I was astounded this morning as our plans hit a snag. There were no seats on the train we wanted to catch and the later train would not have suited so we were faced with a choice. In fact, the only thing we wanted to do was take a long train trip, have lunch and then come back. There were literally hundreds of possibilities, except the one we had first chosen, so we decided to take the bullet train to Tokyo instead.
On the way, as we whizzed along at some crazy speed, we started talking about the logistics of getting to the boat tomorrow and Marilyn suggested that we might follow Robyn’s normal practice of having a trial run, so we hopped off the train at Shin-Yokohama and followed the planned route. It was relatively easy but we were able to confirm where the escalators or elevators were (they don’t have lifts in Japan) and check the easiest way for the final few hundred metres to the pier.
Osanbashi Pier is a marvel. This weekend is the 10th anniversary of its opening and there were lots of festivities, including a street market and a mini-carnival for the kids. Apparently, Osonbashi is always busy with one thing or another and today was really not very different. There were girls on the top deck practicing their traditional dancing, the Royal Wave was setting sail for a harbour cruise, and an old rocker was playing electric guitar to a bunch of seniors inside (I say he was an old rocker but his repertoire included Pearly Shells and Love Letters in the Sand). One old fellow was so moved he pushed his walking frame aside and danced a soft-shoe shuffle to the music. There was also something on in the Concert Hall which is part of this huge complex.
We had lunch at Harbor’s Café (that’s how it was written). Marilyn had prawn, egg, tomato and lettuce sandwiches and I had the all-day breakfast – pink fried rice, meat patty and gravy, salad and a fried egg on top. Yum!
We’re comfortable that we’ll find our way tomorrow without too much hassle. The taxi is booked for 8.15 to get us on to the 9.40 Hikari to Shin-Yokohama and the bags are packed. The bike I mentioned earlier is still there and untouched and I think I might have found the winner of the caption competition we saw on the Takamatsu train. (Since we saw the poster, we’ve noticed that the platform guards, waving off the trains point forward, backwards and up at the indicator board before blowing their whistle. Maybe that’s it.)
On the way, as we whizzed along at some crazy speed, we started talking about the logistics of getting to the boat tomorrow and Marilyn suggested that we might follow Robyn’s normal practice of having a trial run, so we hopped off the train at Shin-Yokohama and followed the planned route. It was relatively easy but we were able to confirm where the escalators or elevators were (they don’t have lifts in Japan) and check the easiest way for the final few hundred metres to the pier.
Osanbashi Pier is a marvel. This weekend is the 10th anniversary of its opening and there were lots of festivities, including a street market and a mini-carnival for the kids. Apparently, Osonbashi is always busy with one thing or another and today was really not very different. There were girls on the top deck practicing their traditional dancing, the Royal Wave was setting sail for a harbour cruise, and an old rocker was playing electric guitar to a bunch of seniors inside (I say he was an old rocker but his repertoire included Pearly Shells and Love Letters in the Sand). One old fellow was so moved he pushed his walking frame aside and danced a soft-shoe shuffle to the music. There was also something on in the Concert Hall which is part of this huge complex.
We had lunch at Harbor’s Café (that’s how it was written). Marilyn had prawn, egg, tomato and lettuce sandwiches and I had the all-day breakfast – pink fried rice, meat patty and gravy, salad and a fried egg on top. Yum!
We’re comfortable that we’ll find our way tomorrow without too much hassle. The taxi is booked for 8.15 to get us on to the 9.40 Hikari to Shin-Yokohama and the bags are packed. The bike I mentioned earlier is still there and untouched and I think I might have found the winner of the caption competition we saw on the Takamatsu train. (Since we saw the poster, we’ve noticed that the platform guards, waving off the trains point forward, backwards and up at the indicator board before blowing their whistle. Maybe that’s it.)
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