Close Personal Contact on a Train
We took a bus from Kiroro back to Chitose. After a brief stopover, we caught a train to Hakodate. This tuned out to be a bit of a circus. What some reason the train was packed. We had to stand for one hour or so before some of the passengers left.
Hakodate
We arrived in Hakodate late in the afternoon. I had managed to book into the same hotel as my skiing companions. I paid a bit more than they did. This is probably due to booking much later and a fall in the AUD.
When we came out of the station, our ‘guide’ decided we needed to catch a taxis. We were in the process of loading our bags into the taxis as he told the driver the name of the hotel. The driver looked very confused. He walked to the taxis. Both drivers returned and point to the hotel that was less than 100 metres away. That was our hotel. It could have been our shortest taxis ride ever.
After settling into the hotel we headed up to the Ropeway that takes you to the mountain that overlooks the city. Check out the Flickr photos.
Onto Sendai
The trip from Hakodate involved two train trips. The first, to Otaru was on an old train. It travels along the coast before entering the tunnel which goes under the sea between the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu. The tunnel is 53.5 klms long as was completed in 1988
A Shinkansen (Bullet Train) line has been constructed through to Hakodate will begin operations next month. This will also go under the sea. I suspect that this train will take a lot of business off the airlines.
I changed trains at Otaru which is currently the most northerly city where the Shinkansen trains operate. This was my first sight of these trains. Check out that Flickr link. They are really impressive. It would appear that these trains are relatively new. I was to see older versions later.
Other Fast Trains
I have been on a few fast trains. My first one was the Train Grande Vitesse (TGV) in France back in 1978.
The first TGV ran from Lyon to Paris. This was on a purpose built track specifically designed to enable it to travel at its top speed of over 250 klms per hour. In the early days, it also ran on normal tracks from Montpellier up to Lyon. I took it from Montpellier through to Paris. I can recall the first leg being a very bumpy ride. Obviously the suspension was very hard to cope with the speed. However, when we hit the dedicated track from Lyon the ride was very smooth. The sensation of speed was amazing.
I has since on the TGV on my recent trips to France. I have also taken the ICE trains in Germany and fast trains in China. This included that Maglev train that runs from Shanghai Airport into the city.
I must say that the Shinkansen trains are probably the best.
Will Australia Ever Get a Fast Train?
I find the debate in Australia about whether to build high speed trains somewhat curious. The air route between Sydney and Melbourne is one of the busiest in the world. They are two large cities with the capital Canberra in the middle.
Opponents of the construction of a very fast train say that our population is too small and the population is too sparse to justify fast trains. This is nonsense. It is not proposed to build a train between Bourke and Longreach.
Sendai
I arrived in Sendai late in the afternoon and walk to the hotel. Tour Guide take note.
Like all hotels in Japan this one has a Public Bath or Onsen. They have washing facilities and hot baths and saunas. It was good to have a hot bath after skiing. The one in Sendai hotel had an interesting condition of entry – “No Visible Tattoos”. Given that you bathe in your ‘birthday suit’, it is difficult think of where a tattoo would not be visible. I am also not sure how the rule would be enforced, given the person controlling entry into the baths was a young woman.
Matsushima
Next day I took the nearby town of Matsushima
This place is one of the “three most spectacular natural places in Japan”. I assume Mt Fuji is one. I am not sure what the third one is.
The spectacular bit of Matsushima is the bay and its islands.
The town was impacted by the earthquake that caused to Fukoshima tsunami, however it is thought that the islands save the town from the same tsunami.
Boat Trip
I took a boat trip around the bay. There are over 250 islands in the bay. The Japanese/English commentary seemed to mention all of them. It also appeared that the Japanese version of the commentary took twice as long to say as the English version. I am not sure if they were being told more, or it simply takes longer to say the same thing in Japanese as it does in English.
Watchful of Falling
I took a walk onto an island near to the town via a bridge. It was very cold and the paths were icy. I was mindful of what happened to my Balmain host. He fell over in his ski boots a couple of years ago. It was thought that he broke a vertebrae in his back. As it turned out, it was probably ‘just a broken rib’, however it meant that he had to cut his holiday short and return to Australia all the same. Two years before that, he broke his neck while skiing.
Zen Temple
One of other attractions in the town is the Zuigan-Ji temple. The existing buildings were constructed in the beginning of the 1600’s. Some of the artwork is very impressive, including paint wall panels.
That night I went to an English Pub which is near to the hotel. It is very authentic except for the patrons – 100% Japanese. The TV was showing local Rugby Union. It is a very free flowing game to say the least. The score was 65 to 20 when I left part way through the second half.
Flickr Link
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