One of my favorite little locations in Tokyo is a "trainspotting cafe" between Akihabara and Tokyo stations. For those who know me, it is obvious why I would like such a place. This one was almost too good to be true.
The cafe is at track level on this really beautiful arched section of elevated rail.
Nested between two opposing tracks, you can watch trains speed by you on both sides. At times, there were three or more trains simultaneously providing me with excitement. You can see one train speeding by on the left in the picture below.
From this picture you can also see there are two sections of the cafe - one outdoor and one indoor. The outdoor section was even more thrilling, although it doubled as the smoking area so we didn't sit out there. It was also freezing so there was that, too.
You can hear the excitement in my voice here. But my favorite part of this is how into it Jordan was. [insert eye roll emoji]. He was a good sport though and let me have my fun. Toad also seemed to have a good time.
Google also made this fun GIF out of several of my images. The Google Photos app does some really neat things these days.
For those of you who want to share in this experience on your next visit - the cafe is called N3331 and is located here:
Not all my train jollies came from N3331. There was plenty to go around. Here are some of my favorites.
Narita Express (NEX)
Tokyo metro.
The signage was so helpful! It even told you which car position you were at on the platform.
It's not Asia without the occasional standard face mask.
Waiting for the Yamanote line.
Yamanote at rush.
From Tokyo, it was on to Osaka for our flight. We had originally intended to visit Kyoto, but apparently there was some sort of festival and/or holiday, so all ryokan were booked. I literally mean all of them. The Japanese take their holidays and their relaxation time very seriously. All in all, this was an excellent miscalculation because we adored Tokyo and got 2-3 extra days there, which was fine with us. We will be back for Kyoto.
Shinkansen to Osaka.
The conductor making sure everyone is doing their job. The cleaning crews must turn these babies around in under 10 minutes. It's impressive to watch. There is clearly a hierarchy as well, with the conductors responsible for train timeliness, which obviously rules all.
Head on. They don't call these bullet trains for nothin!
Shinkansen takeoff.
The journey to Osaka was magical, even though viewing was limited by darkness.
Tokyo tower! The one time we actually got a good view of it was speeding by on the train.
And finally here is a blurry shot of Mt. Fuji as we sped towards Osaka. In retrospect, I would have booked this Shinkansen for earlier so as to maximize viewing time and fun picture taking opportunities. I guess I'll just have to wait until next time!
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