INTRODUCTION
Culturally rich and geographically diverse, central Honshu is a vast land area stretching from the Pacific Ocean in the south to the Sea of Japan in the north. If this region is Japan’s beating heart, the Tokaido line which runs along the southern coast is the country’s transportation artery. It is above all a functional rail line – perhaps the most functional in the world, transporting thousands of passengers every day between the business and industrial hubs of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
But it would be a great shame to restrict your travel by rail only to the Tokaido shinkansen. Much of the area along the Tokaido line is heavily built up and polluted by factories and heavy industry so, in its own way, a journey along this line offers a real taste of Japan; concrete proof that nature has indeed been spectacularly sacrificed for the industrial revolution. For many visitors who only just have the time to rush between Tokyo and Kyoto, this is all they see of the country. But just a short distance from the industrialized southern coast lie the majestic Japanese Alps. The easiest way of reaching the region and the Alps is to take a shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagano. The Central Japan rail network is fast, efficient and even in the winter months of heavy snowfall almost invariably on time.
Highlights of a tour around this region include Takayama (see p179), a mini-Kyoto in the mountains, the preserved Edo-period ‘post towns’ of Narai (see p137) and Tsumago (see p140), and Kanazawa (see p185), a city on the Japan Sea coast which is home to one of Japan’s most celebrated gardens. Finally, between April and November, the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route (see p145) offers a unique opportunity to appreciate the region’s astonishing beauty in a day-long journey from the Japan Sea coast to the Japanese Alps, involving as it does a variety of modes of transport.
A one-week tour would be enough to see a couple of the highlights; two or three weeks would give you time to take in the views and explore more of what the region has to offer.
TOKYO TO NAGOYA BY SHINKANSEN [Table 3, pp458-60]
Distances by Hikari shinkansen from Tokyo. Fastest journey time: 2 hours.
Tokyo to Atami [Map 1]
Tokyo [see pp90-115]
Take a Hikari shinkansen from Tokyo west towards Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Okayama. If you are travelling further west you will need to change trains at Shin-Osaka or Okayama. The only shinkansen which run all the way from Tokyo to Hakata (see p389) are the Nozomi services, for which rail passes are not valid. Rail passes are valid for Kodama shinkansen from Tokyo, but these should be avoided if possible because they stop at every station and are thus much slower.
Shinagawa (7km)
Approximately half the Hikari and Nozomi services and all kodama trains call here. A few of the new N700 shinkansen services (see box p458) start/finish here instead of Tokyo station – to relieve congestion at the latter. The downside is that there is no connection with northbound Tohoku shinkansen services from here. All Tohoku bullet trains (operated by JR East) depart from Tokyo station.
If you are transferring in Tokyo onto the local JR Yamanote line, it makes sense to change here rather than at the crowded Tokyo station, since Shinagawa is smaller, easier to manage and the shinkansen/conventional line platforms are closer together. Yamanote line services depart from platforms 1 and 2. There are coin lockers (all sizes) at the back of the platform side of the main JR concourse. You’ll also find a selection of eateries, including a revolving sushi restaurant, as well as toilets where tips are requested though not necessarily given.
Rail buffs may like to know that a train station was first built in Shinagawa and opened to the public on May 7, 1872. Nothing remains today of the original building.
Shin-Yokohama (29km)
The third station after Tokyo but not all Hikari or Nozomi stop here so check schedules before setting off.
A tourist information office (daily 10am-6pm, closed 1-2pm) is behind the shinkansen ticket barrier. However, the office will be closed Oct 2007 to mid-Jan 2008 while the station is redeveloped. Coin lockers (¥300-600) are next to this office. Both shinkansen and ordinary train lines run from this station.
The main tourist sight is the unusual Ramen Museum (www.raumen .co.jp/home/index.html, Wed-Mon 11am-11pm, ¥300), five minutes on foot north-east of the station – take the exit by the tourist information office (but first pick up a sketch map of the route from the office). The ground floor museum tells the story of how noodles rose from a humble beginning to embrace the global market.
