Way off track! Anyway.

Took the Shinkansen Green Car from Nogoya to Tokyo courtesy of ANA. They canceled my flight from LHR to NRT so had to fly with JAL to Nagoya.

If I remember correctly I think it’s 4 abreast. Very very comfortable.

But as you said the standard class has lots of room too.

Continuing the trajectory off course.....

Having checked on the InterWebThing, the National Japan Rail Pass (for travel all over the country) makes you stick to JR trains and doesn't cover the Nozomi company. However, there are regional Rail Passes that allow JR and Nozomi travel. Definitely worth a look.

I travelled standard class and found it very comfortable. I noticed that most carriages were reserved seating though, and only one or two per train were for unreserved tickets. I should imagine unreserved gets a bit hectic during commuter hours.

Must consult GPS to see where this thread actually should be going....

Continuing off track... If you sit in the non reserved carriage in the Nozomi shinkansen no one checks your tickets anyway so you can travel on them with a JR pass!

Hi folks,

Well I arrived back Tuesday. I just want to add a final thanks to those who replied to this thread – I printed the thread off and took it with me! We tried to visit as many places as we could.

We stayed at the Heathrow Renaissance the night before. We had a drink with Bono from U2 in the bar (well we sat at the next table and exchanged a few pleasantries). I had to laugh, for a guy who said he likes to blend in, wearing sunglasses indoors at night is a sure way to bring attention to yourself. We also literally bumped into Gordon Ramsey in the terminal the following day.

The flights were excellent (VS900 and 901). It was nice to be sat in a 2, rather than a 3 abreast config. We usually get Mr or Mrs morbidly obese sitting next to us taking up 1.5 seats!

We used the limousine bus to/from NRT. If only National Express was as efficient! Taxi prices were a tad extortionate, so we didn’t use them and stuck to the buses, trains and underground.

As for the Park Hyatt, all I can say is WOW! The views from the New York Grill were nothing short of spectacular. Food was great, room was great (we had a great view of Mt fuji), and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The prices were a little eye-watering, but that was expected. There were a lot of photographers around for the first few days, all trying to photograph Rowan Atkinson who was also staying at the Park Hyatt (is he popular in Japan?) but they didn’t cause too much bother, just asking if we’d seen him around as we were leaving/arriving at the hotel.

The location in Shinjuku was brilliant, with great access to the transport system. For the first few days we stayed local, on day 3 we met up with my Japanese friend, and that really opened up Tokyo to us for the remainder of our stay. He took us to places we’d have never found on our own.

Highlights for me were seeing the Asakusa temple and Meiji Shrine, experiencing the Shibuya crossing, shopping in Harajuku, a few visits to the Dubliners pub and seeing the Parrotts (a Beatles tribute act) play in the Abbey Road bar in Roppongi.
No downsides apart from when Kel asked for my credit card in Ginza outside the Chanel shop…it took a right beating that day let me tell you!

Incidentally NRT is a great airport, speedy transit through on arrival and equally speedy on departure. On arrival back at LHR we were greeted with a 40 minute delay on stand as the air bridge couldn’t dock with the aircraft. Nice! Not Virgin's fault of course.

Anyway, we’re planning a trip back next year, this time down to the Osaka area for a few days then back up to Tokyo.

Thanks again,

S :ok:

Now, settle down with your wife and watch "Lost in Translation".

I defy you both not to spend the whole film shouting, "Look, look, that's where we sat..!" etc etc:)

The Japanese generally still love Mr Bean for some reason hence the interest in Rowan Atkinson.

I'd recommend heading to Kyoto rather than Osaka on your next visit, much more to see and do. Kobe's a great city to visit too.

Hmmm. I'd agree with joniveson and stay in Kyoto. Unless 10,000 shops underground rock your boat, in which case, why not? But in Kyoto you could see temples, shrines, a mountain walk or two, pop down to Nara, and get a feel for a different side of Japan only a few miles out of town. Osaka is a "wannabe" destination: they want you to visit, but we don't want to go. An entire city of pigeon poop disguised as concrete.

For the international visitor, skip Kobe. It's more fun for foreign residents. Piss-poor waterfront, mediocre shopping. I know, I know, truth hurts. Stay in Kyoto, then rent a car for a couple of days (dirt cheap) or get the train. You've already discovered the train works.

LOL! Well it will actually be Meiken City where we'll be staying as that's where my friend lives, and he's very kindly offered to put us up for free :}

But we'll be flying into Osaka.

S