Day 1 - Thursday April 20, 2017 - Uno
Day 1 – Uno
We arrived at Haneda (from Sydney) on time, around 5.30 am. Took the train to Shinagawa, planning to get the first available Shinkansen to Okayama (and from there local trains to Uno). No luck, as the train we wanted was sold out, so we had to settle for the 6.57 am. Time for a coffee.
On the Tokaido Shinkansen line, the Nozomi trains (the quickest, making the fewest stops) start in Tokyo and stop in Shinagawa, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. They may terminate there or, as in our case, go on to Kobe, Himeji, and Okayama (and then Hiroshima, Kokura and Hakata). I still find the frequency of these trains amazing, particularly as they are 16 cars long with 100 seats in each carriage (although a few fewer seats in “green” (first) class). We find our correct spot on the platform and wait. As always, the train arrives on time and within 2 minutes is on its way again. Seats are always facing forward (they rotate) with car 1, row 1 at the front when heading west and car 16, row 20 at the front heading east.
We change at Okayama to a local train to Chayamachi and then to a local train to Uno, arriving about 11 am. We leave the bags at the hotel and go for a walk.
Lunch at a small ramen restaurant round the corner from the hotel – not much to look at from the outside (and arguably even less on the inside). A dozen or so stools along the counter, with Mr. doing the cooking and Mrs. taking the orders and serving etc. No English ….. but there is an English menu – it may be handwritten on a piece of cardboard but it works… and the ramen is excellent.
When we get back to the hotel, our room is ready. We’d opted for one of the two ‘western rooms’ i.e., a bed rather than a futon on tatami matting. The real advantage is an en-suite bathroom whereas the other rooms each have their own private bathroom but down the hall. As expected, the room is tiny but perfectly adequate and the shower is surprisingly large. We go for a walk, primarily to check out the ferry terminal and timetable and stop for a coffee – or, in Anne-Margaret’s case, a frozen matcha drink. On the way back, we stop at the 7-11 on the corner by the hotel to get some supplies. A beer or two in the hotel cafe/bar/lounge and then an early night. The bed is undeniably firm but surprisingly comfortable.
Things you forget about Japan but soon remember when you get here :-
1. No jaywalking. You stand there until the little man turns green, even if there’s no traffic.
2. No litter. None. Anywhere.
3. No graffiti
4. How polite the Japanese are, at least in one-on-one situations. Say hello (at least Konnichiwa, if you can’t remember the other variations) and bow slightly.
5. You play by the rules …. so you stand in line on the subway platform; however, once the train arrives and everybody becomes ‘anonymous’, all bets are off and it’s everybody for themselves. If you hesitate, expect to be elbowed out of the way by all and sundry and, if you’re a woman, don’t expect anybody to give up their seat for you.
6. Pronunciation. It’s fairly easy to mangle all the words, place names etc. etc. Just try and remember that, whereas in English the emphasis is invariably on the last syllable, in Japanese it’s invariably on the first syllable. Thus, that food in crisp batter (tempura) is Temp-er-a, not Tem-pura, you’re going to (Teshima) Tesh-e-ma, not Ter-sheemer and that subway stop (Karasuma) is Ca-rass-u-ma, not Ca-ra-soom-a. You have to listen carefully to them say it, as they’ll be too polite to correct you.
7. How many vending machines there are. No matter where you go, there’ll be vending machines to sell you a bottle of water, an iced coffee, a hot coffee and an amazing myriad of other stuff. Walk down some back street in Kyoto and suddenly there’ll be a bank of 2, 3, 4 vending machines. Station platform? No problem. Outside a temple or shrine? No problem.