The main reason the place gets packed out is the re-created ramen village in the basement; a collection of traditional ramen shops from around Japan. The most popular are ones from Sapporo (see p363) in Hokkaido and Fukuoka/Hakata (see p395) in Kyushu, the two best-known centres for ramen in Japan. The souvenir shop could be the place to pick up a few unusual mementos.
From Shin-Yokohama take a JR Yokohama line train (from platform 5; about 20 mins) to Sakuragicho (see p111) for a taste of 21st-century life in Japan.
Odawara (84km)
Several Hikari stop here. In March 1886, the Zuso Jinsha Railway (‘human railway’) was opened between Odawara and Atami (the next stop along the shinkansen line), a distance of 25km. It took more than four hours to go between the two towns. The eight-seater coach, carried by three people, was used for 12 years until the introduction of steam locomotives.
Once an important castle town, Odawara is now a major junction on both the shinkansen and Tokaido mainlines, as well as a terminus for the private Odakyu line from Shinjuku. It’s also the main gateway to Hakone (see p113), an area of lakes and mountains accessible as a day trip from Tokyo.
Atami (105km)
Only a few Hikari stop here. Atami is a famous spa town but, due to its proximity to Tokyo, it often gets unpleasantly crowded. British travellers might want to make a pilgrimage here to the grave of ‘poor Toby’, a Scottish terrier whose life was tragically cut short after a visit here (see box opposite). There is no tourist information office as such but you can pick up a map which lists the main sightseeing points at the View Plaza travel agency in the station. Coin lockers (¥300) are available.
Hot springs abound, with a choice of seven spas; you can pick up a stamp card (see box p48) and trek around the town visiting them all. A well-known sightseeing spot is Oyu geyser (see box above), which claims to be one of the three largest geysers in the world, along with the Great Caesar in Iceland and the Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, USA. The other main tourist draw is MOA Museum of Art (www.moaart.or.jp, Fri-Wed, 9:30am-4:30pm, ¥1600), on a hillside overlooking Atami; accessible by bus (10 mins) from the station. It contains a large collection of woodblock prints, ceramics and gold and silver lacquerware. Tickets are slightly cheaper (¥1300) if purchased in advance from any 7-Eleven, Family Mart, or Lawson convenience store or at the View Plaza travel agency at Atami station.
In 1604, the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu visited Atami to bathe in the hot springs. From that time on, hot spring water was dedicated to the shoguns and transported annually from Atami to Edo Castle, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Celebrations are still held in commemoration of this on February 10th and October 10th.
Side trip – Atami to Shimoda
Atami is the starting point for the Ito line to Ito, where William Adams, the first Englishman to set foot in Japan, spent much of his life after a shipwreck off the coast of Kyushu in 1600. He became known as Anjin-san and his arrival is celebrated during the Anjin Matsuri in August. Beyond Ito, the line continues to Shimoda but this section of track is operated by the private Izukyu Railway so rail passes are not valid. Shimoda is the place to gaze out over the sea and imagine what it must have been like to behold Commodore Perry’s ‘Black Ships’ in 1854 (see p39). Shimoda is the southernmost town on the Izu Peninsula; apart from Commodore Perry, it is known for its beaches and surfing.
Limited expresses depart Atami at 10:23am, 10:56am, 11:24am, 11:54am, 12:20pm, 1:23pm, 2:22pm and 4:46pm, arriving in Ito 20 minutes later and in Shimoda approximately 80 minutes after leaving Ito. From Shimoda to Atami, limited expresses depart at 9am, 9:53am, 12pm, 12:27pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm.
Local trains run roughly half-hourly from 5:03am to 11:04pm between Atami and Shimoda, thought some of these require a change in Ito. Local trains take 24 minutes from Atami to Ito and 60 minutes from Ito to Shimoda.
