# Day 21 - A full day of transit ## The train dilemma One of the earliest dreams we cooked up for our Japan honeymoon was to stay aboard the luxury overnight train “Seven Stars Kyushu”. Guests (who must apply well in advance and be selected) stay in exquisite private suites, enjoy fabulous meals cooked by a variety of top local chefs, and are treated to several cultural experiences while rolling through the stunning scenery of Kyushu. That dream was quickly dashed however when we discovered that a single night on the train would cost the tidy sum of $11,000USD. We were delighted to discover that the same designer responsible for Seven Stars had recently created a significantly more reasonable daytime luxury sightseeing train featuring similarly beautiful finishes. This train is called “36+3”, and we couldn’t wait to ride it. ![[photos/day 21 - 14.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 15.jpg]] ## All aboard We departed Hiroshima in the morning for Hakata Station to meet the train. It just so happens that Hakata Station is also home to Evah Dining Macrobiotic Cafe, a small grab-and-go restaurant selling exclusively vegan “ekibens” (bentos sold on trains or in train stations). Vegan ekibens are essentially impossible to find in typical station stores, so Sophia was beyond excited for the opportunity, and hungrily grabbed a few items that caught her eye. We then found our way to the platform where the shining black vintage-inspired 36+3 train stood waiting. The interior of the train was immaculately designed with exceptional multi-colored woodwork and plush blue and white chairs. It also contained an equally beautiful lounge car as well as a bar car. ![[photos/day 21 - 1.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 2.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 3.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 4.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 10.jpg]]![[photos/day 21 - 12.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 11.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 13.jpg]] Shortly after leaving the station we were served upscale bentos containing numerous local specialty ingredients. As expected, the contents were not particularly vegan-friendly, but Manu was more than happy to have double of the rather petite portions. ![[photos/day 21 - 5.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 6.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 7.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 8.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 9.jpg]] ## An unfair result The train made its first of two excursion stops at Hizen-Hama, a historic brewery town that’s meant to put out some of the best sake in the world. We were scheduled to take a walking tour of the town, but sadly the rainy weather prevented this, and we had to remain within the station. We were at least still able to do a sake tasting, and participate in a sake tasting contest where we had to guess correctly which of the three glasses we were given contained which sake brand based on the given tasting notes. Sophia succeeded at correctly identifying all three, while Manu got 0 out of 3! However, they were kind enough to allow us both to draw from the prize lottery. Sophia, the actual winner, pulled a pen, while Manu managed to win their top prize: a bottle of sake! The train travels along a different route each day of the week, many of which run along gorgeous coastline. Our route however cut through the countryside, and not even necessarily the nicest countryside we’ve seen from a train window on our trip so far. The exhaustion of not sleeping well throughout our vacation finally caught up to Sophia, and along with the lulling rocking of the train, she repeatedly fell asleep. ## Porcelain Our second excursion was in Arita, the birthplace of Japanese porcelain. As such, the town is full of shops, museums, kilns, etc. that we would have loved to explore. Unfortunately our stop there was extremely quick, and we were required to stay around the station so that we would hear the departure bell. It was only a short distance further before we finally pulled into the train’s destination of Sasebo. We’ll admit the train experience was not quite what we had expected. For a so-called sightseeing train, there weren’t really any sights, and the two stops we made were somewhat disappointing. That being said, we don’t know what else we would have done on this very rainy day, and Sophia obviously needed the sleep, so we accepted the day without too much regret. ![[photos/day 21 - 17.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 16.jpg]] ## Lost in transit-lation From Sasebo we needed to catch a bus to Nagasaki, but we had immense trouble figuring out where we needed to go, and it certainly did not help that everything was only written in Japanese characters. We frantically searched the buses at the stop we had found trying to decipher if any of them were ours, only to be rescued by an incredibly kind stranger who had just gotten off of one of the aforementioned buses, and could tell we were in distress. He approached us unprompted, and having managed to figure out where we were trying to go despite speaking no English, went the extra mile of walking us to the correct bus station. We knew we were cutting it close, so we really panicked when we discovered that we didn’t have enough cash on us to purchase our tickets at the automated kiosk. We ran over to the ticket desk, where the woman hurriedly tried communicate to us in her limited English that the bus would leave in two minutes, and that we should just board. She then left her desk and ushered us over to the bus, where she explained to the driver that we needed to get on, and helped us realize we could pay our fares aboard the bus using the mobile transit cards on our phones. We continue to be so moved by the constant generosity and support from locals, and the efforts they make to communicate with us no matter how difficult the language barrier. If it weren’t for the kindness of the stranger who approached us, we would’ve had to take an alternative transit option that would have taken an extra two hours to arrive in Nagasaki. ## Arriving in Nagasaki We checked into Candeo Hotel, located in Nagasaki’s Chinatown, and immediately left for dinner. Neither of us were particularly hungry, and we weren’t up for the typical full Japanese feast, so the cozy-looking restaurant Sophia found online serving light sets of both vegan and meat sandwiches accompanied with green salad seemed perfect. Regrettably, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about restaurants in Japan, it’s that you can’t trust anything you read on their websites. Many restaurants are run alone by the owner, and details such as menu items and hours of operation seem to be a mere suggestion. We have encountered this over and over during our time here, and yet we were still a little shocked when the owner told us that she only serves her non-vegan menu items during lunchtime. With no other options nearby we decided to stay, and disappointedly ate what turned out to be some rather mediocre sandwiches and flavorless soup. Thank goodness for 24 hr konbinis for always providing a late night treat when we need one! ![[photos/day 21 - 18.jpg]] ![[photos/day 21 - 19.jpg]]