The Hatch House Goes Global: Japan - Part Three: Shinkansen to the Countryside

On the morning of our third day, we checked out of our Airbnb in Tokyo and headed to the countryside. This required navigating Tokyo Station one more time, only this time to board the Shinkansen. Tokyo Station is a labyrinth and full of people. Three thousand trains go through this station every day. I shot a video of us trying to find our way through it. If you're curious as to how many times we had to stop and ask for directions, or how many flights of stairs, long hallways, and ticket booths we had to pass through, this video should cover it.

I didn't mention it before, but Charlie was diagnosed with the flu only days before we left on this trip. He was taking meds three times a day to battle it. I had given him his meds that morning, but no breakfast until we reached the platform where we would wait for the train. That was a mistake, because he puked up his breakfast and his meds on the platform. Meds on an empty stomach was no good. He was such a trooper though. It didn't even slow him down.

The Shinkansen is the Japanese bullet train. We rode on the Tokaido Shinkansen line, aboard the Hikari. It takes 3 hours to travel from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka, covering a distance of 320 miles. On the map below, Tokyo is on the far right and it shows the train line going in a sinuous curve to Osaka on the far left. You can also spot that the train goes right past Mt. Fuji. Since we couldn't see it from Tokyo Skytree, we were determined to see it from the train.

Seeing as we were going sometimes as fast as 185mph, Mt. Fuji kind of went by in a blur. But here are our best shots. We were honestly just thrilled to be able to see it at all.

After passing Mt. Fuji, the kids amused themselves with cards, Sudoku, Netflix, and naps.

After 3 hours on the Shinkansen, and two more smaller trains taking us deeper and deeper into the rolling hills of Western Japan, we finally arrived at Shimotaki. This train station was so tiny that it had no employees. One tiny waiting room and tickets bought through a vending machine. Our Airbnb was the purple spot in the middle of the map below.

Once there, we found our Airbnb and I was thrilled! It was a traditional Japanese home, complete with tatami mat flooring, sliding doors made with Japanese paper, and wooden verandas. We slept on Japanese futons that we pulled out of the closet.

tatami mat flooring

kotatsu table (heated underneath with blanket skirt to trap in the heat)

tokonoma (ornamental alcove) with hanging scroll

We wore the slippers from the downstairs entry, where we left our street shoes, up the stairs to the entry of our rooms. Socks only beyond that point.