ED75's Random Japanese Trip Photos

[Martijn Meerts]

3 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

I also took the time to film some video of the track ahead, but those I can't post due to server reasons

 

It's not so much for server reasons, but more a cost thing. While cloud storage is relatively cheap, videos can be extremely big. Especially with the newer devices shooting in 8k and such. We can't really force people to optimise their videos for the web before uploading them, and the forum software currently doesn't automatically do any video processing.

 

If that changes in a future version, or via an add-on we can install, it could be something we could look into again, but we would never be able to offer the kinda features that for example Youtube offers.

 

[cteno4]

Years ago in the early days of digital video a client wanted a 15 min video up for an event. I was concerned our server would not serve it well for the couple of hundred folks that might try to pull it over the two day event and also worried if it got out and went viral at all, so i proposed using a video hosting service for a month at the cost of maybe a couple of hundred dollars. They balked at this [I had done their web and it stuff very inexpensively on just what they needed as they needed to keep costs low all the time and they got use to that] and said no just put it on our site, so i did. Well it went viral from emails from those at the event and of course most folks got very very slow to forever load times. Everyone then up in arms why isnt this working! At that point you cant say “i told you so… [or thusly]” Luckily a friend did a lot of business with the little company i had recommended and they were able to get us set up and running in an hour or two on the weekend and I redirected the link and things worked and all happy. But then the bill came for $2k for the pulls they had and lots of yelling! But luckily the guy in charge had such a good reception of the video from far and wide he didnt object to the charge at that point as he was looking good and the event organizer was paying ot send DVDs of the video to 2000+ consultants. Only negative going around was i had screwed up the video, ya cant win.

 

jeff

[chadbag]

@Tony Galiani Baumkuchen is fine. We buy it when there and in fact I bought an expensive one at one of those specialty shops in the bottom of a bigger department store in Kobe last time we were there as a gift for our hosts at new years.   In fact it was one of the few places I was at that didn’t take a credit card (but did take IC cards).   I was able to quickly load my virtual Suica and pay.
 

being the good Germanophile I am I love Baumkuchen.   I won’t say it’s  better than a mochi donut though.   

Edited April 2 by chadbag

[ED75-775]

Time to head back to Tokyo one last time - this time, using the Shinkansen. In particular, these two shots from 2019 are rather special as they represent the only time I ever got to ride on a E4 series shinkansen, all of which would be removed from service by the time I was able to head back to Japan in 2023.

 

 

 

Admittedly these platypus-billed trains may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing (spoiler alert: massive 500 series fan), but travelling on high-speed, double-deck trains is always fun. Much as I enjoyed a top-deck ride on this train from Ōmiya to Tokyo, I'm still not entirely convinced it's worth breaking the bank to get one in N scale. Maybe I could bend to an E5 as that was the first shinkansen I ever rode, but so far I have resisted that temptation.

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Time to quickly stop back in Shinjuku one last time before we head onto our next destination. But wait - what's that noise? A feline yowl rings out across Shinjuku... and it's not the Shinjuku Cat? What could it be...?

 

 

It's the Cat...truck? This little kei truck operates as a mobile crepe stand, but what caught my eye is the fibreglass front and side details which make it resemble Hayao Miyazaki's famous Catbus. Quirky? Yep. Worthy of inspiring something in model form? Oh, absolutely.

 

Well, that's about it for our Train Tour around the Kanto region. We'll be headed to Nagoya shortly, so as always, please stay tuned!

 

Alastair

[ED75-775]

Time to say goodbye to Tokyo! Back in 2019 it was raining the day I left Tokyo, but the weather had cleared up by the time I arrived in Nagoya.

 

 

 

I'm not sure that I will have this photo-travelogue finished by the time I go back in June, but I'll keep on updating it until I reach the end of my travels to date (and to come). Now I just need to scrape up a sliver of motivation and book all of the accommodation (which I have planned out but haven't booked yet...)

 

Alastair

[Kamome]

On 4/3/2025 at 11:03 AM, ED75-775 said:

Much as I enjoyed a top-deck ride on this train from Ōmiya to Tokyo, I'm still not entirely convinced it's worth breaking the bank to get one in N scale.

