Day 16 - Thursday November 9, 2017 - Tokyo

Tokyo

Posted on Thursday November 9, 2017

This morning we leave for Tokyo on the 9.46 shinkansen (Kagayaki # 508). This shinkansen line is relatively new (2015) and operated by different equipment (12 car W2 or E2 trains) from that used on the Tokaido line from Tokyo, west to Kyoto etc. (which primarily uses 16 car N700 series trains).

After breakfast, we checked out and then, rather than take a bus, decided we would just walk up to the station; 15 minutes later we were there so plenty of time for Starbucks and coffee.

Eventually we headed up to track 11 to find the train, which duly arrived on time. The seat layout was the same as the other shinkansens we’ve been on though the seats did seem perhaps just a tad narrower …. or perhaps it was just our imagination. Unfortunately, the lady sitting across from us had a young daughter who spent almost the entire journey of 2+ hours screaming her head off. We seemed to spend a large part of the journey in tunnels, which meant no reception on the iPad. To cap it off, the carriage was airless and stuffy so, all in all, not one of the better journeys we’ve had.

We decided to get off at Ueno, rather than continue on to Tokyo and transferred to the JR Yamanote line round to Shinjuku. Our AirBnB hosts had provided explicit instructions (including pictures and diagrams) of how to find the apartment so we were able to find our way without any problem.

The apartment is small and, it must be said, not as nice as the one in Kyoto. The bathroom is probably about the same size – but in Kyoto the washbasin and the toilet were both separate whereas here they’re all in together which makes for some required dexterity in using the facilities. No wardrobe so limited opportunity to hang up clothes and no tv (useful only for playing stuff off the iPad, so no great loss). It has already been pointed out to me that this does not appear to be one of my better accommodation choices…. Oh well, it’ll do — the bed seems like it will be comfortable but we’ll see.

We went out for a walk, stopped for coffee and got some supplies on the way back. Down the street to the local Yoshinoya (hole-in-the-wall) for dinner. Cheap and cheerful but it does the job.