Tokyo: 3 Days Aboard the Bullets

Two or three times an hour, Shinkashen race from Tokyo to Nagano --- site of the 1998 Winter Olympics --- at speeds up to 165 m.p.h.. Equally fast and frequent Bullet Trains can whisk WW-II buffs to Hiroshima and back in a day. Still others connect with conventional trains to mountainous, snow-crowned Hokkaido, through a 34-mile tunnel under the Tsugaru Strait.

The ride? Like flying 50 feet above the ground in a light plane in absolutely calm air. We’d be running somewhere between 125 and 165 m.p.h., yet it would still be smooth enough for writing.

I’d ridden the French TGV’s and even faster Eurostar, but this was my first experience on the Shinkansen. The French trains were slightly faster, but Japan’s were more comfortable and, because their tracks are 30-50 feet above the ground, far better for sightseeing.

There was, of course, much more to the experience than just train-riding: Tokyo’s world-famous Ginza at night... the magnificent Imperial Palace complex ... the cities-within-cities surrounding the rail stations ... escaping from urban sprawl to the serene hills of Honshu’s northern ski country.

Still, the flights on the Shinkansen were the highlights of this writer’s visit to Japan.

Quick Tips:

Railpass Recommended

Guide Geo Walker has already written a thorough and accurate description of Japan’s many railpass options and I’ll not try to duplicate it here. I would add, though, that having a pass will also make navigating Tokyo’s local rail system much easier; you’ll avoid ticket and ‘fare adjustment’ machines that may not always have adequate English-language instructions. The pass will also get you free rides, worth Y2,600 each, on the Narita Express.

Check your seat assignment

Window seats on the Narita (airport) Express are ‘A’ and ‘D’. On most Shinkansen, they’re ‘A’ and ‘E’. On a double-decker ‘Max’ train, rows 1-16 are on the lower level with practically no view. If you can’t get a new seat, arrive early and try for an upper-level seat in an unreserved car (usually Cars 1-3, with Car 2 the smoking car).

For help...

Japanese are eager to help if you look lost. Ask for a card with your hotel’s name and directions for finding it in Japanese. Perhaps also get a paper with the names of your day’s travel destinations. Train platforms are often marked with the name of the line rather than the destination.

Best Way To Get Around:

Two of Tokyo’s favorite tourist destinations, the Ginza and the Imperial Palace, are a short walk from the main railstation. Even if you’re not interested in rail travel, trains are your best bet for getting to and from Narita Airport and around the city.

The local trains certainly give you the best vantage point for seeing the vastness of Tokyo. You’re usually two or three stories up, so you can see over the rooftops, admire the colorful Japanese-language signs, and see up some of the more intriguing side streets. Night’s an especially good time for sightseeing-by-rail: The neon-scuptured Japanese characters and cartoon-like illustrations on the signs make Tokyo much more attractive by dark than by day. Best route for this: the ‘round-the-city Yamanote Loop.

Tokyo’s subway system is squeaky-clean, fast and frequent, and serves both Palace and Ginza. It’s also huge and complex: There are TWO privately-owned systems, and electronic turnstyles will demand extra fare if you change from one to the other. Free maps and English-language instructions are available for both the commuter rail and subway systems. City buses did NOT bear English-language destination signs and I couldn’t find a system map.

Hotel Miyako Tokyo is a 500-room semi-luxury (‘business class’ would be a good way of describing it) hotel affiliated with the Radisson group. It’s about six km. from the city center and Ginza, roughly equidistant from the Shinagawa and Meguro railstations. The hotel compensates for its somewhat inconvenient location by providing free shuttle-bus service every 15 minutes to one or the other of those stations. Counting the shuttle ride, commute time from hotel to downtown was about 25 minutes via the Yamanote Line.

Caution: There are two ‘Hotel Miyako’s within a few kilometers of each other. An English-speaking railroad officer was at a loss for helping me until we could find out which hotel Radisson’s U.S. reservation service was sending me to. Once we found out, a pink bus marked ‘Hotel Miyako Tokyo’ was parked exactly where my ‘guide’ said it would be. (The other one was ‘Hotel Miyako Mita’.)

My first impressions: a massive and modern, new or almost new, building ... impressive but not opulent front entrance and lobby, flooded with natural light ... unfailingly polite employees and lots of them. (I’d hauled my backpack for miles through airports on my way from Palau to Guam to Narita to the hotel, but the petite ‘bell-girl’ refused to let me carry it inside.)

The concierge staff also deserves special mention.

My initial room was unsatisfactory, as residents of a nearby apartment building could see directly into it from less than 50 yards away. The staff unhesitatlingy transferred me to a room above the hotel’s Japanese garden, with views of a nearby university and the Tokyo skyline.

