All Exclusive Travellers

08:49 Plan for the day: checking-out from Hiroshima hotel, taking a street car (=tram) to the railway station, taking a train and visiting Mazda museum, taking another train and boat and visiting Miyijami island. All is covered by our JR Pass

08:50 It turnes out that one JR Pass is at an unknown place. Cancelling Mazda museum and the island trip. Hotel recptionists does her best, calls the museum and also Shin-Osaka station’s lost & found department.

10:09 Arriving to Hiroshima station. About 4 persons doing their best to find the ticket: calling again Shin-Osaka station and the other Shinkansen’s end station as well. No success. Buying a ticket: Shinkansen costs about 10000 yen to Osaka (not even half way to Tokyo), quite a lot compared that the whole JR Pass was 28000. Buying normal ticket (for so-called local trains) which costs about 5000. Yaay, we just saved 5000 yen (50 EUR). Sounds like a deal.

11:48 Hopping into a local train which should take us to Osaka. Only way of communication is sign language + repeating the word ‘Shin-Osaka’ + showing our tickets. 

11:50 The train leaves and so do we. It is definitely NOT a Shinkansen. 

14:20 Arriving to Itozaki. The train has arrived to its end station. Taking off. Heavy sign language and the result is: we have to change to another train.

14:34 Taking another train, which is going to an unknown place, hopefully closer to Osaka. This other train is not a Shinkansen either.

15:02 Train stopped at Fukuyama. Fukuyama is not Fukushima even thgough it could be.

15:14 It turnes out that old train is not bad train. It is going faster then one could guess by its age, it has nice atmosphere and it is possible to change the position of the seats. 

15:35 Kurashiki station and suddenly the train is full with Chinese Japanese people.

15:50 It looks that we arrived.

15:51 We did, but not to Osaka. Changing to the next train at 16:10.

16:10 Changing went well, train packed with students: lot of skirts and suits everywhere.

16:40 Next station: Kumayama, Lord, kumaya.

17:17 Next station where we change: Aioi. Direct train to Osaka!!

18:50 Shin-Osaka, here we are!

DAMN!