Atami to Nagoya [Map 1, p127; Map 2, p132]
Mishima (121km) A few Hikari stop here. Mishima is an access point for the Hakone region (Lake Ashi) and Mt Fuji as well as to Shuzenji (see below). To get to Ashino-ko (Lake Ashi) take a Numazu Tozan Tokai bus (hourly, ¥1000, 50 mins) from bus stand 5, outside the South Exit of the station, to Moto-Hakone. From there you could take one of the sightseeing boats (see p113), or walk to Hakone-machi through part of the Ancient Cedar Avenue (cedars were planted to provide shade for travellers on the old Tokaido Highway) to the Hakone Checkpoint/Exhibition and then take a bus from bus stand 4 (by Hakone-machi pier) back to Mishima.
If intending to climb Mt Fuji (3776m/12,388ft), change here for a local JR train to Numazu (one stop along the Tokaido mainline towards Kyoto). Change at Numazu for the Gotemba line to Gotemba (30 mins), from where you can pick up a Fuji-kyu bus (¥1080; 45 mins) to the fifth station on Mt Fuji. It’s then 6-and-a-half hours on foot to the summit. This bus runs only during the official climbing season (Jul 1st-Aug 31st). For information on climbing Mt Fuji, see the JNTO leaflet Mt Fuji and Fuji Five Lakes.
A 35-minute side trip by rail can be made on the private Izu-Hakone line (¥500, rail passes not accepted) that runs some 20km south of Mishima to Shuzenji, another popular hot-spring town. The star attraction here is the temple, Shuzen-ji, founded in 807 by Kobo Daishi, the Buddhist monk who now lies in eternal meditation on Koya-san (see pp230-2).
Shin-Fuji (146km)
Only Kodama stop here. There are hideous smoke stacks everywhere you look as you pass through Shin-Fuji, which is a shame since you expect a place with this name to afford picture-postcard views of Japan’s most famous natural wonder.
Around here start looking out for views of Mt Fuji; on the right side of the train (from Tokyo) or on the left side (to Tokyo).
Shizuoka (180km) [see pp154-9]
One hikari an hour stops here. It’s worth including a brief stop in Shizuoka on your itinerary.
Kakegawa (229km)
Only Kodama stop here, the nearest point of access for Oigawa (see below), home to one of Japan’s most spectacular steam railway lines.
Side trip to Oigawa Steam Railway [see Map 1, p127]
The Oigawa Railway began operations in 1927 to transport timber, freight and tea from the mountains along Oigawa River. During the 1960s revenue from freight began to fall as did the number of people living in the mountainous areas, so the railway turned to tourism for revenue. The preserved steam operation (top speed 65kph) runs at least once a day (more departures in high season) from Shin-Kanaya to the terminus at Senzu. Taking the steam train really is like stepping back in time. The train conductor sings old railway songs over the loudspeaker as you pass through the Oigawa tea fields. Sit on the right for views of the river.
To reach the start point for the Oigawa Railway (tel 0547-45 4113, www.oigawa-railway.co.jp), take a local JR train from Kakegawa two stops east to Kanaya; there are coin lockers (¥300) in the station. The entrance to Oigawa Kanaya station is on your right as you leave JR Kanaya station. Purchase tickets for the steam railway from here, board the train and go one stop along the Oigawa line to Shin-Kanaya station, where you transfer on to the steam locomotive for the journey to Senzu.
With time to kill waiting for the SL departure at Shin-Kanaya, there’s a small steam museum (9am-5pm) with a few model railways, as well as a gift shop selling Oigawa tea. There’s another small rail museum (10am-4pm, ¥100) at the Senzu terminus. Opposite Shin-Kanaya station is a café called Warau Neko (daily, 10am-8pm), easy to find as it’s the only place full of good luck pottery cats, which according to the owner are supposed to bring in customers – if you’re there, it’s clearly worked. Alternatively, ekiben – in the shape of a steam train, of course – are sold before you get on the train.
