodama.  The Hikari was just fine – it covered the 336 miles between the two cities in a little over 4 hours.  Imagine if we were able to travel between Boston and New York in 2 ½ hours – it would easily tilt the balance against the US Airways shuttle.  During our ride we got to see Mt. Fuji (see below, a bit enveloped in clouds).   Our conductor was so cute – he came up to us at the beginning of the trip and told us that at 14:48 we should be sure to look out the left window to see Mt. Fuji.  And then after we passed it, he came by and flashed a “thumbs up.”

At one of the stops, there was a little boy in a stroller outside our window with his mom.  He kept looking at us, and we waved to him.  Andrea took a little gorilla plush toy she had hooked on one of her bags, hopped off the train and gave it to the little boy.  He smiled and waved bye to us.  Lois always wanted Andrea to be a diplomat – her dream has come true with plush toy diplomacy.

    

We arrive in Tokyo at 3:30 and dropped up a couple of bags at The Peninsula, where we’ll be staying beginning on Sunday night.  Tonight it is off to a ryokan in Akasuka (the Sadachiyo), one of the original parts of old Tokyo, and then tomorrow up to Nikko for the day and a night.

We have had two bad experiences with cab drivers here.  It’s quite surprising actually, because we had always found cab drivers to be nothing but pleasant.  Both in Kurashiki and Tokyo we got a ton of attitude from a cab driver presumably disappointed that he was only getting a less than ¥ 1,000 fare from the train station.  Reminds me a bit of the cab drivers at International Place who crab when, after waiting on line for a fare, get someone who is going to Beacon Hill.  But cab drivers in the US are supposed to be surly.  That can’t happen here, can it?  But it did.  Twice.