Sunday, 13 April 2008
After surfacing shortly after seven, we had enough time for a shower and a leisurely breakfast before packing and preparing for the long haul back to home base in Kōbe.
When I looked outside, the weather offered a pleasant contrast to the day before, being fine and sunny rather than cold and overcast.
That prompted an ill-considered and over-optimistic decision.
We consigned the warmest clothing to the suitcase, although we did consider wearing it to the station, then switching it to the backpack.
If we’d risen half an hour later, what came next might not have been a problem.
Once packed, we had about half an hour of spare time between when we finished packing and the optimum time for arriving on the platform at the station.
Our host suggested a detour to enjoy some sakura since there was a lovely spot more or less on the way to the station and the flowers were just starting to appear.
Of course, we hadn’t stuck our noses outside at this point.
Still, it seemed like a warm sunny day.
The astute reader can guess what came next.
First up, it was much colder than anticipated.
Second, once we’d reached the spot on the banks of the Kitakami River, preparations for the cherry blossom festivities were well underway.
Although optimum viewing time would be much later in the week, snow-capped peaks to the west were a spectacular sight. So we just had to leave the car's warmth and stroll to the optimum (and, predictably furthest) spot for a photographic memory of the sight.
Once we’d made it back to the car, we headed for the station, bade farewell to Our Host and Grog Dog, and climbed the stairs to the platform. It was only a matter of a few minutes before the train arrived, and we were on our way again.
Once again, we were on the starboard side of the train. Heading in the opposite direction, we ended up with a good view of the mountains to the west.
As the Shinkansen rocketed along, we reached the places we’d visited the previous day in less than half the time the road trip had taken. By the time we passed Kurikoma-Kōgen, the mountains had receded, and we were travelling over broad plains with extensive farmland and some hills.
The train we’d boarded in Kitakami was a slower, stop at all stations Shinkansen. With a long haul ahead of us, we were going to change to a limited express at Sendai.
That was a prospect that evoked visions of a frantic rush up and down escalators, of mistaken platforms and all sorts of potential disasters.
The reality?
We alighted, walked no more than twenty metres, and we were standing at the relevant embarkation point for the next train, which was due in about seven minutes.
The weather had become bleak and overcast after blue skies further north, and the platform at Sendai was colder than Kitakami, which we’d left an hour and a half earlier. That had been quite cold enough, thank you very much.
After Sendai, the mountains (or reasonably large hills) were much closer to the line. In some places, we passed virtual oceans of sakura though the trees were not yet totally in bloom.
At the same time, the weather closed in, bringing drizzly rain, weather that in the hills around Hakone had seemed mystic and mysterious, but in the lowlands was merely dreary and dismal.
I noted that in some areas where there weren’t many buildings over two storeys high, the landscape was dominated by towering net-like structures. It turned out they surrounded the golf driving ranges, protecting innocent passers-by from flying golf balls.
Once we'd alighted in Tokyo we ran into the couple we were meeting for lunch, more by good luck than good management. After greetings had been exchanged, we wandered off for a decent Italian lunch at Papa Milano, beside the station, and returned for the final Shinkansen leg to Kōbe.
The primary remaining question was the possibility of sighting Mount Fuji. We had thoughts of trying our luck and seeing if we could grab a starboard side window seat in one of the non-reserved carriages.
That would have involved queuing in conditions that were even colder than we’d experienced further north at Kitakami and Sendai. We took the soft option, standing in the heated waiting room on the platform while the cleaners prepared the train for departure.
We had seats 15B&C in car 14, with 15A vacant, but, given the number of passengers, it seemed highly unlikely our luck would last.
The spare seat remained vacant when we pulled into Shinagawa. As we left the Tokyo high-rise behind, looking away to the right, there was no sign of any mountains whatsoever away to the west.
At Yokohama, the vacant seat was occupied, and Madam’s interest was sparked as mountains came into view to the west. But the conditions limited visibility as we sped past Odawara and into Atami.
The mountain gods, it seemed, had still not relented.
As we continued southwards, the weather improved as we passed what could have been (judging by the angle of the lower slopes) the bottom of Mount Fuji. But the top was shrouded in the sort of mist that meant we couldn’t be sure.
Never mind, we told ourselves. Gives us something to look forward to next time.
Back in Kōbe, we made our way to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, conveniently situated right next door to ShinKōbe, checked in and headed into the neighbouring shopping complex for dinner before heading back to the room.
Free access to the internet from within the room gave me a leisurely opportunity to clear some of the backlog of email that had accumulated since we’d left home. In most other places, you had to stand at a terminal in the lobby.