I highly recommend it if you are going to travel in Japan.
It was cold when I woke up this morning in Osaka at 4:30AM. I had to get up early to be at work back home in Tokyo by 10AM. My vacation had finally come to an end.
Getting on the shinkansen at Shin-Osaka station at 6:30AM doesn’t sound like too much fun, but it was great. We took off right before sunrise, when the sky was just turning purple and red. I could see the mountains that are all around Osaka. I could also see the beautiful skyline of that great city where I had spent the last 3 days binge drinking with my friends (all womyn) from college.
I saw the sun rise in the mountains before we made our first stop at Kyoto. I saw a few temples in the distance. I remembered I haven’t visited there in 2 and a half years, only passed few a few other times on the way to and from Osaka. Maybe I should go there in the spring.
It started snowing as we went through Shiga, Gifu, and Aichi prefectures. It was fun watching the snow fall while I was speeding away at over 100km per hour. I sent a mail with my cell phone to my kouhai, who now lives in Tokyo, as we made our 2nd stop at Nagoya station, to tell him that it was snowing in his home town. I remembered all of the stupid stuff that we did together there.
The sky cleared up as we made our way through Shizuoka prefecture. The view of Mt. Fuji was spectacular. I have ridden the shinkansen many times, but always at night, so I have never seen Mt. Fuji from the train. Lucky.
As we finally pulled into Tokyo station, I realized I was going to be late for work. But I am always late. Just another day. My boss even fell asleep at his desk.
The sun is setting now in Tokyo. I am watching it from my office window. I had a lot of fun in the last week in Osaka and Kyushu but I am so glad to be home.
BTW, it is 320 miles from Osaka to Tokyo on the shinkansen and takes 2 1/2 or more hours depending on what train you take.