— By Maggie Downs —
The melodic chime floated by Tokyo Station simply as our Shinkansen slid into view, silent and impossibly easy, prefer it was gliding on air. My 10-year-old son, Everest, stood frozen in awe, eyes tracing the glossy white bullet prepare because it stretched far past both finish of the platform.
“It seems like a spaceship,” he whispered.
I felt it too. Standing there with my husband, swept into the tide of brisk-footed commuters and vacationers with rolling suitcases, buzzing lights overhead with the scent of fried meals and brewed tea within the air. I stared at this gleaming marvel of engineering — and for a second, it did really really feel like we have been about to launch into one other world.
Moments later, we have been hurtling by the Japanese countryside at practically 200 miles per hour, watching small cities and rice fields blur into watercolor smears whereas Everest demolished a Shinkansen-shaped sweet field from the snack cart. This wasn’t simply transportation; this was the stuff of childhood goals.
The Prepare Turned the Journey
Earlier than our two-week household journey, which took us by Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka, I’d learn sensible guides about visiting Japan. Then I fastidiously mapped out temples, neighborhood sights, and udon retailers, assuming the prepare would merely get us from one level to a different.
We stay within the California desert, the place we don’t have system of public transportation, so I knew the rail system in Japan — famously quick and environment friendly — could be a novelty for us. However the true magic, I figured, would start as soon as we reached our locations.
I used to be unsuitable. The trains themselves rapidly grew to become one of many journey’s largest highlights. They weren’t only a method to journey, however a pleasure all their very own.
The Artwork of Easy Motion
At first look, Japan’s trains appeared like an intricate internet of timetables, transfers, and unstated guidelines. Frankly, I used to be intimidated. I anxious we’d be fumbling by stations, second-guessing indicators, and lacking connections.
However as soon as on the bottom, all of it clicked. Google Maps guided us with stunning accuracy. Shade-coded indicators, English-language bulletins, and useful station employees saved us shifting with confidence.
After a couple of rides, we discovered our rhythm: Faucet the IC card (pay as you go good playing cards used for transportation and different funds), observe the arrows, board the fitting automobile, and settle in. No site visitors, no trying to find parking in a international metropolis. Simply time collectively, watching the world go by.
Tip: Purchase rechargeable IC playing cards on the airport or a significant station. Children below 6 experience free; older kids get discounted fares. In case you’re doing intensive journey, a Japan Rail Cross will be price it — use the fare calculator on the Japan Rail web site to see if the cross will prevent cash.
Everest posing at Odawara Station / Phot by Maggie Downs
The place the Prepare Is the Playground
The stations alone deserved a while within the itinerary. Tokyo Station felt virtually like a theme park, boasting capsule toy machines, anime-themed snacks, unimaginable bento shows, memento retailers with enjoyable characters, and bakery counters so beautiful they appeared like artwork galleries.
Plus when a nationwide vacation shuttered most eating places in Kyoto, it was the station that saved us. We stumbled right into a conveyor-belt sushi spot nonetheless buzzing with life, turned dinner right into a sport, and watched Everest gentle up with each passing plate.
Tip: Don’t overlook prepare stations as eating hubs. Many stations home total meals halls with choices from ramen to French pastries, and an incredible children’ meal is usually only a few steps away.
Signal at Tokyo Station / Photograph by Maggie Downs
The Low Factors (and What We Discovered)
In fact, not each experience in Japan was great. We realized the arduous method to keep away from rush hour after a white-knuckle expertise being squeezed right into a packed prepare automobile by Tokyo’s notorious “prepare pushers” — uniformed staff who bodily shove individuals into already full automobiles. I felt like scorching canine meat being pressured into the casing.
Within the crush of individuals, I teetered on the sting of a panic assault. However this additionally confirmed us the exceptional civility of Japanese commuters, who made room for Everest and even helped information us off the prepare at our cease.
After that, we averted the 7 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. home windows and located the trains blissfully spacious throughout off hours.
One other problem: the sheer measurement of main stations like Shinjuku or Ueno. What Google Maps referred to as a “five-minute switch” usually meant speed-walking by subterranean corridors that appeared to multiply as we moved. On one exhausting evening in Shinjuku, Everest practically fell asleep strolling. Spirits have been low till we noticed a merchandising machine full of collectible prepare toys. Our irritating detour instantly grew to become a treasure hunt.
Tip: Give your self buffer time for transfers in large stations. They’ll take longer than anticipated, particularly with children. And embrace the merchandising machines; they’re in all places and stuffed with surprises.
Capsule toy machines in Japan / Photograph by Maggie Downs
A Prepare Designed for Pleasure
On day 5, we boarded the Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone. With its sweeping home windows and plush seating, it felt extra like a sightseeing lounge than public transit. Everest claimed the entrance seat like a junior conductor, narrating each tunnel and bridge we handed.
Even our shortest rides have been memorable. We squealed over themed trains, just like the Howdy Kitty Shinkansen, and stopped to admire each snack stand with regional specialties. Everest turned these snack breaks into tasting excursions. Curry buns, melon pan, chewy mochi, and different treats all grew to become a part of our journey story.
Tip: In case your little one loves trains, take into account visiting the Kyoto Railway Museum or the Railway Museum in Saitama close to Tokyo. And don’t miss the themed trains. Test native rail strains for seasonal or character-branded rides.
Everest in Hakone / Photograph by Maggie Downs
Discovering Our Household Move
By the second week in Japan, we’d figured it out. We packed gentle with carry-ons solely, since Japanese trains aren’t made for big curler baggage. We realized to ahead our baggage when wanted, so our suitcases awaited us on the subsequent resort, as if by magic. We adopted Everest’s lead with IC card tapping and snack scouting. He even developed a soundtrack, buzzing the melodic departure chimes from totally different stations.
We didn’t want screens or telephones. The motion, the home windows, the trains themselves have been the leisure.
Tip: Baggage forwarding service (referred to as takkyubin) is extensively out there at many inns, airports, and comfort shops. It’s a lifesaver for those who’re touring with giant baggage.
Osaka / Photograph by Maggie Downs
Leaving Japan: A Journey We Didn’t Wish to Finish
What stunned me most was how the trains slowed us down in the perfect means. We had house to speak, to sit down quietly collectively, to marvel on the surroundings as a substitute of simply making an attempt to succeed in the subsequent cease. Everest requested large questions. My husband, who’s Japanese-American, shared tales from his personal childhood. As we explored Japan, we weren’t simply sightseeing; we have been seeing one another.
Even the smallest moments — a fellow passenger providing Everest a sweet, a station employee waving as we boarded — grew to become little sparks of connection.
On our last experience to Kansai Worldwide Airport, Everest pressed his face to the window and whispered, “I’m going to overlook the trains.”
So was I. As a result of someplace between Tokyo and Osaka, we’d found what journey is basically about. Not simply the place you go, however the way you get there, and all of the little joys that come alongside for the experience.
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