April 27, 2023 Tokyo, Japan Here I'm at Tokyo Station, Japan’s largest railway station Over 4,500 trains and 800,000 passengers come and go at the station per day But what, the station looks underwhelming than I expected It's like a deserted station.. what happened? Actually, it's the right Tokyo Station The real station gate is on that side As the station is large, there are many sub gates including subway-like underground gates You can't judge a book by its cover😅 Today, we are moving from Tokyo Station to Osaka Station on the most expensive route The total fare is... 35,130JPY/245.9USD Traveling 721.6km/448.3mi via Kanazawa Tokyo Station is a big station but what does its station master's office looks like? Here it is First, we will take Kagayaki Superexpress on Hokuriku Shinkansen The train has "Gran Class" on board, which is the highest class on Shinkansen(Japanese high-speed rail) We'll take that But before we ride.. Exclusive to Gran Class passengers, Tokyo Station offers a luxury lounge for free Sadly, they didn't allow me to film inside So only photos😅 (Taking photos is allowed) The lounge looks pretty standard with chairs and tables But on the walls, old pictures of Tokyo Station are mounted so you can learn its history I seated on a table with power outlets Refreshments are served for free (No alcohols) I've got cookies with hot coffee I also ordered orange juice which was super delicious Okay, let's go to the platform The fare from Tokyo to Osaka via Kanazawa costs 10,870JPY/76.0USD alone In addition to this fare, I paid 17,560JPY/122.9USD extra for the Shinkansen Gran Class On the Shinkansen, we firstly move to Kanazawa Tokyo to Kanazawa, 454.0km/282.1mi in 2 hours and a half Once it arrives, elite cleaning staff called "Tessei" will start clean up the whole train in less than 7 mins They tidy up every single seat and restroom on the train for the next passengers Oh we can see our Gran Class seat already🫣 Can't wait After the group is done with the cleaning, they welcome us on board by bowing Welcome to Gran Class The seat makes us feel like a rich The overhead racks are like those on airplanes The train departed Tokyo on time (10:24AM) Today's trip will be a bit long journey Enjoy The Shinkansen parser greets us as soon as it departs She hands every passenger this bag Let's see what's in it This might be a table kind of a tricky one, give me a sec okay i got it haha this is too complicated for me a standard class passenger normally The bag has these Gran Class premium water The on-board menu "Welcome to GranClass. GranClass delivers quality and spaciousness unprecedented in train travel. Our service refelcts the comfort and tranquility..." Okay This Gran Class ride includes a light meal and drinks They are all for free! For a light meal, you can choose from Japanese or western style (Baby, no problem it's okay haha) (Thanksfully, the other passengers were so kind to the baby crying👶) There is also an appetizer for a drink, "Salami" what's more what is this It was slippers Wow, this is my first time to be provided with slippers on a train This is super Magazines and stuff When in trouble, we can refer to the seat instruction Press the "Attendant-call button" when you want something A lot of buttons for the seat reclining The seat slides to the front when reclining Equipped with a foot rest Becomes like a bed Reading light which is so smooth Neckrest you can adjust The window feels large and luxurious The meal has come with a red wine The wine seems to be a Gran Class original one I went for Japanese style Yes, it's a "light meal" Meanwhile, the train started high-speed operation Goes up to 265kmph/164.6mph, its top speed But hey, we can pour wine easily The cabin is smooth enough Cheers 🍷 The wine was great and not a strong one (Sorry I'm not an expert) Hard to choose which one to pick first I have no idea what this totally is A shirmp with a.. tart?? !!! Completely new taste Want more of this A roll of something Oops Delicious enough Asari clam, mushroom and spinach What's this jelly-like green something It's said "Green bean cake" not bad Every dish is small but a good appetizer for alcohols What I liked the most is this cake It's "Mango and butter cake" I can keep eating this forever We have run through Saitama, Gunma, and now entered Nagano Prefecture Here is Karuizawa, which is a renowned resort town of the beautiful mountains and forests Many rich people in Japan have second houses to spend in holidays here Sadly, there are a lot of tunnels through Nagano and Toyama Prefecture The area outside the cabin is epic as you can see like a luxury hotel The washroom is fully sensored which is sanitary The restrooms are, needless to say, clean There is one super large restroom The toilet is, of course, equipped with washlet (bidet toilet) Press the buttton to open the toilet The flushing is smooth and super quiet! Nagano Prefecture is especially known for having a lot of beautiful natures If you get tired in a busy city like Tokyo, come to Nagano You will be refreshed hmm hahahh I bet it's worth over the price if you order many This time, I've got a rice wine(sake) which won first place in a Sake championship "Katsuyama" with that "Salami" in the bag "Original Pound Cake" Kanpai! 