Riding the Bullet Train to Zama 9/17/11

It's a little after 8:30 AM & we're in our taxi about half-way to the Shin-Iwakuni station. We're off for a week at Camp Zama (near Tokyo), where Stan will attend an ET (Educational Technologist) conference. I'm tagging along since it's been 3 or 4 years since I've been to Tokyo. Lots of colorful flowers are blooming along the bank of the Monzen River.


Ah - always a delight to see the beautiful Kintai Bridge even on a misty morning. And there are ALWAYS people walking across it.


Inside the Shin-Iwakuni station. That means it's a Shinkansen (bullet train) station only. No local trains stop here. This station is in a different location from the downtown local JR station and much further away. I'm facing the doors to the outside & there are lots of souvenir goodies for sale here. We usually get a can of coffee "for the road" from inside the little shop to my left.


Just enough time to potty and then head upstairs to the platform. Our train leaves shortly after 9 AM.


Upstairs on the open-air platform. There's one - is it ours? It's easy to tell because the trains always run EXACTLY on time here. Extremely unusual if they don't. . . we are very spoiled.


Inside the Kodama - that's the "slower" Shinkansen that stops here in Iwakuni. The "faster" ones just blast through this station. They're really not faster, but simply make fewer stops, so they arrive at the final destinations sooner. I like this train though - it's very spacious and seldom crowded, although it's older.


Look at all that leg room! And of course the seats recline for comfort.

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