Wandering Leopard 2016 Train experience
It has been 10 years since I was last in Japan and back then I didn’t know much of the train system. It was also very little English signage as well. When I returned, I also had my wife with me. She was smart and figured a lot of things about the trains right away.
When we arrived to Narita, we took the Keisei Skyliner to Keisei Ueno station.
October 7th, Friday
- Narita airport to Ueno station – Keisei Skyliner
- Ueno station to Kanda station – Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
- Kanda station to Akihabara station via Keihintohoku Line
October 8th, Saturday
I met with Kuze-san and he said he would take me to Carshop Friend (Nissan Leopard shop).
- Kanda station to Tokyo station – Yamanote line
- Tokyo Station to Hiratsuka Station – Tokaido Main line (and back)
Once we got ot Hiratsuka station, we took a bus to get to Carshop Friend. Reverse course to go back.
October 9th, Sunday
- Tokyo to Hamamatsu Station – Shinkansen
October 10th, Monday
The next day, Jasmin and I went to Osaka. This wasn’t my 1st time in Osaka (I was here in 2004), but it was the 1st time using the trains. My initial trip to Osaka, my friend’s picked me up at the airport and took care of me.
- Hamamatsu station to Shin-Osaka station – Shinkansen
- Shin-Osaka station to Osaka Station – JR Tokaido Sanyo line
- Osaka station to Tanimachiyonchome Station – Tanimachi subway line and walked to Osaka Castle
- Morinomiya station > Osaka station – Osaka Loop line
- Umeda station to Ikeda station and back – Hankyu-Takarazuka Line
- Osaka station to Shinsaibashi station – Midosuji subway line
October 11th – Kyoto day trip
- Shinsaibashi station to Umeda station – Midosuji subway line
- Shin Osaka to Kyoto station – Limited Express Thunderbird (and back)
- Umeda station is an interchange station with JR’s Osaka station. These are next to each other and within walking distance.
October 12 – Kyoto day trip 2
- Yotsubashi station to Nishi-Umeda station – Yotsubashi subway Line
- Osaka station to Kyoto station – Tokaido-Sanyo Line
- Arashiyama station to Randen-Tejingawa station – Arashiyama line
- Randen-Tejingawa station to Uzumasa-Tenjingawa station – walk
- Uzumasa-Tenjingawa station to Karasuma Oike Station – Subway Tozai line
- Karasuma Oike Station to Kyoto station – Subway Karasuma line
- Kyoto station to Shin-Osaka station – Shinkansen to meet with Tanaka-san
- Shin-Osaka to Shinsaibashi – Midosuji line
October 13th – back to Tokyo
- Shin-Osaka station to Tokyo station
- Tokyo station to Shinjuku station – Marunouchi line
- Shinjuku Station to Tokyo Skytree (Sobu Rapid line, Hanzomon line), At Kinshicho station we changed to Hanzomon subway line
- At Oshiage station, short walk to Tokyo Skytree base
- Skytree to Odaiba
- Asakusa line > Keihintohoku Line > Rinkai line
- Daiba station to Shinjuku station
The last day, I took the Shinkansen from Shinagawa station to Shizuoka station (and back). I wanted to go to an Estima event and then came back to Tokyo for Stance G Nation in Odaiba.
Some notes… this was very good experience for the train. I started to understand more and appreciate how well connected many things were. I knew I was going to come back in a few months and I could plan better. Once I found out about the JR Pass, I really wanted to open up to going to different places in Japan.