Heading south like a bullet

Bag is heavy but doable

There's one! Excitement

Barriers so you don't fall onto the tracks

Inside

Bento box

Countryside

Friendly train guard

Skyping with Stephen

Kyoto station was a surprise, all modern

Whistle, whistle, aussie tourist get back behind the yellow line and stop trying to take photos. Its 2:07pm and the bullet train glides into the station, within minutes we are seated and whisked away south towards Kyoto. First impressions this train is big, just like an airplane, even the windows are the same. But when will it go fast. We make a stop and now its picking up speed, but its so quite and smooth is hard to tell. When we pass another bullet train it blurs by and looks fast. Then another, time to count the seconds it is between 3-4 seconds for the trains to pass each other and they are at least 400 metres long. That’s fast. Stopped at a station for a few minutes and off we go again, this time we pick up even more speed as we glide by farms, cities, suburbs, rivers, the ocean and hillsides covered with cherry blossom trees.

A train conductor keeps passing, lets try and find out the speed:
Me: Sumimasen (excuse me).
Me: How fast?
Train conductor: Huh?
Me: Speed?
Train conductor: Ahh!
Train conductor: Writes it down, 265km/hour now, will go up to 285km later
Me: Arigatō gozaimashita + giggle (thank you very much)

There are photos to snap, bento boxes to eat and Skype conversations to be had and before you know it is 4:19pm and we glide into Kyoto station. The station is impressive all modern and metal, time to hop in a taxi and we have reached our destination, another beautiful ryoken. After all that excitement I need a rest.