'Shinkansen'...which is the proper name for the bullet train. These things are just incredible. Great value for money, more legroom than you get in business class, hostess service, plentiful toilets (cue "Engrish" signs) and LITERALLY punctual down to the second. Seriously, I reset my watch by the departure of one train, they're that good. Imagine what a shock it was to come back to London's dilapidated excuse for a massed transport system.
Went to Fukuoka, down south. I'd planned to visit Hiroshima when I was down there but timing just didn't work. I was crashing on a cold floor and was missing the relative comfort I was enjoying in Tokyo so I headed back after one day. Hardly worth the 12 hr round trip but I plan to do more exploring in the region next time I visit the country. Whilst down there, however, we went up the Fukuoka Tower (view above looking out, (awesome pic -ed.) and had a look around some kind of robot village, full of every possible variant of Sony's lovely Aibo digi-pets.The train journey back was fairly chilled but notable for my first encounter with real life Yakuza. Long story, but I'm pretty sure they were the real deal. More on that angle later...
Saw the sign with the bagpipes and thought of you. Ok, so I was bored. Let's move on...Back to Tokyo in the next, final, Part 4.
