Day 12 - Another Train Trip - Kobe and Okayama

**I tried posting this from the train before leaving, but poor internet connectivity prevented it from posting**

For the last full day in Japan, we took the Shinkansen to the Kobe area to go up a ropeway to a the Nunobiki waterfall and herb gardens.  We picked this one because the ropeway station was a couple hundred meters from the Shinkansen station.  The "ropeway" is an enclosed cable car, and gets you to the top.   A scenic stroll down a brick-paved walkway gets you part way down before hopping back on the ropeway to the bottom.  There is also a trail that gets you all the way to the top - however, it's a rainy day, and not interesed in that.

Some shots of the trip up, the shops/restaurants at the top, and the garden trail.

After coming down, we grabbed some Ekiben boxes (Kobe Beef!) at the rail station, got back on the Shinkansen, and headed south to Okayama. Okayama was the end of the line for this particular Shinkansen train, and we just wanted to see what was down there.

This first shot is a yellow Shinkansen.  It is the maintenance train that periodically goes up and down the route and checks for problems with the tracks or overhead wire systems.  Apparently, it's one of the few "yellow" maintenance Shinkansens in the country, and rare to see.  We just happened to be at the right place at the right time to see it.

Our Ekiben boxes of Kobe Beef.  Very good.  Served warm from the vendor, and eaten on the train.

Area around the Okayama train station.

Hey.  More vending machines on an obscure corner.

We then hopped back on the Shinkansen and went back to Osaka, about an hour away.  We had been using the Japan Rail Pass more than I though we would, and sice we just have to show the pass and board a train, I haven't really paid attention to how much these rides cost.

So, at Osaka station, I went to a ticket machine, and put in the trip we just took (Osaka, Kobe, Okayama, and back to Osaka).  Had we paid for train tickets for that trip, it would have cost 22,000 yen.  Or, around $200.  Just for this one day trip.

Considering the other trips we've taken with it (trips to Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, local train and ferry to Itsukushima Island, and future trips back to Tokyo and Narita airport), I think I can safely say we got our money out of it.  We only paid $260 per rail pass, and have probably got over $1000 of rail journeys out of it.

If you're going to Japan, and plan on using the rails for a week, I'd recommend this pass.

Tomorrow, we head for home.