6 Nov 07 - Kagoshima

Train ticket to Kagoshima

The next morning, I woke up super early to check out and went to Hakata Station to get my train ticket... I was super excited because I knew that suyu was also on her way to meet me at Kagoshima. So long never see her already... Yes, I tried very hard not to get lost! A blur me was walking around the train station because there are two areas which sell Shinkansen tickets but I don't seem to find my destination "Kagoshima".... How? Open your mouth and ask~! hahaha So I was supposed to buy my ticket at first level not second level... Successfully found the place and went to buy my ticket... I tried asking in English because I felt very unsure how to go about asking in Japanese but the man don't seem to understand my question... :s Forced to use my broken Japanese again... Reserved seats were taken already so I only had the choice to buy non-reserved seat... (tip: if you are going to buy long distance train ticket, buy in advance i.e. 1 day before the trip... you would not like the idea of standing for so long!) But I was at least 30 minutes early... I went in and to my horror, one long flight of staircase! Dragged my super duper heavy luggage bit by bit... So paiseh... There was a group of teenagers who seemed to be on an outing... One by one, they walked past me and I was still dragging the luggage... The best thing I love about the train stations is vending machines and food stores... =) Grabbed something to eat and bought my favourite juice...

Despite being in the non-reserved seats cabin, I managed to find a seat... the train had a lugguage compartment right in front so I deposited my luggage there and sat down comfortably... announcements were made in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean... Don't have to worry about not understanding the announcements... heehee Enjoying the scenery outside when my ears suddenly picked up the announcement - "Train carriages from 1 to 5 are going to Kumamoto while carriages from 6 to ...." Huh?!?!?! You mean the train is going to split?? A very nervous me was looking around frantically for the carriage number... I dun want to be going somewhere I dunno... :s Luckily i was in the correct carriage...

Note: www.hyperdia.com is one of the most useful websites for travellers to plan their japan trip... as everyone knows, trains in japan run on fixed schedules... so better check everything before you go! According to my schedule, I have to change train at Shinyatsushiro to take a shinkansen to Kagoshima... When the train reached the station, all the people were rushing out to the train at the next platform... I also forgot to check and blindly dragged my luggage to alight... The train started soon after I found a seat... *OMG!* Where is the train going to? I asked the person sitting next to me and heng, the train was going to Kagoshima... -_-"

When i arrived at the station, *lost* again... but never mind! The golden rule is - Follow the crowd! hahaha I was so happy when I saw Suyu outside waiting for me... Yeah! We never meet up for so long already... At least one year plus... Went to deposit my luggage in the lockers conveniently outside the station (Why we can't have this in Singapore?) and off we go to the most famous sightseeing place in Kagoshima --> Sakurajima!