Faster than a Speeding Bullet

We hit the ground running early and said goodbye to the shoebox that was Hotel Belmont. After 35,000 steps in 48 hours, our feet looked forward to the bullet train commute to Matsumoto.

Navigating Shinjuku station was something. With approximately 3.5 million people passing through it daily, Shinjuku Station holds the Guinness World Record as the world’s busiest train station.

I know. It was hectic but so well signposted and the lines colour-coded that we found our way to our station with time to spare.

Unfortunately, we didn't realise the cryptic receipts issued yesterday for the bullet train held our seating numbers. They were on their way to Hiroshima in our other luggage. We had no clue which of the 300 seats were ours. So for the next 2.5 hours, we played musical chairs up and down the train as free seats came up with Noah hobo-ing it between carriages with major main character energy.

The trains are so clean and deluxe, with charging points and reclining seats, so it was a shame we couldn't relax enough to enjoy it, although as we disembarked, we vowed to reissue our seats from tomorrow!Read more