Planes, Trains, and Buses
Lest my feet problems make you think different, let me reassure you we also took planes, trains, buses, trams and a ferry as we schlepped from one end of Japan to the other. Starting in Tokyo, we visited Kyoto, Miyajima, Nagasaki, and Fukuoka.
No surprise, my favorite mode of transportation was the trains--although I have to admit I loved the cable cars (trams) in Nagasaki. For 100 yen, I could travel from one end of the line to the other. They were nicely air conditioned, and very crowded--even more crowded when the nine of us got on with all of our luggage. Fortunately, the Japanese were very courteous and understanding.
I have to say, it was such a pleasure to be on Japanese public transportation. Trains and buses were clean, the passengers weren't yelling onto their cell phones (they texted instead). They weren't suffering from a lack (or excess) of soap.
We took an almost three hour bus trip from Nagasaki to Fukuoka, and they had lace (LACE!) over the headrests on the seats. 
There were drink holders and foot rests. It was very luxurious (and a good spot to have a bit of lunch!--soba noodles in this case).
Bicycles are also a very popular form of transportation in Japan. The DH rented one while we were in Kyoto and toodled around for a day, but I failed to grab a shot of it. In fact, this is the only real bicycle picture I got this time.
The truth is, there are bicycles parked everywhere. There are bicycles behind you trying to run you over on every sidewalk . . . ringing their silly bells in an aggressive threatening manner, which is odd, really, considering how polite Japanese people usually are.
No surprise, my favorite mode of transportation was the trains--although I have to admit I loved the cable cars (trams) in Nagasaki. For 100 yen, I could travel from one end of the line to the other. They were nicely air conditioned, and very crowded--even more crowded when the nine of us got on with all of our luggage. Fortunately, the Japanese were very courteous and understanding.I have to say, it was such a pleasure to be on Japanese public transportation. Trains and buses were clean, the passengers weren't yelling onto their cell phones (they texted instead). They weren't suffering from a lack (or excess) of soap.
We took an almost three hour bus trip from Nagasaki to Fukuoka, and they had lace (LACE!) over the headrests on the seats. 
There were drink holders and foot rests. It was very luxurious (and a good spot to have a bit of lunch!--soba noodles in this case).Bicycles are also a very popular form of transportation in Japan. The DH rented one while we were in Kyoto and toodled around for a day, but I failed to grab a shot of it. In fact, this is the only real bicycle picture I got this time.
The truth is, there are bicycles parked everywhere. There are bicycles behind you trying to run you over on every sidewalk . . . ringing their silly bells in an aggressive threatening manner, which is odd, really, considering how polite Japanese people usually are.
posted by Gina Black at 1:55 PM
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2 Comments:
If the public transportation here was as nice and clean, more people would be commuting that way - no doubt about it.
The pictures you've taken are terrific! :)
Ellen -- I totally agree. I think that we've scared the middle class away from our transportation systems whereas in Japan the system is geared to them. Big difference.
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