Japan Trip - March / April 2018

Holly and I took a trip to Japan. We saw a lot of cherry blossoms and train museums. We both really enjoyed the trip and want to go back at some point.

These photos have been white balanced, though no additional editing was done. This will contrast greatly with the photos from our Israel (2016) trip.

This post is a list of links to the photos themselves.

Below are links to the images broken up by date:
March 26, 2018:
Boston Logan International Airport – American Airlines Admirals Club B30-B36

Narita International Airport - Terminal 2

On our way out of Japan we returned to Narita International Airport, Terminal 2. The initial check-in hall is large. I probably would have liked it if it had more natural light. Also, check-in was okay, but not great, and that was as a business class passenger.

Narita Express (N'EX)

We rode the Narita Express (N'EX) from JR Tokyo Station to Narita International Airport. This time we were in the Green Car, which had slightly fancier seats. This is a E259 Series train. It runs on the regular tracks which are narrower than the Shinkansen and not quite as fast or smooth. But we saw some nice bridges.

Tokyo - JR Tokyo Station

We paid our final two visits to JR Tokyo Station. Admittedly I took a lot of pictures here. Before we did the Ueno trip we had done our scotch shopping (brought some scotches home for family members) in a store in an underground mall connected to JR Tokyo Station.

Tokyo - JR Ueno Station

We got off at JR Ueno Station and caught the next Shinkansen back to JR Tokyo Staion, this was a very short excursion and one of our final uses of our Japan Rail Pass.

Joetsu Shinkansen

We rode the Joetsu Shinkansen on a Toki MAX (E4 Series) which is a bi-level Shinkansen. We only rode one station from JR Tokyo Station to JR Ueno Station.We visited both the bottom and top of the car. On these trains the top is regular seating and the bottom is the reserved seating. There are also Green Car seats on the top in other sections.

Tokyo - JR Tokyo Station

On our last day in Tokyo we decided to do some scotch shopping and ride some random Shinkansen trains. We got on a bi-level Shinkansen. There were lots of pretty trains at the station.

Tokyo - MariCar (Video)

We took a MariCar tour while we were in Tokyo. We rented one of their action cams and had some footage. Due to the camera being head mounted and the go karts having no suspension the footage can be shaky at times. Footage at 2x original speed (otherwise this would be even longer). Please forgive those issues.

My second time editing a video...

Tokyo - MariCar

We took a MariCar tour of Tokyo. It was a lot of fun. It also felt very exposed and you are in traffic. I think we got up to around 70 or 80 km/h flat out on a down hill. You can also catch some air and they will drift.
They are street legal and have lights and turn signals and so on. The costumes keep your clothes clean and keep you a bit warmer.
The down sides... They are obnoxiously loud and ostentatious, arguably one of the most disruptive things you will see and can do. They offer you a face mask. Take it. Breathing the exhaust from these was pretty terrible.
These pictures were taken by our guide.

Tokyo - Tsukiji Fish Market

We walked through the Tsukiji Fish Market outer market and had probably  the best sushi we have ever had. We then walked through the inner market some. It very much smelled of fish and some crews were cleaning up. Some of the stall people did not want their pictures taken. I did not take pictures of the outer market.

Tokyo - Nissan Crossing

On our walk to the Tsukiji Fish Market we walked through Nissan Crossing. One of the displays there included the Nissan Vision GT.

Sobu Line

We took the Sobu Line back from JR Chiba Station to JR Tokyo Station. We were in a two level Green Car on a E217 Series train. These are frequently used for suburban transit. Not quite as fancy or comfortable as Shinkansen Green Cars but still nicer than the normal seating area.

Chiba - JR Chiba Station

We got dinner at JR Chiba station. In our process of looking for which restaurant we wanted to eat at we found a really interesting escalator with two stair sections and a flat section in the middle.

Chiba - Chishirodai Station

We took the Chiba Urban Monorail to its Chishirodai Station terminus which was seemingly in a predominantly residential neighborhood with a small mall. We went through the grocery store of this mall and really found the selection quite interesting. We also took the opportunity to take more photos of the trains themselves and the tracks.

Chiba Urban Monorail

I really wanted to ride on the Chiba Urban Monorail, a suspended monorail. It is very interesting riding in a train where you are sailing over the traffic below you. We enjoyed the experience. Granted, it does not go all that fast and can be a bit wobbly at times, but I am really happy we road on it. There are not many of these operational in the world.

Chiba - JR Chiba Station

We took a trip on the Subo Line to Chiba from Tokyo. We wanted to see the suspended monorail. One of the things that was awesome was that the bathrooms in the station had rooms for handicap access as well as a nursery for mothers in need of nursing facilities. It would be really cool if more US public facilities were so accommodating.

Tokyo - Mitsui Garden Kyobashi Hotel

The Mitsui Garden Kyobashi Hotel was our last hotel in Japan. It was also on of the nicest and perhaps our largest room. I think they also upgraded our room.

Mt. Fuji from Hikari Shinkansen

We took the Hikari Shinkansen (series N700) in a Green Car from Osaka to Tokyo. We got to see Mt. Fuji from the train car. Mt. Fuji was rather off in the distance and covered in clouds.

Osaka - Dotonbori

Upon returning to Osaka from Hiroshima we decided to visit the Dotonbori. We saw some interesting things as well as accidentally found a restaurant to eat fugu (the poisonous puffer fish) at.

Sakura Shinkansen

We then traveled back from Hiroshima to Osaka. We took a reserved Sakura Shinkansen in the Green Car (series N700). The seating was nicer. We reserved the trip back early because of our concern with seat availability heading out. The seating was very limited. But we probably would have liked more time in Hiroshima.