M&T Alpine-Tales: 2024

When we landed in Tokyo, as the plane pulled up to the gate, I noticed an attendant standing on the jet bridge. What happened next was totally unexpected: the attendant bowed to the plane!

This was our introduction to Japan, a precursor to the respectful and polite culture that we continued to experience on our entire trip. This respect extended not only to people but to every aspect of life including transportation.

We traveled to various destinations on private coaches, city buses, trams, taxis, ferries, boats, trains, and also the Shinkansen, Japan's iconic bullet train.

The Japanese pride themselves on their efficient and on-time public transport system. And indeed, it is just that. Everything runs like clockwork, on schedule, efficiently and cleanly. Even cars seemed well behaved and unlike in major big cities where it seems common to hear horns constantly blaring from agitated drivers, traffic here seemed to hum along harmoniously and I never heard a horn.

I immediately noticed that vehicles in general were noticeably more compact, reminding me of toy cars. They zipped along the elevated highway that took us from the airport to the hotel. And I also noticed that they appeared very clean and shiny. I don't think I once noticed a dusty or dirty vehicle, and even the larger transport trucks were shiny, including hubcaps. In fact, Tokyo streets and sidewalks were so clean and litter free that I imagined they must surely be swept daily.

capture of elevated highway in Tokyo close to our hotel

What intrigued me most was the polite behavior of the people no matter what mode of transport they were using. We rode several different types of trains and trams. Japanese rely on their extensive train network. Whether it's workers often commuting long distances (Osamu's train ride from home to work was two hours each way with his previous job), school kids, tourists like us, or the general public, the train stations were always packed and busy, the people like ants scurrying to their platforms. The larger train stations reminded me of airports with their upscale shops and restuarants and never-ending passageways. All signs were both in Japanese and English, and clearly marked. I however was quite happy to follow Osamu rather than navigating some of the maze-like passageways leading in different directions.

The train station in Kyoto is unlike any I have ever seen, a huge modern complex with hotels, shops, restaurants and a skybridge that overlooks the city. Because it was close to Halloween, there was a revolving Halloween light display in one section of stairs, featuring pumpkins, ghosts and witch hats.

Kyoto Station complex, like a city inside

Halloween smiley face on stairs inside Kyoto Station

changing light display from colors to Halloween motifs

Japan's lifelines

The throngs of people moved towards their platforms in an orderly manner. At the platform, everyone, including school kids in uniforms, stood behind a marked line one behind the other, waited for passengers to disembark before boarding the train without pushing or shoving, then settled into available seats or stood.

waiting in orderly lines for the train

lining up behind the yellow line, with attendants at each door

the old local blue line

We saw attendants bow as the train pulled away, and they also bowed inside the train as they moved from one car to the next.

The trains were clean, inside and out, the seats comfortable. The train rides were quiet, except for tourists who broke the code of silence. Train time is considered quiet time, a time to unwind, particularly at the end of a work day. Typically our American OAT group were the voices most often heard.

our group of chatty Americans!

A couple of times we traveled on the shinkansen, Japan's bullet train that can travel up to 200 MPH.

For one of the excursions, Osamu planned a special surprise. We rode on the Hello Kitty themed

shinkansen. This train, created to celebrate 50 years of bullet train service, was an unexpected surprise. The first two cars are decorated with everything Hello Kitty, from doors to floors to window shades, including a Hello Kitty luggage corner in the second car. The first car has no seats but does have a small souvenir gift shop, and a photo booth. The Japanese do have a youthful sense of humor, and riding the train certainly brought smiles to our faces. It felt like I was in Disneyland.

After disembarking, Osamu had us wait for several minutes until another shinkansen flew by to get the full effect of the tremendous speed with which these bullet trains travel. Even with finger poised on phone camera, I barely got the image of the train whizzing by.

I noticed that on the shinkansen and on other long distance trains, there were areas with braille plaques.

the toilet area on the shinkansen

I enjoyed the "toy-sized" cars and trucks, and would love to have brought one back with us.

This one is my favorite

mini-van

car-sized truck

With land space premium on this island nation where population density is 875 people per square mile, the cars need to be compact. When we walked through neighborhoods, I was most impressed how skilfully cars were parked into tiny spaces. Often garage doors had to be left open to accommodate a car that was slightly larger but still compact.

On several train rides, I noticed stacked parked cars in residential areas. Despite the congestion and with space a premium, the Japanese figured out an efficient system to park cars in densely populated areas. Having smaller compact cars makes sense for these car "shelving" units.

