Travelling by the bullet train was one of the activities during the Japan trip that was eagerly awaited. And finally, the day did come…
Shinkansen or Bullet train
Japan was the first country to construct railway lines dedicated to high speed travel and this railway network came to be known as Shinkansen or “new trunk line”.
The first Shinkansen began service in 1964 between Tokyo and Osaka, the two important metropolitan cities of Japan and ran at speeds up to 210 km/hour and later upgraded to 220kms/hour. This service got an overwhelming response leading to the expansion of the shinkansen network. The speeds have now been upgraded to reach up to 320 kms/hour.
It uses advanced technology compared to conventional railway networks ensuring high speeds and a high standard of safety and comfort. It uses ATC or automatic train control eliminating the need for trackside signals and the entire system is centralized.
It makes extensive use of tunnels and viaducts to go through and over obstacles thus helping to maintain speed. These lines never intersect the slower regular railway lines either.
From Kyoto, we took a bullet train to Hiroshima. That was our first experience of the bullet train. Here are some pictures from this experience…
Entering the Shinkansen platforms
The board at the platform
The Shinkansen arrives at the platform
Inside the Shinkansen
A video of the shinkansen arriving at Kyoto
Arriving at Hiroshima we visited the Hiroshima Peace Park in memory of the atom bomb explosion. That requires an entire episode and will be dealt with in detail.
The other attraction we visited at Hiroshima was the Itsukushima shrine which appears to be floating on water. Read on…
Itsukushima Shrine
Itsukushima has been a Shinto pilgrim centre since the 6th century. The present shrine located on Miyajima island near Hiroshima dates back to the 12th century.The shrine is built like a pier over the water so that most parts of it appear to be floating particularly during the high tide.
The most popular part of the shrine is a Tori gate that appears to float in water. It is 50 ft tall and built of decay resistant camphor wood. This can be seen from the ferry as one approaches the island. The shrine covers a vast area extending to Mt. Misen and the forested area around and has two popular shrines and several other structures. The man made structures, in the backdrop of the forested hill slopes and the blue of the sea gives the place a beautiful ambience that attracts tourists from all over.
The shrine is dedicated to three goddesses and the island itself is considered a God.
Taking a ferry from mainland near Hiroshima town we reached Miyajima island. Some pictures from the temple.
The ferry to Miyajima Island
Walking to the shrine
The floating temple buildings on stilts
The beautiful temple architecture
The main shrine
The floating tori as seen from the temple
After visiting the temple, we visited the shopping area where there were many food stalls as in other Japanese temples.
Taking the ferry back to Hiroshima , we rested for the night . Next day we took the bullet train from Hiroshima to Osaka.
See you next week at Osaka.
Till then, do subscribe, like and comment
Travel-along.in 