Another iconic train

 Nagoya station is huge and very busy. We are grateful for our Japanese tour guide Hero, who although small in stature is not to be messed with! She is in her home city and knows exactly how to navigate rhe busy station to get us to the bullet train on Shinkansen platform.




There are several bullet trains already there, gleaming white under the platform lights and everyone is anxious to get a good photo, although it's not easy as there are a lot of passengers waiting to get on - we actually work out that each train holds over 1000 people in the 16 carriages!

Trev tells me that they were initially nicknamed 'ducks' because their shape resembles a duck billed platypus! Each one has a very smart ( and young!) driver 


The inside of the train resembles an aircraft, with smooth lines and a curved roof.The seats are ok, but nothing that special considering the iconic nature of the transport. We all settle down, Trev with the window seat this time and get ready to enjoy the ride. 

It accelerates away really quickly and there is an immediate sensation of speed, it doesn't take long before the scenery is flashing by so quickly that it is impossible to take any photos or see the names of places we are passing through. I do take a video through the train window, but when I view it back, it actually looks as though I've recorded it and speeded it up!

For such a special train there is one disappointment and it surprises us - there is no onboard commentary, nor any information on the train website as to our journey and places of information along the way. In fact the internet connection onboard is rubbish and I soon give up trying to write any of the blog or anything else. We don't even have a display showing the current speed of the train as we have been used to on the fast trains in Europe.

Despite this, we can't fail to be impressed by the speed and huge distance we will cover around 450 miles in just over 2 hours!

We have already been informed that the hotel we should have been staying at in Hiroshima has building work going on, so Great Rail have moved us to a sister hotel directly over Hiroshima station. This does not fill me with much pleasure, as I've got visions of a slightly grimy English station, noisy trains and not being able to sleep because of the train noise all night!

What we discover though is exactly the opposite and a very pleasant surprise! Hiroshima station is new and gleaming, part of a vast shopping centre with multiple ( and I mean hundreds!) of food outlets and up market shops.  We are met on the stations by the manager, a smart man full of smiles, who leads us through the busy concourse to the hotel entrance. Coming out of the lift into the bright reception area we are faced with rows of immaculate orchids, all with long spikes of beautiful flowers. We all have to go and check put that they are real, they look so perfect!




The fast lift whisks us up to floor 15 in no time and we both make our way to the big picture window in our room to check out the view, we're not disappointed. 




It's a very modern hotel and has only been open around a month, so everything is very new, stylish  and quite minimalist. Our pyjamas this time are more bathrobe style, made from white seersucker - not the most flattering, but pleasant to wear in bed.

After a shower and change we have a wander around the food court a few floors below, where there is a huge choice of different restaurant and cafes. It is very busy, but we finally find one which can accommodate us on tall stools overlooking the small kitchen. After a lot of gestures and pointing, we eventually realise that we have to scan the bar code on the receipt we've been given, access the menu online and place out order! It comes I  record time and we tuck into a small Wagu steak and chips.irs not far to walk back to the hotel and we soo  fall into a long sleep after a busy day.

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