ABD Japan - Day 7 - Seaside Bound

[Stuchang]

 

[sayhello]

Short but sweet! That's interesting that you guys took a train from Takayama to Odawara. We drove the whole way by motorcoach. I'm sure the train sped things up, and made the trip easier! We got into Odawara *SO* late! I wonder when they switched to the train? Your scenery along the way looks much better than ours!

And I agree that the food on the Food Tour was pretty forgettable.

Sayhello

 

[Stuchang]

I can’t remember but I think it was a commuter train and then maybe another Shinkansen. We got to the hotel with plenty of time for a great dinner and then we went bowling. I believe we were the first ones to do the train.

Yeah, after I finished Day 6 I realized I should just have made Day 7 part of the same video.

 

[distravel]

Takayama was a cute little town. Those beef buns were delicious! I would have enjoyed a few more hours there but this is a busy tour. I was very happy they changed the transportation from Takayama to Odawara from the bus to the trains - so much more comfortable. Thanks for the video.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Short but sweet! That's interesting that you guys took a train from Takayama to Odawara. We drove the whole way by motorcoach. I'm sure the train sped things up, and made the trip easier! We got into Odawara *SO* late! I wonder when they switched to the train? Your scenery along the way looks much better than ours!

And I agree that the food on the Food Tour was pretty forgettable.

Sayhello

We too were the drive to Odawara, I seem to recall it was changed to a train for this leg after guest feedback about two long bus-ride days getting to and from Takayama. I enjoyed the second bus ride to Odawara - while a late arrival, we did get a photo stop of Mt Fuji along the way plus a stop at a fun Japanese rest stop kind of place that had the biggest convenience store I’ve ever seen at a rest stop. We also passed a huge dam & some beautiful countryside, different from the ride up from Nara.

 

[sayhello]

We too were the drive to Odawara, I seem to recall it was changed to a train for this leg after guest feedback about two long bus-ride days getting to and from Takayama. I enjoyed the second bus ride to Odawara - while a late arrival, we did get a photo stop of Mt Fuji along the way plus a stop at a fun Japanese rest stop kind of place that had the biggest convenience store I’ve ever seen at a rest stop. We also passed a huge dam & some beautiful countryside, different from the ride up from Nara.

Yes, the bus ride was definitely not an issue for me, the only downside was how late we got into Odawara. They had to keep the buffet open just for us, and we didn't get to do any of the activities. I really enjoyed the stop to see Mt. Fuji (which, of course, it's not guaranteed it will be visible) and that rest stop was a real trip! Quite impressive (plus I finally got to taste melon bread!). And there were some pretty spots, like the dam. But I really love train travel, so I wouldn't have been upset to do it by train instead.

But I know excessive bus time can be a big complaint from folks who do ABDs, so I'm not really overly surprised. It just has to cause more work for ABD and the Adventure Guides, because there would, I assume, have to be a separate transport taking the luggage from Takayama to Odawara, as I can't imagine them having everyone shlep all their luggage onto the trains.

But next year, they are bypassing Odawara altogether. I'll be interested to see how that works out.

Sayhello

 

[Mathmagicland]

But next year, they are bypassing Odawara altogether. I'll be interested to see how that works out.

Isn’t the AbD also a day shorter starting next year, because of that change?

 

[sayhello]

Isn’t the AbD also a day shorter starting next year, because of that change?

Yes, it is. It's 10 days now instead of 11. They are skipping all of the Odawara to Tokyo stops (Open-air Museum, Kamakura & the CupNoodles museum). Honestly, I think that's sad because I loved all of those stops. And it doesn't really buy you much, because when I've checked, it's just about the same amount of time (4hr 50min) to get from Takayama to Tokyo as it is from Takayama to Odawara. You just miss the bus time the next day going Odawara to Tokyo, but that's really broken up (it's like 2.5 hours total). I just wonder if it's maybe a less mountainous route going straight to Tokyo rather than going through Odawara? It's really hard to tell from the maps I've looked at.

Sayhello

 

[Stuchang]

We too were the drive to Odawara, I seem to recall it was changed to a train for this leg after guest feedback about two long bus-ride days getting to and from Takayama. I enjoyed the second bus ride to Odawara - while a late arrival, we did get a photo stop of Mt Fuji along the way plus a stop at a fun Japanese rest stop kind of place that had the biggest convenience store I’ve ever seen at a rest stop. We also passed a huge dam & some beautiful countryside, different from the ride up from Nara.

Mt. Fuji would have been awesome to see up close as well as that big convenience store stop. But then again, we have Bucees in TX. LOL!

 

[Stuchang]

Yes, the bus ride was definitely not an issue for me, the only downside was how late we got into Odawara. They had to keep the buffet open just for us, and we didn't get to do any of the activities. I really enjoyed the stop to see Mt. Fuji (which, of course, it's not guaranteed it will be visible) and that rest stop was a real trip! Quite impressive (plus I finally got to taste melon bread!). And there were some pretty spots, like the dam. But I really love train travel, so I wouldn't have been upset to do it by train instead.

But I know excessive bus time can be a big complaint from folks who do ABDs, so I'm not really overly surprised. It just has to cause more work for ABD and the Adventure Guides, because there would, I assume, have to be a separate transport taking the luggage from Takayama to Odawara, as I can't imagine them having everyone shlep all their luggage onto the trains.

But next year, they are bypassing Odawara altogether. I'll be interested to see how that works out.

Sayhello

Yes, they instructed us to pack an overnight bag for Odarawa and our main luggage went from Takayama, to Tokyo. I don’t think it was a ton more work for the ABD guides. Tomomi the train was very easy.

 

[WeLoveABD]

What, no karaoke? I agree the food tour was meh, but did love that town!

 

[Stuchang]

What, no karaoke? I agree the food tour was meh, but did love that town!

We went bowling instead of karaoke but a couple from our group did try Karaoke.