My Fourth Trip to Japan

Train / Line

Train Type

Between the 19th August and 4th September 2005, I took my fourth trip to Japan. Once again we were able to get free plane tickets using Qantas Frequent Flyer points, and even though I had vowed never to go back again during the summer, JAM does not change for anybody, so we did it again !!! This page is a recollection of the various aspects of those 17 days, particularly from a rail enthusiast's viewpoint. You can read about the various activities that we did, see a list of all the trains used, and get some handy hints if you are planning to go yourself.

Click on any of the underlined text to see a relevant photo. Photos this time were taken with my new Olympus digital camera (7.1 mega pixels), and the resolution was set at a very high setting (3072x2048) so the file size of each photo averages around 4Mb !!! This time around 1,630 photos were taken !!!

*** NB *** I have decided to put the text up first, and add the pictures next - with over 1,630 to choose from, it will take a while to choose and edit the ones I want.

Bus to domestic. Flight to Brisbane. Got 1Gb XD duty fee. Flight to Tokyo - had to sit next to baby. Airport shuttle not working - had to use bus. Got passes. Found computer and did footytips. Skyliner to Nippori. Sunny Hotel. Walk - Izakaya.

Walk to Yoshinoya. Ueno market. Akihabara - Tullys. Tam Tam. Pochi. Chiyoda. Akidep - belt. Yamanote to Shimbashi. Yurikamome. JAM 2x David. Subway to Jimbocho. Shosen Grande. Starbucks. Subway to Shinjuku. Sakuraya. The Clubhouse for tea.

Bread shop breakfast - broke plate. To Tokyo to meet Keiko and Yuto. Bags to locker. Found Gare le Passage. Chuo to Mitaka. Bus to Ghibli Museum. back to Tokyo. Saw Dr Yellow. 300 to Nagoya. Steak house. Bic Camera.

Up early. Subway / Linimo to EXPO2005. Huge queues. JR Central Maglev. Australia/ NZ / Singapore (lunch). Ropeway. Ferris Wheel. Souvenir shop.

Combini breakfast. back to Tokyo. Large locker. Tokaido to Shimbashi - saw SVO. Yurikamome to Odaiba. One Piece anime cruise. Shopping and Fuji TV. Rain. Cat shop. back to Tokyo and Yamagata.

Up early. Yamagata to Fukushima. Yamabiko 3min late to Koriyama. Couldn't find Suigun platform. To Mito. Fresh Hitachi to Ueno. Got Tokyo suburban timetable book. to Sendai - Japanese woman who spoke English/Italian. Yodabashi Camera. Tsubasa models. Senzan to Yamagata.

to Shinjo (Green car). Rikuusai to Amarume. Inaho to Niigata. Got map from English tourist office. Walked to river. Kinokuniya. Bought CD's at HMV. went to shop - closed. took video. back to Sakamachi and Yonesaka to Yonezawa. male girl. Bought tea - worker gave me seat. Tsubasa to Yamagata.

Rode bikes to Shibata & internet shop. took Bus to Sendai because of weather. Hayate to Morioka. met Takako and Yasuko. School reunion dinner at Cam-on.

Left early from Morioka to Tokyo on Hayate. Ueno subway to Asakusa. Samba Carnival. subway to Kamata via Keikyu. Toyoko Inn check in alone. walked to DDF. Mosburger. computer.

video at Kamata, Shin Koyasu. Tsurumi - Little Japan. took bags back to Hotel. Cleaning. to Akihabara - Greenmax - Imon. car crash. met Akiko

Tsurumi - Higashi Kanagawa video. Shinagawa for Twilight Express. Shinokubo. Mejiro. Ikebukuro - Tobu.

to Hamamatsucho. Hato bus tour. Tokyo Tower. Tea Ceremony - gardens. BBQ lunch - gardens. Imperial Palace grounds. Sumida River cruise. Asakausa. back to Ginza. Tenshodo. Kamata Sushi Train.

Slept in. Shin Koyasu video. JR & Keikyu. to Yokohama and Fujisawa. Department store clothes. Tempura lunch. Enoden walk & video. Kamata Izakaya.

crush with bags on train to Tokyo - left bags. Akiko haircut. Shinkansen Mishima video. Shizuoka Rainbow Ten - lunch. Higashi Shizuoka. to Tokyo / Yamagata. Chinese tea.

Slept late. local PO for boxes. walk to station. Tsubasa to Koriyama. Yamabiko to Shin-Shirakawa - video. back - internet cafe. packed boxes

Nippori video. Joban to Shin-Matsuda. Musashino to Minami-funabashi. Keiyo to Tokyo. Chuo express to Mitaka - video not focused. back to Tokyo. Kanda - Yurakucho video. Shinagawa - Keikyu video. to Yokohama on Keikyu - rain. back again. subway to Suehirocho. Tam Tam. to Ueno - Keihin Tohoku missed Nippori. video at Nippori. Skyliner to Narita.

Summary
This time we did not really do any trips very far from where we were staying. Also again, for various reasons, some of the shorter planned trips did not eventuate, but some of these can be added to the schedule for the next visit. But sometimes half the fun is planning the trip, rather than doing it !!!

This table lists the actual journeys taken on various trains and other means of transportation, mainly using the Japan Rail Pass, but also a Passnet card. You can find out more information about these on the Tokyo Area Rail Network page. For a 2 week pass costing ¥45,100, I managed to rack up well over ¥150,100 worth of travel, so it is certainly worth getting and using as much as possible.

Here is a table containing a summary of the 6+ hours of video footage I took during this trip. I am planning to convert all of this to MPG files, and then load a selection to this page so it will be available for everyone to view. If you want to see a particular segment, please ask ...

Tape	Date	Location	Viewpoint	Time	Trains seen

(Please note that these are my personal observations and comparisons may relate to situations or practices here in Australia.)