Arrival of the Shinkansen
This trip was the first time I had the opportunity to visit Osaka, which has traditionally been a big city for commerce in Japan. I had assumed that we would be flying to Osaka. Not so. Instead, I had the opportunity to take my first Shinkansen (rhymes with 'Wisconsin') train ride. Fantastic experience.
The first leg of the Shinkansen (also known as the 'bullet' train, because of the shape of the first locomotives on the system) was built in the mid-60s. You'd never know it, as the trains seem as space-age as machines come. It's electric-powered and seems to hover on the tracks. There are no rumbling wheels on tracks as in the States. It's absolutely smooth as silk, even when going over 150 MPH, as registered by my GPS. Apparently the trains have no accidents in their entire history. This is particularly interesting when you consider how many earthquakes this country has. According to something I read on-line, seismic information is communicated to the train through a satellite system so that it avoids any, um, 'issues.' Can you imagine derailing at 150 MPH?
It takes about two and a half hours to get from Tokyo to Osaka on the Shinkansen, so you might think it would be faster to fly. But you'd be wrong, particularly when you add in the time to get to Narita airport from Tokyo and the hassles of security. But here's the other reason why it's crazy to fly -- the fastest Shinkansen line to Osaka (the Nozomi) leaves approximately every 10-15 minutes. There are reserved seats on the trains, but since there's always another train coming up, you're never really out of luck. There are two seating options: three-by-three seating in the regular cars, or two-by-two seating in 'green cars,' which I guess must be the equivalent of business class, though there isn't anything else really special about it.
The restroom situation on the train is slightly unusual, at least to a westerner like myself. There are restroom facilities in every other car. But when you get to the restroom area, you encounter three options. First, the 'western toilet' option. This is basically the restroom you would encounter on most airlines. Second option is the 'Japanese toilet' option. Any woman who has traveled in Asia will likely be cringing right about now. To get an idea of the Japanese toilet, picture a strange type of urinal mounted into the floor, with places for your feet on either side and a bar in front to grab onto. Something about squatting and doing my business 150 MPH strikes me as a bit reckless, though. In a pinch, I'd rather go into a non-green car to use the western option than to try the more traditional option. The third option is the 'Gentlemen' option -- I've never gone into this room for obvious reasons, but the strange part is there's a window into the room from the hallway, I guess so that you can see whether it's already, um, occupied. Alrighty, then....
The on-train personnel are rather interesting. Within about five minutes of boarding the train, a perky, attractive train attendant comes by with a wet towel for you. I suspect they must pick up a new passenger manifest at each location, as they know just which seats to go to. A while later, another perky, attractive train attendant comes by to examine and stamp your ticket. Meanwhile, a perky, attractive train attendant (you're seeing the pattern, right?) in a slightly different uniform roams through the car with a cart full of snacks for sale. Occasionally a male in a uniform will come through the car, but he is generally neither perky nor attractive. The best part, though, is that whenever any of these employees enter or leave the car, they bow. Somehow I can't see that ever happening on the subway, commuter rail, or Amtrak in the U.S.