At Tokyo Station, we found the Shinkansen entry area, and the various stores that supply food to it's riders. The Shinkansens don't have cafe cars. Most people bring their own food aboard, and enjoy them at their seat. Most people buy ekibens - small boxes with freshly prepared food, complete with sticks. Many shops supply these boxes, and they all go out of their way to make the boxes visually appealing and with a wide variety of food. Having an ekiben on a Shinkansen is almost a tradition with most travellers. Far be it from us to break tradition.
I selected a beef and rice dish, and Donna picked something else. We also got our own beverages (Sprite and tea for me, a tea for Donna).
Another thing about the Japan rail system. It's on time. Pretty much all the time, it's on time. The staff takes great pride in arriving and leaving stations on a strict schedule. So, there wasn't really much need for us to get to the station too early. But we did anyway. The Tokyo Station is huge - and they expect to move a lot of people. So, there isn't any waiting rooms or collections of benches to sit on while waiting for your train. The train will likely be on time, and you only really need to get there just before your train is scheduled to leave. They don't really see the need for waiting rooms or lots of seating areas.
We eventually found a small bench near some shops, and set up shop there until our train was about to leave. While there, Donna struck up a conversation with some people from Taiwan.
Close to our departure time, we lugged our stuff to that platorm. The Shinkansen prior to ours had just started loading, and within a few minutes, it was pulling out of the station.
Once that train left, our Shinkansen pulled into the vacated spot. As it did, an crew of pink uniformed cleaning personnel lined up near each train door. When the passengers off loaded, they went to work. It was a spectacle to watch as they went through the trains, turned the seat around (this had been a northbound train, now it would be a southbound train, so they "flipped" the seats around), cleaned the seats, removed any garbage, and replaced the headrest protectors with new ones. They did this in less than 10 minutes. Once done, they marched off the train, and the conductor eventually told us it was ok to board. We got on the train about about 1057, and it was scheduled to leave at 1103.
We stored our luggage and took our seats. Since we have Japan Rail passes, we were able to make seat reservations for free (usually an extra cost for the domestic travellers). The seats on this Shinkansen were set up in a 3x2 arrangement (3 seats on one side, two seats on the other). We were on the side with two seats. These seats were very comfortable and were able to recline. They had fold-down table trays like airliners. And, the legroom was better than First Class on an airliner. Lots of room on this train.
The train made a couple more stops on the Tokyo outlying stations. Once clear of those, he hit the pedal, and we began to move. Fast. The countryside was moving be really quickly, as we were doing around 300km/h (or 180mph). Each time a Shinkansen passed us in the opposite direction, it was just a blurr of white and blue for a couple of seconds. And the ride was smooth. No problem with spilling drinks.
About an hour into the journey, I opened my ekiben. It was a beef dish with rice, vegetables, and a sweet vinegar sauce. Even though it was cold, it was very good.
We had to change trains at Shin-Kobe, and made it to Hiroshima right on time - 1538. About 4.5 hours total. It was a nice way to get across the country.
Fortunately, our hotel was only two blocks from the train station. Our check in was smooth, despite the very limited english speaking of the staff here.
We later took a walk to find some dinner, and the sun was starting to go down. This part of Hiroshima was rather picturesque.
Tomorrow, we'll go see some stuff.
Welcome Hiroshima. (JR4IUS)
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