Japan's Cultural Treasures

Japan 2016

Wednesday, May 11

After breakfast in our hotel, we were taken to the train station where we boarded the bullet train, the legendary high speed train service pioneered by the Japanese.

The Japanese call this train the shinkansen.l  It is one of the world's finest quick-transit trains, and still amongst the fastest trains in the world, traveling at speeds of up to 200 mph. Before boarding we bought lunches at the train station to eat on the train.  I got a sandwich and a muffin at the Hakone Bakery.  For boarding, we had to stand at the precise location indicated by our tickets.  The train stops at the precise location indicated and sure enough our coach stopped right in front of us.  

We then boarded the Limited Express train for our trip to Kanazawa, enjoying a view of Japan's rolling countryside and modern cityscapes along our route.  We that most homes had a garden and there were lots of rice fields, often right beside or behind a house.

 

 

 

In Kanagawa we met in the lobby of the hotel for orientation at 4:15.  We took a bus to the Samarai area and then another bus to near the restaurant where we were to have dinner. We went into a 100 yen shop where I found the nail file I had been looking for.  Kay, Mary and I walked through their big market but most shops were closed on Wednesday. Dinner, at a nearby Italian restaurant, consisted of a salad, spaghetti, chicken, and dessert (orange wedge, cheesecake and green tea ice cream).