I’m now in the onsen (hot spring) resort town of Kinugawa-Onsen, and I’ll spend the next three nights here. It’s about 2 hours north of Tokyo and my trip here was on the ‘limited express’ train Spacia-X.

This is a new train, only entering service less than a year ago. It’s very fancy and clearly every aspect has been designed to the millimeter and it shows.

Every seat is reserved, and I was in a normal seat in car 4. It was extremely comfortable and the windows were large with great views. The train has four private compartments, but they were sold out when I booked. I was so dazzled by the charm of the girl at the station who booked my ticket that I foolishly neglected to ask about first class seats, which I should have booked. Given how comfy the normal seats were I can only imagine first class!

The journey was smooth and quiet and I almost fell asleep! For the first half of the trip the views were familiar scenes of Japanese communities and rice fields.

As we entered the mountains the views became more forested, with homes thinner spaced but the rice fields no less common. Occasionally the train sped through dense forests and I glimpsed what seemed like abandoned houses and evidence of rice fields reclaimed by nature.

The train slowed down as we approached our destination, as if it struggled to climb the last stretch. I was fascinated by some of the ancient rusting buildings I saw, including some with obsolete advertising still visible. I felt in a sense I was going back in time. My readings suggested Kinagawa may be a place past its prime, but the mostly packed train suggested otherwise. I was reassured since most of the passengers were Japanese: this wouldn’t just be a tourist trap!

At precisely the scheduled time we arrived and I hurried to the hotel so I could check in and then explore the area.

What I would find was so unexpected and surreal it definitely needs a post of its own…