🍶 (Japanese way of saying "Cheers") Oh it has a very sweet taste My type of sake, I love it Salami is a cured sausage of fermented and air-dried pork loved as one of the most popular appetizers in Japan The cake was.. yes very delicious We can see Nihonkai Sea (Sea of Japan) After Nagano, we have entered Toyama Prefecture Luckily, the parser noticed me loving the sake and gave me one more appetizer "Salt Chocolate", seems like a secret menu of this Gran Class Just enjoying the beautiful scenery out the windows is good enough The scenery is beyond Gran Class aaa aaaaaaa aaa aaaaa aa After Toyama is Ishikawa Prefecture where Kanazawa is its capital city Sadly, we are shortly arriving at Kanazawa terminal meaning this Gran Class ride is ending Thank you Gran Class, I'd like to see you again hopefully 12:51PM We are now about halfway through this route I'll exit the gate and stroll around the city of Kanazawa The fare ticket from Tokyo to Osaka is still valid So, when it comes to Kanazawa How about visiting Higashi Chaya District and Kenrokuen Garden I took a city bus going around the city in loop Took 7 mins from Kanazawa Station Welcome to Higashi Chaya District The area is said to be "Little Kyoto" Traditional houses line up like in Kyoto which immerses you in ancient Japan Being less crowded than Kyoto, we can easily take good photos (Kyoto now is crazy) I stopped by a Takoyaki stand as I'm from Osaka Takoyaki is an Osaka food but this Kanazawa one has gold leaf sprinkles which Kanazawa is famous for In Kanazawa, you may find a lot of foods with gold leaf sprinkles here and there Today, there is a baby cry everywhere I go🤣 Can't stop laughing Minions on the street "Hyakuman Yaki" Tea break time Hyakuman Yaki, a cake snack with a face No idea what face it is It's a Matcha ice cream sandwich Good Let's next head to Kenrokuen Garden Many say it's a must-visit place in Kanazawa A fountain Kenrokuen Garden is considered one of the Three Great Gardens in Japan together with Kairakuen Garden and Korakuen Garden From the garden, you can overlook around the Kanazawa City The garden extends over almost 25 acres and shows us seasonal floral displays, streams, ponds, and waterfalls You can fully enjoy the beauty of Japan in one garden History tells us that the garden was first created in 1676 as a private garden and later opened to the public in 1871 (Originally, it was the private garden of Kanazawa Castle) Pretty nice day for a walk huh The reflection of the trees on the pond is really beautiful Where are you, crows Find crows 1 2 3 Gotcha The next destination is Osaka 267.6km/166.2mi from Kanazawa Osaka.. is not in this direction This direction "This fountain is sourced by the Kasumigaike and reaches a height of 3.5m... it's the oldest fountain in Japan..." what!? "The oldest fountain in Japan" Oh really It was not a fountain but "the" fountain 3:17PM Time to go back to Kanazawa Station Buying a ticket This time, it's not a Shinkansen but express train on non-high speed rail (Existing line) Thunderbird Limited Express Ordinary Class or Green Class (Upgraded class) Of course, Green Class as we are on the most expensive route today Not many remaining seats I paid 6,700JPY/46.9USD for Thunderbird Express on Green Class from Kanazawa to Osaka Departing on Platform 1 oh not 1 but 2 The train has arrived The station melody is brainwashing The train looks big and cool The train is made of 9 coaches It connects to Osaka in 2 hours and a half We left Kanazawa on time (4:00PM) Welcome to Green Class of Thunderbird Use a footrest with shoes off The floor of the cabin is cloth so it's like we are in a living room, very good Snacks "Yuzu maiden soda" "Maiden" probably means "young lady" I like the refreshing flavor of Yuzu citrus No idea why it's "maiden" Pringles sour cream I'm into sour cream flavor these days How come it's this delicious? The elevated railway is new Hokuriku Shinkansen now under construction So, Hokuriku Shinkansen will be extended to Osaka in the future (Now ends at Kanazawa) When the high-speed rail opens, this Thunderbird Express will retire instead These tranquil views of the countryside will not be on the high-speed rail I like high-speed experiences around Japan but building elevated railways will destruct these beautiful landscapes Not always a good idea After Kanazawa, we have entered Fukui Prefecture Mini truck brothers This train offers us tremendous beautiful views Remember Thunderbird Limited Express, which is one of the must-ride trains in Japan I recommend Welcome to Shiga Prefecture In Shiga, you can't miss the view of Lake Biwa, which is the largest lake in Japan (670.4 km²) It's a sea on the land Stunning views! How have I not rode on this train before?? I'm jealous of people who everyday use this train as a commuter Everyday must a joy to them Sunset time 6:04PM We left Kyoto and will next stop at Osaka finally Farewell song to today's journey.. Welcome to Osaka The busiest city in western Japan The glowing sunset on the sky seen through buildings is epic Arrived at Osaka Station on time (6:39PM) In total, it took over 8 hours from Tokyo haha Even if you don't spend in Kanazawa, it takes around 5 hours (The ordinary route takes only 2 hours and a half) This route is for a pro But hope you enjoyed this travel through my lens I stayed at a capsule hotel after this so hope you will enjoy the video together with this Trying the Japan's oldest capsule hotel which opened in 1979 Starting from the most expensive class of Shinkansen and ending with a capsule hotel This amount of people Thank you for watching If you want to see more unique travels in Japan, don't forget to leave a like and comment Rock, Scissors, Paper 1 2 3 "Rock" If you are "Paper", you'll have something miracle tomorrow!