At the end of the main rail line (40km) is a light railway that travels higher up into the mountains (25km) to the very end of the line at Igawa. Only a few families live along the light railway line (the average number of people who get on and off each stop is 0.5). Domoto station is named after the tea-producing family who live there. When a dam was constructed over 20 years ago in the area the train passes through, around 100 residents were forced to move away as villages were flooded.
Steam trains depart Kanaya at 10:02am, 11:48am and 12:47pm (they go first to Shin-Kanaya, where the journey proper commences) and arrive in Senzu at 11:25am, 1:12pm and 2:15pm. Trains depart Senzu at 2:58pm and 3:23pm and arrive in Kanaya at 4:25pm and 4:46pm. However, these times are subject to change. Kanaya to Senzu costs ¥1810 one-way (¥560 supplement to ride in the steam locomotive); Senzu to Igawa (light railway) is ¥1280 one-way.
Hamamatsu (257km)
Some Hikari stop here. Located almost halfway between Tokyo and Osaka, and home to such world-famous companies as Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda. Hamamatsu is known as the ‘music city’, partly because of Yamaha’s presence (it’s said that every piano made in Japan is built here) but also because of the number of music festivals/concerts staged here. The biggest annual festival is the Hamamatsu Matsuri (May 3rd-5th).
The tourist information centre (tel 053-452 1634, http://hamamatsu-daisuki.net, daily 9am-7pm) is on the right-hand side as you exit the shinkansen side of the station. Here you’ll also find coin lockers of all sizes. Immediately above the station is the May One shopping complex with restaurants on the 7th floor.
For even more dining options, head for the 8th floor of Entetsu department store, to the left as you take the Act City station exit.
The best place to get your bearings lies almost directly in front of the Act City exit of Hamamatsu station and is hard to miss: standing 212 metres high, the vast Act City complex is home to both the quirky Museum of Musical Instruments (www.gakkihaku.jp, daily except 2nd Wed of the month; ¥400), which boasts a collection of more than 2000 instruments of all shapes and sizes from around the world, as well as the 45th-floor Observation Gallery (daily, 10am-9pm, ¥500). This is well worth the admission fee for the chance to take in the surrounding area and – if the weather is cooperating – the spectacular snow-capped cone of Mt Fuji.
Keep an eye out, too, for the imposing black and white façade of Hamamatsu-jo (daily, 8:30am-4:30pm, ¥150), a castle first built over 400 years ago by Japan’s most celebrated warlord, Tokugawa Ieyasu (see p38). Anyone hoping for promotion at work could do worse than head straight for the castle as soon as they rejoin firm ground. According to legend, Hamamatsu-jo gained its nickname ‘castle of promotion’ by virtue of the fact that every feudal lord who lived inside it later went on to enjoy even higher office. There’s no proof that 21st-century visitors to the castle will reap the same reward once bestowed upon its erstwhile occupants, but a trip here might just pay off after you return home.
Yamaha (tel 053-460 2901) offers guided tours of its piano-manufacturing facilities and Honda (tel 053-439 2011, www.world.honda.com/hamamatsu factory) does the same for its motorcycles.
All tours must be booked well in advance of arrival in Hamamatsu. Honda requires a minimum of 10 people.
If you need to stay in Hamamatsu, the best place is Hotel Okura Act City (tel 053-459 0111, http://hamamatsu.okura.com; ¥12,075/S, ¥21,000/Tw), right outside the station. The rooms are on the 32nd floor or higher, so you’re guaranteed a good view. The hotel plays on the city’s musical theme: everything from the yukata in your room with a musical-instrument design to the musical motif on the bathroom walls and the up/down lift signs shaped like grand pianos! The hotel has a good all-you-can-eat buffet deal for ¥2000 in the 2nd-floor Figaro coffee shop.
Hamamatsu delicacies include eel and suppon (soft-shelled snapping turtle), which is usually served as sashimi, in a soup or deep-fried. Local tourist literature even suggests ‘brave souls should try turtle’s blood mixed with saké’. But you’d probably be even braver if you tried another local specialty, eel cookies, ‘made with fresh butter and crushed eel bones, eel extract or garlic mixed in. It’s the most popular souvenir from Hamamatsu’.
