Leaving Kyoto- Shinkansen

Back on the Shinkansen now after two fun days in Kyoto- saw beautiful temples, a rock garden, and a Shogun castle, and I took care of some business this morning (got a new watch battery and a very precise haircut that concluded with a shoulder massage from a high-powered machine) but it’s time to go to Sapporo for PMF now. If all goes as planned, I’ll meet up with eleven other PMF people this afternoon in Haneda Airport, the busier of Tokyo’s two airports, for the flight up to Hokkaido.

A word about these trains- everyone knows that they are fast (especially the Nozomi series that I’m riding now), and everybody knows that Japanese people sit at the polite end of the spectrum, but the politeness shown by passengers and employees here is especially impressive. So far on this trip, I haven’t heard a single word from another passenger, everybody has their phones on silent mode, and both the conductor and snack-car lady are immaculately dressed and bow deeply upon exiting each car.

The Shinkansen trains in Japan are cheaper than Amtrak’s Acela service on the northeast corridor, much smoother, and they run ALL the time during the day, at least every ten minutes. This seems to be how everybody gets around between the major cities in this part of the country- most seats seem to be filled on all 16 cars per train. Oh, and it’s always on time, apparently.