10 hours, 9 transfers, Kobe here I come!
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| Seishun 18 Kippu |
Sure I could have saved a lot of time going by Shinkansen, but this is a lot more fun. And a lot cheaper.
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| Mt. Fuji!! |
On my way I stopped in Shizuoka for lunch at Menya Tsubame (麺屋 燕) in Shimada. This may look like an ordinary house from the outside...
But it's actually the most popular ramen shop in the area. And this is peak lunch hour.
Tsubame Shoyu Ramen (燕ラーメン しょうゆ).
There's something eerily familiar about this ramen. I just can't pinpoint it. Anyway, it was pretty good except for a slight bitterness coming from the chicken soup.
Back on the road. You know you're not in Tokyo anymore when the sidewalks are also rivers.
Snow! It didn't last long.
So I made it. A little over 11 hours and a little drama with one train losing power and being stranded but I made it. Hello Kobe!! Hello Shoki Ramen House in Kobe!!!
Time to unwind.
Otsukaresama!
Gyoza.
Oden.
Yudofu.
Handmade Udon!
Thank you Ueyama-san!! Looking forward to the soft-open tomorrow!!!
And now it's time to study...Kansai ramen!
I know just where I'm going for breakfast.
I opted for the Keisei Sky Access train this time for one reason. Not because it was faster than the regular Keisei Main Line route; but because when I arrived at Narita on the 4th, I could actually catch a Keisei|Keikyu through train from Narita Airport direct to Yokohama for ¥1630 (instead of ¥1450 for the Main Line route, with the transfer at Aoto). [The train was a Keikyu Blue Sky consist, with an advertisement for Oneworld; which JAL is part of.]
ReplyDeleteMy flight back to Chicago on JAL was earlier than I would have preferred (American & United leave NRT in the afternoon.), so it didn't work as well for my return ride from Yokohama to NRT; but I still prefer it to the NEX from JR.