I called this one Osaka/Kyoto part 2, but I may as well have named it Kyoto part 2 as I didn’t really do anything else in Osaka, but at least it gives me more of an excuse to come back to Japan again (Something I am already looking at)
Sunday 13th August – Kyoto Railway Museum and rebooking tickets
Today was going to be a bit of a chaotic day so I got up with the intention of going to the Kyoto railway museum and the castle/imperial palace but got up quite late and overslept (nooooooooo!!!!!) so instead the Kyoto railway museum it was.
The Kyoto railway museum was massive and was quite informative on the different trains and technology they have used in all the trains over the years, including the Shinkansen Type 0 which was launched in 1964 and was capable of 200 KPH (124 MPH) which is insane. They used technology from a bunch of different trains and even got aeroplane engineers in to help design it as well.
It was informative especially as did you know that the Shinkansen runs on the same gauge rails we have back in the UK (standard gauge), but the normal trains and limited express trains use narrow-gauge rails.
So next time you are on the trains in the UK (if they bother to turn up or aren’t 5 hours late) then think about the fact that in 1964 we could have had the Shinkansen instead of messing around with steam trains and old diesel locomotives.
he had loads of more information like about the tunnels they build for trains, especially useful as Japan is quite mountainous, different pantograph types and designs for wheels as well.
Just to quickly retouch on something I have said before in a previous blog, but JR are developing a maglev train due to be released in 2040. It would make the journey from Tokyo to Osaka (which takes me 2.5 hours on the second fasted bullet train) in 67 mins with 2 stops on the way.
At the museum was also a train shed and turntable of which some of the steam engines still worked and they give steam train rides at some points throughout the day.
I was also tempted to buy this Hello Kitty Shinkansen model train for one of my friends back home as a bit of a joke, but I decided against it in the end. There is however a Hello Kitty Shinkansen that you can travel on, in Japan.
After this it was time to head back to Osaka, drop my bag off at the hotel, pick up my seat reservation tickets, get them cancelled and replaced and then get some food.
Monday 14th August – Day out and then back to Tokyo.
Today I had to make sure I was up kinda early as I had a few trains to catch and my luggage to lock up at Kyoto train station which only cost 700 yen (about £3.80) for a locker for the day.
After doing this I was traveling all the way up to Amanohashidate on the northern coast (Osaka is on the southern coast) and this was a fair bit of a journey as I wasn’t doing it all in one go, I was using a few trains to get there. The first one was a locally train from Kyoto station saga-Arashiyama station which didn’t take long. The reason for this was a scenic train I saw on NHK Japan (the English version of sky) also known as the Sanago scenic train (or Sanago Romantic Railway).
It is pulled by an old diesel locomotive, well pushed for the direction we were going in down a separate line that hugs the Hozu Valley River instead of just going through the mountains like the JR line does.
As you can see the views are amazing and the train even stops at its own station in the middle of the route called Hozukyo-Torokko which is just surrounded by mountains and has a road near it, so if you are hiking you can always get dropped off there or picked up from then maybe as well.
After stopping off at Kameoka Torokko station. It was a lovely 10-15 min walk to the nearest JR train station. Also, no I didn’t have the beer as I don’t really drink it.
At this point as you can see, I am going through the rural areas of Japan which was amazing to see. After picking the local train up from Umahori to Kameoka (with no Torokko) I hopped on the limited express train to up to Fujuchiyama (again glad that I have a Green class card), which took a bit longer than I thought it would, (even though I reserved the seat) I finally almost arrived at my destination, but not quite.
So I got off the train only to be told by the person at the ticket booth that it was the train I wanted to get to Amanohashidate (separate railway company), so he quickly gave me a destination card so I could pay on the train for it and I was on my way along the Kyoto Tango Railway (again something I was though NHK Japan).
It is very weird to think that this sand bank can be cycled though, it is a beach and it even has a shrine on it.
My original plan was to go to a theme park that was in the side of a mountain and possible going and do some water sports, but that got cancelled and what I did do it go up the cable car on the other side of the sandbank.
This two-rail funicular system is quite old and uses the weight of the one coming down to help pull the other up and they split in the middle and pass each other, and it only takes about 3 mins per trip.
At the top I was greeted with a magnificent view out over Amanohashidate. I even hiked a little to get a better view as well.
Until next time everyone!!!!
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