Exit doesn’t mean Exit

Today we are in Kanazawa and we are tired and grumpy. We’ve tried to pack a lot into this holiday and we could really do with a rest. The end is also in sight and whenever I’m on holiday and start thinking about going home I want to be there instantly. I don’t think I’m the only person to be feeling like this. I overheard a small American girl (Americans are really loud but not as loud as the Chinese) say, “Mom, next time you go on a holiday can I stay home with the sitter?”

We are not really appreciating the full glory of Kanazawa. The garden is beautiful but post blossom trees always look a little sad. The castle is impressive (although less so than Himeji) but as I was walking round I said to the Long Suffering Husband that I hadn’t got ‘that history feeling.’ This is   something we talk about a lot in our family (probably because we are all spooky witches) but buildings seem to carry a spirit of the people that have lived in them before and we can feel that. It    can be particularly noticeable in places where great or awful things have happened and it’s like a    shudder and a sensation in the back of your head. The LSH agreed and proceeded to inspect the nails, declaring them modern. We soon realised that they are making no secret of the fact that this castle is a restoration. It is probably the unluckiest castle in history as it seems to have burnt down about eight times. We have also arrived on a day when campaigning for elections is happening and so the normally peaceful place is full of shouting over loud hailers. It’s weird because normally I love being in a place where politics is happening. I am curious about the number of candidates.

One of the best things about Kanazawa is the station. It has the most brilliant fountain at the entrance that welcomes you and tells you the time.

I couldn’t leave Japan, though, without blogging about trains, so today seems as good a day as any to  do that. 

There is so much to like about the Japanese public transport system. Wherever I go I always seem to be impressed by the trains or buses, which is because ours are so terrible and expensive.  

We bought a Japan rail pass while we were still at home, which has been worth every penny.  It has taken us from the airport to Shinjuku, all the way around Tokyo on the Yamamote Line, to Hiroshima on the bullet train, around Hiroshima on the tourist loop bus, across to Miyajima Island on the ferry, to Himeji, Kyoto and Kanazawa. It took us to the bamboo forest at Arashiyama and around  Kanazawa on the JR bus. It will take us back to Tokyo and around and then back to the airport. If we felt like taking a day trip to Fuji or anywhere else then we could. 

The trains leave on time. If there is any kind of a problem then passengers are informed quickly. The most usual disruption seems to be due to passenger accidents but they are taking steps to deal with that.

People know where to stand to get on the train. There are markings on the floor to show where the door is and where to queue. You will know where to stand because the car numbers are written on the platform and the train stops at exactly the right place. If you haven’t booked a seat then the announcements will tell you where the unreserved carriages are.

There are toilets at the end of every carriage on the bullet trains.

There’s enough leg room to put your cases in front of you and still sit comfortably.

It’s spotlessly clean. The cleaners get on at the end of the line, turn the seats around, so you are facing the way you are going and give everything a good polish. Obviously there is no litter because the Japanese don’t leave any. 

The staff are amazingly helpful. 

There are clean waiting rooms that don’t smell of urine.

We had been warned that you can face long queues to reserve seats on the trains but we discovered that if you ask a person in a brown suit with the word ‘ENGLISH’ where a row of medals might sit, then they will take you to an automated machine and you completely skip the queue. 

The only problem with Japanese trains is the size of most of their stations. In Kyoto station there are several exits and getting the wrong one can mean you can never get to your destination until you go back in and try again. Shinjuku Station in Tokyo is even worse. You can exit through the ticket barrier walk around the station and find there another ticket barrier, or you are deep into an underground shopping labyrinth. 

If only Thereasa May had been to Japan because then she would have known that even exit  doesn’t always mean exit. This would have also saved us from being lectured on how not being a united country will lead to world war three by little old Japanese men, who suck their teeth when we tell us where we are from.