Back to Tokyo

Takayama to Tokyo consists of two portions –

one is a 2+ hour single track train journey which follows the course of the Hidagawa river, and is one of the most scenic rail trips in Japan. We went through steep wooded valleys with leaves just showing fall colors, crossed numerous bridges high above the rugged rocky river below before finally arriving at Nagoya.

The other segment from Nagoya to Tokyo is more conventional, using the Shinkansen, or bullet train, with the highlight being passing relatively close to Mt Fuji. Unfortunately we had reserved seats on the wrong side of the train, but the young female ticket collector saw that I was ready take photos, and she lead me to a spare seat further down the train. She also told me that the train would pass Mt. Fuji at 3:20 approximately. Of course nothing is approximate about these trains, and at 3:20 Mt. Fuji appeared. It would have been too big to miss but it was very good of her to give me warning.