Blasphemy!!

 

Nice photos and enjoying this thread.

I really loved the E4 as these ran close to me and remember commuting in to Tokyo for meetings from time to time from Kumagaya back in 2005. Always liked to get the E4 to either sit up stairs or watch the platforms whizz by at eye level on the lower deck. Weirdly I was less enamoured at the time and more fascinated by the Tokaido Sanyo trains as these represented my then minor knowledge of shinkansen.  I didn’t really consider the E2 and E4 as shinkansen at all. More reflective reminiscing of a time since passed and the E4 starter set was my first plunge into n scale. 

The seats were relatively basic, not masses of leg room either but you always got a great view of the yard just north of Ueno. 

Edited Sunday at 10:43 AM by Kamome

[Kingmeow]

10 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

Now I just need to scrape up a sliver of motivation and book all of the accommodation (which I have planned out but haven't booked yet...)

 

Alastair

 

Peer pressure to encourage you to do it!!!!!!  😁😎

 

We just spent the last 3 days doing this for a 4-week trip to Japan and a side week to Korea in the Fall.  It's tough, tiring and stressful.  Three flights and 9 hotels!  But when you get it done, there's a serene calm that surrounds you!  Of course, that calmness disappears next month when the credit card bills show up!  🤣🤣🤣

Edited Sunday at 02:02 PM by Kingmeow

[kuro68000]

On 4/13/2025 at 4:35 AM, ED75-775 said:

 

 

So what are the violet/VU lights for? Some kind of positioning aid?

[ED75-775]

We now arrive at Nagoya Station, our destination for the next few days. In 2019 I was happy to have one full day here; in 2023 I'd boost that to three days before cutting back to just two in 2024. On that first trip I stayed at the Sancoinn Nagoya Shinkansenguchi hotel opposite the Bic Camera Nagoya West Station store; while that was perfectly serviceable for my needs, I did feel it was getting a little tired and dated, so decided to try something different in 2023 and stayed at the APA Hotel Nagoya Ekimae which is now my preferred hotel in Nagoya.

 

 

 

Much like Tokyo Station, Nagoya Station has the shinkansen tracks on the eastern side of the classic lines - this seems to be a theme on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen with the same layout prevailing in Kyoto as well but not in Shin-Osaka where they're at angles to each other. Unlike Tokyo however, Nagoya Station's main concourse is located at ground level with the tracks raised above. For whatever reason or another, I have never taken a photo of the main entrances, so instead have these random shots from 2019 and 2023 to show some of the shinkansen side of things.

 

On 4/14/2025 at 2:01 AM, Kingmeow said:

Peer pressure to encourage you to do it!!!!!!  😁😎

 

We just spent the last 3 days doing this for a 4-week trip to Japan and a side week to Korea in the Fall.  It's tough, tiring and stressful.  Three flights and 9 hotels!  But when you get it done, there's a serene calm that surrounds you!  Of course, that calmness disappears next month when the credit card bills show up!  🤣🤣🤣

 

And done it is! I finished the accommodation bookings last night - accidentally paid for one beforehand, went 'meh, whatever' and paid for another, and put the last three on 'pay when you stay'. Plus I topped up my Travelex card too, thanks Easter specials! And for bonus I brought my travel insurance today too, also on Easter special. So that just leaves the JR Pass, pocket wi-fi, and then it's spending money all the way (but don't break the bank!). Though I must admit to having only a lowly debit card so I don't need to worry about credit card bills... though worrying about my bank balance is another story.

 

On 4/14/2025 at 11:21 PM, kuro68000 said:

So what are the violet/VU lights for? Some kind of positioning aid?

 

I'm not sure, sorry. I'm familiar enough with roof-mounted positioning markers and signals, but not sure if they have them on the gates too. I'd have to do some more research and real-world observation to make a call on that.

 

Alastair

Edited yesterday at 05:36 AM by ED75-775

[Tony Galiani]

@ED75-775 - please don't keep us in suspense!  What is your itinerary?

Cheers,

Tony