Amesterdam may pride itself on being a bicycle capital but judging by the number of cyclists I saw as well as the bicycle lots at train stations and in urban areas, Japan must be a close second. Additionally, sidewalks everywhere are clearly demarcated for cyclists and separate from pedestrians.

In fact, AI informed me that Japan is a nation of over 100 million cyclists, and that Tokyo is the "most bicycle-dense mega-city in the world" where 16% of all trips made in a day are by bicycle.

bicycle lots

bicylce sidewalk lanes

I saw mothers with child seats on bicycles, sometimes even tandem child seats, as they navigated their way around the city.

On a couple of excursions, we traveled by water on boats and also ferries. In Tokyo, we took a boat ride down the Sumida River on an old boat with beautiful woodwork and leather benches in the lounge area inside. It was a perfect day for a boat ride because it was raining hard by the time we left Aasuksa shopping area. It gave us a glimpse into Tokyo city life beyond the downtown area, where the skyline is a panorama of densely stacked high rise buildings. Tokyo's densification is the highest among all Japan's prefectures at 6,169 people per almost a half square mile. I tried to imagine what it must be like living in these highrises, always surrounded by so many people.

There are several striking bridges:

Tokyo city living

When we toured Hakone, we took a boat ride around lake Ashi on a boat like in the photo below.

It was a surprise to see that there were several areas on the boat with playareas for children, platforms with cushions, a swinging chair, and a hammock.

The biggest surprise was on the topmost desk, where we reminded ourselves what it was like being a young child again! There were swings and another playarea for children.

A pirate boat also operated on Lake Ashi and I can imagine how that one is decorated. The Japanese certainly are fun loving.

However, we were also constantly reminded about protocol for boarding, whether on trains or boats. Standing in appropriate lines is expected everywhere.

A pink boat, noisy and smelly, took us to Ohkuno-jima Island, also known as Rabbit Island. I began to suspect that perhaps pink is one of the favorite colors.

We also used the ferry system, which again is efficient and reliable. Once again, I was intrigued with the size of the ferries, which appear "toy-like" compared to the enormous ferries in Washington State. Yet, they also transport cars and trucks. It took only two dock workers to align the ramp, again with efficiency.

waiting in line to board the ferry

In Kyoto, to reach the remote area where we met with the Buddhist monk, we were transported by a Tekogi-Bune, a type of gondola with two men steering us down the Katsura River.

our Tekogi-Bune

no seats or benches on this transport, only stools!

Several times, we rode in taxis. This system too is efficient and well organized. At the train stations there are areas where the taxis line up one after the other. Inside, it seemed from the taxis that we took, that every taxi driver is in uniform, some wearing white gloves, and the head rests on the seats are covered with lace antimacassars (vsible in the taxi on the photo below.)

our taxi driver on Omishima Island

taxi rank at the train station

a mini London taxi!

We were transported on a Japan sized coach to tour places further out, perfect for our small group. The drivers were particularly adept at parking in tight spaces.

parking at the hotel in Hakone where we had the shabu-shabu lunch

"toy" sized buses

Everywhere we traveled, buses neatly lined up in appointed spaces.

On a few occasions, we rode the city buses with the locals. These apperaed to be the same size as our buses. Again, protocol is to speak quietly on board, if at all. We used the pre-paid green cards that we were given when we arrived in Japan. We became quite adept at scanning the cards in train stations and on buses.

3 weary travelers

a low-floor bus introduced to aid the aging population and for those with disabilities

After our Mihara day-long excursion, we caught a bus back to Hiroshima. This bus was more like the large tourist buses we see back home. The trip gave us the opportunity to experience the highway and toll system in Japan. We also passed through several long tunnels.

our bus driver in uniform, dwarfed by the large hydraulic seat

heading to the highway on-ramp, I captured the scenery of this small town, but also
the reader board at the front of the bus with the upcoming stops, and the road marking that says
Caution

toll booth entrance to the highway

road markimgs on the road indicating main traffic lanes ahead

approaching Hiroshima

We had the opportunity to see Japanese motor homes when we were on our way to the village of Ashigari. I would love to have looked inside to see the layout.

compared to our blue tour bus, which isn't at all large by US standards,
this camper looks like a toy!

There is one other mode of transport that we saw at one of the markets, and it is more reminiscent of Japan's olden days. We saw the riskshaws again when we went to the Bamboo Grove. It appears to be a popular ride with tourists, not only from abroad but also for Japanese tourists who often are also dressed in traditional kimono. As I learned, there are several companies that rent traditional kimonos for around $200 a day. We saw many people who enjoyed this touristy feature, and I recall one multi-generational family in one of the markets having professional photos taken with what appeared to be a first grandchild.