I’m really not a seasoned train-traveler.

My husband Paolo has had far more experience traveling on trains in his younger years in Great Britain and Europe.

But I did have the opportunity to ride the (Shinkansen) Bullet Train while over in Japan working as an Athletic Trainer.

I had just finished working the Federation Cup (Women’s Tennis Competition) for the United States Team while in Nagoya, Japan.

My Mom was with me on this trip.

We traveled from Nagoya to Tokyo…….it was a quick trip…….

…….well, it was known as the Bullet Train after all…

The Bullet train does live up to its name…

Everywhere in Japan is always crowded…….so the train platform was no exception…

When I worked with tennis, I never traveled “light”.

I had my big Samsonite/hard-sided suitcase, along with two huge duffle bags for supplies, plus a portable (50 lbs.) massage table.

I must have been very fit back then.

I managed to get everything on and off the Bullet Train in the nano-second allotted on both train platforms (I don’t know how)…….those automatic doors were Wicked Fast.

We had to use my luggage as battering rams in order to get through the crowds…

 

We saw Mount Fuji…….but it was all so fast…….(duh!…….it’s called the Bullet Train!)…

I’m glad I’m writing this all down…….it was in the late ’80’s after all.

Oh—–here’s a fun little memory.

A couple of the Japanese tennis players who I worked with taught me some very basic Japanese.

I can still ask you if you would like your right or your left ankle taped…….

…….yes, I can…

Well, while riding the transportation bus from the hotel to the qualifying site of one of the tournaments, the bus driver wasn’t sure where the tennis club was…….he was a new driver…

I had been to the site the day before, so I recognized the terrain as we approached.  But the driver started to motor past………….(I think Bernadette was at this tournament too…………I wonder if she remembers?)

Anyway, from the back of the bus I yelled out “HIDARI!!!”

The driver hit the brakes and made the turn into the Tennis Club…………so see, a little bit of knowledge can be useful…

***Did you know —– all the bus drivers & taxi drivers wore white gloves…….I don’t know why…

And there were always pretty, white doilies on the seat-backs of all of the bus & taxi seats……..

I wonder if it’s still like that…….?