My first Japan trip March 2012

Hi guys!

After planning for like a lifetime (Yes i've been interested in Japan since i was 13!) and finally able to grab hold of the promtional airfare Air Nippon Airways was offering, my love and i can finally visit my most beloved country of Japan!

We landed in Tokyo Narita on 29th MArch 2012 morning at about 830am. I planned to take a late night overnight flight so we can maximise our time as our main intention is to travel up to Hokkaido Sapporro via train, fully maximising our JR Pass!

Let's go! Anyone can tell i'm SUPER EXCITED!

Our first train ride is on board the Narita Express NEX to Tokyo. Here is a short video:

It was still snowing in Shin-Aomori.... Look at that accumulated snow on the trains! Sad...

Spent 2 days in Hokkaido Sapporro, before taking the Super Hokuto back...

Then transfer to Hikari N700 to Shin-Osaka:

More details coming up....

You are lucky!!!! Make a lot of photos and videos and keep us updated!!!

Good video. All that snow reminds me of my trip in Feb 2006, being from a part of the world where you wear short sleeves in the middle of winter I couldn't believe what I was seeing as the plane touched down at Chitose. I wish we had overnight flights from Australia, we've always seemed to have daytime flights arriving there in the early evening and overnight flights home, it always seems a waste to me sitting on a plane for nine hours of perfectly good daylight.

It was still snowing in Hakodate / Hokkaido.... Look at that accumulated snow on the trains! Sad...

I believe that is Aomori.  The trains are piled with snow as they are in storage- those are suburban 211 series DC emu's- far from their former operating area (Aomori is in 20kv AC territory).  In the past (and maybe still now), ex-Keihin Tohoku 209 series have also been stored this far north. Aomori receives some of the heaviest snowfall in the world for its latitude.

@ Dani: Thanks! Yap i love trains and Japan and having the JR Pass is a dream come true! I do have more videos to share of my trip, will be uploading soon~ Cheers!

@ westfalen: Thanks! Yes the trip to Hokkaido Sapporo took us a day there, and a day back. Only spent one FULL day in Sapporo itself, eating Hokkaido crabs along the way and visiting the Shiro-Koibito park. I would love to take the night train Super Hokuto, cause you baord the train at night and arrive at Sapporo in the morning, but that's not nice especially for ladies as beauty sleep is important ~ 

@bikkuri bahn: Yes i think you're right... Cant really remembered if that video was taken on board the Super Hakucho (Shin-Aomori to Hakodate) or the Super Hokuto (Hakodate to Shin-Sapporo), but i think you might be right, so that video should be from the windows of the Super Hakucho. Wow you sure are knowledge-able! 

Here are more photos & videos from my trip:

We took the Super Hakucho, which by-pass the world famous under-sea tunnel, the Seikan tunnel:

Here's a on-board video:

The schedule timing are listed here... Look at the depth the train tunnel went into!

Hungry anyone?

Bentos are a MUST on long-distance train travel!

I love this station while i was travelling to Sapporo!

Has a really nice feeling to it, dont you think?

Some photos from Kyoto train station:

Shinkansen Super Hikari 700 pulling into the station... I even got a video!

Here's a shot from Osaka station for the local lines:

The JR 321 series! I love this train!

More to come! Stay tuned! 

I believe that is Aomori.  The trains are piled with snow as they are in storage- those are suburban 211 series DC emu's- far from their former operating area (Aomori is in 20kv AC territory).  In the past (and maybe still now), ex-Keihin Tohoku 209 series have also been stored this far north. Aomori receives some of the heaviest snowfall in the world for its latitude.

JR500 のぞみ - great shots and videos.  I'm glad you enjoyed the trip.  Oshimatobetsu Station and the tunnel chart are really neat.  Bento looks great too.

Bikkuri, interesting, it kind of surprises me that they can't find room a little closer to home to store those 211s.  It can't be that cheap to move them all the way up there and then back.  And those cars closest to the camera--the 6 E751 series intermediate cars that were removed from the sets in April of last year.  As AC-only limited express rolling stock, I think the E751 is one of a kind.  I wonder what the plans are for these.

It can't be that cheap to move them all the way up there and then back.

The way land prices are in the kanto area, any non-revenue stock sitting around taking up real estate is taking away potential daily revenue, while moving it up to the boondocks where the sidings are gathering weeds is a one time expense.

Thank you all for the kind comments!

Here are more pictures to share of my trip:

A street tram in it's tram stop in Sapporo

A super Hokuto Kiha-283 pulling into Sapporo station

More Bentos! This is an omelette type printed made in Yokohama.

We arrived in Kyoto and decided to go around site-seeing using the extensive bus route inside Kyoto, covering most of the tourism spots.

This is the Raku bus. You can buy a day unlimited ticket for only 500yen!

Some sights in Kyoto. This is the Ginkakuji Temple.

The ever famous Kinkakuji temple.

I love the restaurants in Japan! They come with a really helpful 'picture' menu of what they serve! Helps non-japanese speaking people to easily order what they want! Nice!

This is the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto. Very spectacular site, but be ready for quite a nice hike around the hill taking about 1/2 day.

The famous Glico running man sign in Dotonburi, Osaka.

We took the Hida wide view Kiha-85 to Takayama.

View from our hotel room of the Hida wide view clucking along.

We were lucky to grab a front view seat when we took the retun trip via Hida wide view!

We caught a glimpse of Mount Fuji in all it's glory on-board the 700.

Here's a video:

A bird's eye view atop Tokyo tower

Here's the famous Asakusa Temple in Tokyo!

A nice trip back home to the airport via the Keisei Skyliner.

Hope you guys like the photos/ videos! Cheers!

A street tram in it's tram stop in Sapporo

Love those roofs above tram stops.

View from our hotel room of the Hida wide view clucking along.

Very nice.

We were lucky to grab a front view seat when we took the retun trip via Hida wide view!

A few weeks ago I coincidentally saw this station on the internet, funny that you posted a photo of exactly this station.

Great stuff! love the picts, made me want to go back!!!

jeff

@ Densha: Really? I just sort of took this photo as this was the first train ride where i had the chance to sit in the first carriage with a nice driver view. I need to find the video whereby i took the driver's entire driving process, from moving off to travelling to arriving at the station. I think this guy was a newbie or an intern, as there was a much elder man beside him relaxing in his chair after the train has moved off and instructing him via hand signals on what to do. He was really sweating profusely (multiple times after the train stop at the station he took off his peak cap and wipe his sweat from his forehead despite the really colling weather)... Guess he was really nervous? He was also really on the ball, pointing at EVERY traffic signal to go or stop...

@ cteno4: Thank you! Yes i also would love to go back! But Mrs is complaining we should go elsewhere instead... Sad...

I think this guy was a newbie or an intern, as there was a much elder man beside him relaxing in his chair after the train has moved off and instructing him via hand signals on what to do.

Alot of these instructional/check runs occur in the offpeak hours, I often see them on Sundays.  Educational for the railfan too, as you mention, the student driver has to call out all the signals (loudly) and do the required checks by the book.

interesting! I was really entertained by the signalling and testing to the 'student' driver, where i took some videos of him and the instructor, on board the Diesel powered Kiha-85 Hida Wide View from Takayama station towards Nagoya direction.

Some chit-chat before moving off?

Moving off from Takayama Station..

By-passing a station and moving along from Takayama to Nagoya...

I love being in the first carriage seat!

Very nice.  I think at :44 in the second one, the senior guy leans over and says "there's a foreigner back there with a camera"  .