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Japan

Training It

by Keith on March 1, 2011 · 2 comments

We took a variety of transportation options while traveling, but one of my favorites was the multitude of trains. The picture above is me on a steam locomotive at the Modern Transportation Museum in Osaka. We took intercity trains in Egypt, Vietnam, China and of course Japan. We also took many intracity trains and subways in numerous countries from,

Duabi’s automated subway system to,

Kuala Lumpor’s private system run by 2 companies that never seemed to connect in a convenient way.

The differences did not stop there. Train stations varied widely across the different countries with the station in Aswan, Egypt ranking up there as the most uncomfortable and maybe even a little scary,

to the station in Kyoto, Japan as the most spacious and airy.

I would rather be at either of them when I miss my transfer in Trenton, New Jersey on my current work commute from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to New Brunswick, New Jersey. The station in Trenton, while it does have a Dunkin Donuts, does not have free wifi, sushi or the spotless bathrooms of Japanese stations.

The one serious advantage the train systems have here in the United States is the automated ticket machines in multiple languages. Buying my 10 pack of tickets for NJ Transit while waiting on the platform in New Brunswick for the 4:23 to Trenton is quite easy.

And having an English language ticket machine when we were in China would have saved Amy and I the pleasure of the 15 hour ride in Hard Sleeper Class, which we explore in more detail in this post.

I was inspired to write this post in part because my current commute has me on trains much more than I have ever been in the past. And having seen many different train systems from around the world, I think the system here in the Northeast U.S., is quite impressive. However, I do not think that this means we can stop investing in the amazing infrastructure that moves millions of people everyday. Septa alone moves 400,000 riders every weekday, and transports 70% of Center City Philadelphia’s work force into the city. This is a hugely sustainable option for these workers. Imagine if we lived with this density of population, and lack of interstates without this great infrastructure. The Schuylkill (I-76) would be even more clogged, which I am not sure is even possible.

If you are interested in the strategic development of rail within the US, I recommend looking through Amtrak’s vision for High Speed rail in the Northeast, which you can find here.

I will be following up this post with a detailed analysis on the rational behind our decision to remain car-free since our return. As you might have guessed, there was an excel sheet involved and much like the cost comparison of the Beast we looked at all the angles. In the meantime let me know what you think about trains. Should we as a country invest in more rail infrastructure? Do you rely on trains to get where you need to?

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Highlights from Japan and Australia

by Keith on December 20, 2010 · 2 comments

While it has been a few months in the making, I was able to finish up the highlights video for Japan and Australia. Enjoy, and you can find the four earlier trip summaries here.

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Take Me Out to the Ballgame…Japanese Style

by Amy on June 29, 2010 · 2 comments

“Take me out to the ballgame…

I am not a sports girl. But ever since I read this article about baseball in Japan I have been obsessed with seeing a game firsthand. With tickets in hand thanks to JapanBall, I got my chance to watch the Seibu Lions battle it out with the Yakult Swallows.

Getting to Seibu Stadium, however, was a little bit of a journey. Unfortunately we were staying on the opposite side of Tokyo, so it took two subway lines and two commuter trains to reach the game. The beauty, however, of the Tokyo trains is that they are fast and almost always on schedule, and the station is just meters away from the stadium entrance.

We arrived at the domed stadium just in time for the singing of the national anthem and opening pitch, finding our seats along the first base line close to home plate.

Take me out with the crowd…

The crowd was a mix of men in business suits, kids in t-shirts and fans of all ages in their favorite team’s gear. While far from a sell out, the enthusiasm radiating from the stands was palpable. A cacophony of cheers and clapping surrounded us, interspersed with moments of intense umbrella waving. Yes, you read that correctly, umbrella waving. I’m not sure how pastel plastic umbrellas became the foam finger of Swallow fans, but there you have it.

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack…

I know this is totally un-American, but we snacked on neither peanuts nor Cracker Jack. But we did have hotdogs. And soba noodles. Between the French fries and chicken tenders, we also could have indulged in sushi, tempura and other Japanese culinary delights, but we had to make sure to save room for the beer.

Beer delivered to our seats.

By cheerful girls in pigtails.

With kegs strapped to their backs.

Keith’s never really been a huge baseball fan, but I think he may have found his new favorite sport.

I don’t care if I never get back…

We did get back to our teeny-tiny bunk bed room in Tokyo, but really, there’s not much else to say about the ride home.

Let me root, root, root for the home team, if they don’t win it’s a shame…

In the US, when the crowds get really riled up, say, in the bottom of the ninth with a tie score, you might get a “Let’s go!” chant going in the upper decks. If the crowd is really, really into it, you might even get a wave. But here in Japan, all it takes is a new player up at bat and the cheap seats go crazy. I’m talking jumping up out of their seats waving Canadian flags while singing at the top of their lungs crazy. In fact, each player has a unique cheer that doesn’t end until that player either strikes out or gets a hit. Foreign players get their home country’s flag in the air while Japanese players get signs that are, well, in Japanese. No one in the outfield seats sits when their team is at the plate.