The room was tastefully furnished --- dark woods were this hotel’s preference --- and, though not overly large, equipped with a huge desk and anything a business person would need. It was also equipped with the most elaborate toilet I’ve ever seen: A built-in bidet that could spray from every conceivable angle --- with electronic pressure adjustments, yet --- a seat-warmer and even a massage attachment.

Hotel Miyako had Japanese, Chinese and Continental restaurants, an informal all-day cafe serving light meals throughout the day, and a huge sitting-room/lounge where one could order sandwiches or light entrees while lounging in overstuffed chairs and gazing out onto a traditional Japanese garden. (The building’s two-story-high picture windows had much to do with its overall appeal. So did the generous amount of open space surrounding the lobby and reception desk: This was a very relaxing place to be in.)

Both a fitness center and indoor swimming pool were available but, although hotels frequently charge for use of health clubs, this was the first one I’ve encountered that charged guests for swimming. (U.S $8, which I’d have gladly paid had the pool not closed at 9 every evening.)

Food was very good in the two restaurants that I sampled although were was a severe language barrier in the Japanese one. The Cle d''Or, the class of the dining rooms, was superb and will be reviewed separately.

Dinner here was a visual as well as culinary experience. My table faced a huge picture window looking into and through a lighted Japanese garden. A pair of ducks lounged on a pond just outside. Management wisely kept the interior lighting low, letting much of the illumination come from the garden outside. The restaurant was ‘L’-shaped, making it easier to separate larger parties from single diners and couples.

As you’d guess from the name, the menu at Cle d’Or is Continental, not Asian. Most memorable for this writer was Turbot with Crusted Chestnuts --- a filet mignon-sized cut of perfectly-cooked fish ‘breaded’ with a crisp, light coating of what appeared to have been finely ground water-chestnuts. Two intensely flavorful sprigs of Japanese greens crisped in olive oil were the only garnish. The waiter gladly brought me several more, but they were hardly enough to compensate for my failing to order one of the a la carte salads before the main course. Like a lover of big steaks confronting a filet mignon for the first time, I was blown away by the flavor and texture of the meat but went away still feeling a bit hungry.

That said, I ordered the turbot again two nights later. But this time I had a salad first.

On a few occasions, my waiter had to consult with someone more experienced with English, but that didn’t keep the service from being near-perfect on all three nights I dined here. My first night’s tab, including two pre-dinner cocktails (with a premium American whiskey) and three glasses of Glass Mountain California Chardonnay was approximately U.S. $68 including the mandatory 10% service charge. Considering that the tip would have been 15-20% at a U.S. restaurant, and given Asia’s typically sky-high liquor and wine prices, I’d consider this good value for a dinner of this quality.

Cle d’Or, in the lower level of the Hotel Miyako Tokyo, is a restaurant I’d return to.

When introduced in 1964, Japan’s Shinkansen were the first trains in the world to exceed 125 mph. Now, the world has plenty of other super-fast trains ... but when the Conductor walks to the front of the car and BOWS to his passengers, you know this won’t be an ordinary train ride.

The ride was exhilarating. We were on a ‘MAX’ Super-Express gliding smoothly through the seemingly-endless agglomeration of structures that is Tokyo, then accelerating to 150 mph or more. I’m typing this from the perfectly-readable notes I took despite the speed. We were allowed only two hours and five minutes to reach Niigata, 334 km. away. We were exactly on time.

However, a disappointment: Tokyo and its environs may now be the smoggiest place on earth. The country that I’d been thought would be so alluring was, on this overcast day, dull and flat. Fortunately, that would change; the wide, flattish valley would gradually morph into ski country and the land would become vastly more appealing in the warm late-afternoon light of the return trip --- at least when we weren’t underground. We passed through seven tunnels, one of them at least 28 miles long. Emerging from one of them, we found ourselves in an Alpine-like valley village with several ski tows fanning out from a trackside park.

Further south, the country become rolling and wooded; greens mixed with the browns of early winter. Between the reddish glow of the now-emerged sun and the drift of haze from Tokyo, the place bore an uncanny resemblance to the Great Smoky Mountains of the U.S.

We returned early enough for me to detrain at Omiya, admire the futuristic stationfront plaza there, and check out the inevitable McDonald’s. My first day aboard a bullet was a satisfying one for this unabashed rail enthusiast.

Reminder: To minimize noise and wind interference, trains run in a trough-like structure with high sidewalls. You WILL NOT be able to see from the lower level of a bilevel train. An ‘A’ or ‘E’ window seat on the upper level of a MAX is the best seat on the railroad.