Side trips by bus from Hamamatsu
To escape from the city, jump on a bus from the terminal outside Hamamatsu station and head 40 minutes west to Hamana-ko, a lagoon as famous for its stunning sunset vistas as for the variety of hot springs built around the eastern shore. Hamana-ko – open to the sea since a tidal wave ripped open the mouth of the lake in the 16th century – is celebrated in Japan as a centre for the cultivation of unagi (eel). Look out too for swallows which nest in and around the lake area: considered a symbol of Hamamatsu, locals say this particular bird resembles a conductor wearing a tuxedo, an appropriate symbol for Japan’s city of music.
Only 15 minutes by bus (No 4 from stop No 6, ¥250) are the Nakatajima Sand Dunes, a conservation area for loggerhead turtles, which come to lay their eggs from early summer to autumn. The entrance to the dunes is in front of you as you leave the bus (the stop is called ‘Nakatajima Sakyu’). For even more extensive sand dunes, visit Tottori (see p249).
The view as the train heads towards Toyohashi may discourage you from stopping there but it has a few attractions and – for rail enthusiasts – connects with the Iida line that runs out to Sakuma Rail Park (see p134) where old rolling stock is displayed.
Toyohashi (294km)
Some hikari (about 8/day) stop here. Take the east exit for the main part of the city and the tram line. The station is equipped with elevators from platform to concourse and street level. Toyohashi Information Plaza (daily, 9am-7pm) on the main concourse has maps which include sightseeing details and corresponding tram stops. Close to the tourist information counter are coin lockers (up to ¥600).
A single tram line runs through the city (¥150 flat fare) and out to Toyohashi Park, where you’ll find the reconstructed Yoshida Castle, City Art Museum, Sannomaru Tea Ceremony Hall (where you can try a bowl of green tea for ¥350), and a small Russian Orthodox church.
Toyotetsu Terminal Hotel (tel 0532-56 1100, www.toyotetsu.com/hotel; ¥5460/S, ¥10,500/D, ¥11,550/Tw) is outside the station’s east exit. The rooms are small but clean. Facilities include a coin laundry and a top floor restaurant which serves set meals in the evening. Flying Mug Café in the station does morning sets. A couple of minutes from the east exit is a Vie de France bakery with a café on the second floor.
Side trip to Sakuma Rail Park
This is not the largest or most convenient open-air railway museum in Japan as it’s way out along the JR Iida line but it has enough exhibits, including the driver’s cab of a first series shinkansen and a simulator for a local train, to impress the enthusiast. The journey here, through some of the most rural parts of Honshu, is an enjoyable diversion from the Tokaido mainline.
Sakuma Rail Park (tel 0539-65 0003, 10am-4pm Sat/Sun and daily during Golden Week and August, ¥140) is at Chubutenryu station, some 62km along the Iida line from Toyohashi. It takes just under two hours by local train but twice a day (dep 09:08am arr 10:17am and dep 1:08pm arr 2:16pm) there’s a more comfortable limited express (Inaji LEX) that takes just over an hour. Limited express services depart from Chubutenryu at 3:01pm (arr Toyohashi 4:10pm) and 5:05pm (arr 6:11pm).
After Toyohashi, Kodama call at Mikawa-Anjo (336km) but all other services run non stop to Nagoya. If hotel rooms are booked up in Nagoya – and since it’s a major business hub and conference city, they often are – consider staying at Mikawa-Anjo, where there’s a reasonably priced Toyoko Inn (tel 0566-72 1045, www.toyoko-inn.com; ¥5880/S, ¥7980/D/Tw) outside the station.
Nagoya (366km) [see pp159-68]
All shinkansen services stop here. If continuing to Kyoto, stay on the shinkansen and connect with the route guide starting on p194.
|
