Travel notes: Shinkansen!
Oct. 28th, 2010 07:53 amToday we took the Nozomi to Tokyo (12,710 yen - nonreserve seat); transferred at Shinagawa to the Yamamote line to Shinjuku. Riding the train means bento box! I am impressed by the overall tastiness of all the takeaway food everywhere, but I find that there aren't enough calories to truly keep me filled. Anyway, the train ride was so smooth and speedy. Any chance we could get the Japanese to construct a railway system in the US? Shinjuku Station definitely challenged our navigation skills. The place could definitely use more maps and more signs. The station connects directly underground to WSH where we are staying...but I wouldn't recommend this hotel to larger individuals. Actually, I wouldn't recommend the one in Kyoto to larger individuals either. We took the rest of the day off from sightseeing, and spent some time browsing the shops around Shinjuku. We had to get something warmer for tomorrow's trip to Hakone & Mt. Fuji as it is slighter colder (and wetter) here than we originally thought it would be. Anyone have any restaurant recs in Shinjuku? There are too many choices online.