This is easily the most scenic of the three Sinkansen routes to northern Honshu Island.

Nagano was the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics. We’ll pass through several attractive mountain villages on our way here. And, the city itself is quite attractive: large, but pleasantly uncrowded and relaxed on the Saturday afternoon I was there. (Lunch was at McDonald’s, of course.)

Karuizawa was obviously a ski resort; another place where we emerged from a tunnel to find ourselves in the midst of ski runs and rope tows. Snow-topped mountains were visible to the east of us, though the only snow anywhere near the tracks seemed to have been man-made, at the ski run.

The city of Ueda reminded me of Johnstown, Pa. --- a gritty but somehow attractive industrial city tucked into a narrow valley in the midst of wooded, snowless mountains.

The first 105 km. of this trip were as flat and monotonous this morning as they had been the previous two, but north of there the rolling, wooded hills and distant mountains made the trip worthwhile. Besides, I’d be going home a different way this time --- and I’d discover the most appealing railroad of them all: the ordinary Limited Express to Minakami.

This would turn out to be the most scenic and enjoyable of all my rail trips in Japan.

The are marvelous transport machines, but they fly too high and too fast for one to get a truly intimate look at the country and its people. The conventional ‘Limited Express’ train I’m on this afternoon runs at ground level, fast in rural areas yet slowly enough through the city for me to look into the eyes of the people waiting at the street crossings and to see some of the details of the buildings we’re passng.

The Shinkansen tend to stay in wide, relaively flat valleys. They tunnel through hills instead of going over or around them. This train will leave the flatlands and venture far up an ever-narrowing river valley and into the mountains. The wide, shallow and sluggish river we cross shortly after leaving the Bullet Train behind us will turn into a fast-running, fast-descending mountain stream with impressive gorges we can look down into from our train. The railroad will become less ‘Japanese’ and more like the mountain railways you’d encounter in Switzerland or northern Italy.

The village of Minakami itself could easily have passed for some Alpine hamlet: Taxis lined up to ferry people to nearby hotels, a horse-drawn hack for nostalgia, a fast-moving river below and snow-capped mountains above. The only things spoiling the illusion were the ‘Welcome’ sign and the billboard advertising white-water rafting expeditions --- they were in Japanese.

Minakami had two or three attracive looking hotels. It was only 2-1/2 hours away fron Tokyo by train, but an infinity away in terms of ambiance.

Here are three web addresses that I found useful in planning my Japanese rail itinerary.

‘The World of Japanese Railpasses’
www.japanrail.com/3_passes/index.html

Japan Rail East --- English-Language Services
www.jreast.co.jp/e_charge

Japan Rail West Home Page
www.westjr.co.jp/english/index.html

However, the best information source of all was a phone call to John Tedford, Travel Information Manager at Japan Rail East’s office in New York: (212)-332-8686.

During a call that lasted 40 minutes, Mr. Tedford explained all my various rail and railpass options, including overnight sleeper trains that didn’t appear in the English-language timetables he’d be sending me. We discussed the difference between ordinary coaches and the premium-fare "Green Cars" -- with him opining that there wasn’t enough difference to warrant the extra expense. Finally he gave me the names and addresses of the two Japan Railpass sales agencies nearest me. A few days later, an envelope arrived with timetables of all Skinanshen services and many of the Limited-Express lines, brochures on railpass options and suggested itineraries, and six copies of Japan Rail’s internal magazine.

The ‘LEX’ trains, which run on narrower-gauge track, don’t have the glamour and speed of the Shinkanshen but they’re NOT laggards: Using timetable mileposts, I clocked one of them at 75 mph. Not all of them have food and beverage service but those that do usually include beer and wine. One service cart, on a dinner-hour run from Sendai to Ueno, prominently displayed a bottle of Johnny Walker Red. Limited Expresses generally have two-by-two seating rather than the three-by-two typical on the Bullet Trains.

The best place to exchange money is probably an ATM terminal at Narita Airport. However, Cook’s foreign-exchange desk at Terminal Two allowed me to cash in just U.S. $11 worth of Yen at a reasonable exchange rate and without a minimum fee or commision. That’s VERY unusual for a major international airport.

If You’re passing through Narita en route to somewhere else in Asia, and you’ve never been in Japan before, consider arranging your itinerary so you have a five-hour or longer layover. You can then take a fast airport express train into Tokyo and back and see at least a little bit of this fascinating country. Pay for the train with a credit card and you’ll have no need to buy Japanese currency. Be sure, before leaving the Transient Area and going through Customs/Immigration, to arrange for a waiver of the airport departure tax. If you arrive and leave the same day, you don’t have to pay it.