My visit to this place was fairly much inspired by watching Zatsu Tabi. It’s considered one of “Japan’s Top 3 Scenic Spots” so I thought why not.

Didn't quite enjoy my first morning buffet at the hotel which was supposedly an Italian restaurant. Not sure if Italy's breakfast selection is really as greasy with lots of fried food in the morning... I've been more used to porridge, bread or rice in Japan so far.

Pretty nice tile art at the station.

Spent some time wandering around Nijo Station while waiting for the train. Stores the the nearby Bivi shopping centre weren't open until 10:00 but I could still browse some gachapon.

Pretty cool Star Wars Madalorian and Grogu movie posters. Not a SW fan though.

I like this Showa retro themed venue. No actual vintage items but gives you some nostalgic vibes.

Caloriemate and Soyjoy are fairly much my go to dry ration snacks now. Just pick up instead of browsing around.

Waiting for the Hashidate train at Nijo and seeing a sign for Arashiyama sure reminds me of the first time I visited for the bamboo forest.

Was very tempted to write XYZ on the public message board. Very old school.

The Hashidate only had one Green carriage. Wasn’t full when I went on. It felt pretty old.

Amanohashidate had a very traditional station; no automated gates, no contactless and cash only. It was one side of the gate for people who already paid the private rail fee from Fukuchiyama and had a ticket, while another for people who need to pay the fee.

Pretty nice from the outside and next to a hot spring venue.

Can't forget to check out the manhole art.

The original plan was to cycle to the other side of the sand bank, go up for the view at Kasamatsu Park then take the ferry back to the station side for the other view.

On the other hand, I thought walking would let me take in the scenery more so that’s what I did.

There are couple of monuments at the start and end of the trail but as you progress along the route, all you see are plants and trees with creative names. Naming things after couples seem to be a popular trend in Japan.

Was a nice quite walk along the 3.6km long sand bank with plenty of sheds to take a break and enjoy the calm. It takes just under an hour. There are enough quiet spots to take clean photos as well as clean sheds to take a break. No shortage of toilets either as they are reasonably spaced apart.

Tap very well blended in. Funnily enough I dropped my phone after walking not too far away so I returned to use it to rinse off the dirt.

The impromptu walk obviously took up a lot of time so I decided to skip Kasamatsu Park.

From what I’ve read (and photos I’ve seen) it had the not so exciting “Shoryu-kan [Rising Dragon View]” anyway.

Yes, sounds like Ryu’s “Shoryu-ken [Rising Dragon Punch]”.

The angle meant you saw it as a straight line instead of being a wavery dragon like Shenrong in Dragon Ball.

I had planned to cycle back to the station side because the next ferry was still some time away. but to my dismay all I could find were bike rentals that must be returned to the same place. The station side had one way rentals so you could leave them at either side.

At that point I spotted a female guide leading a tour group so I tried asking her. She didn’t know either so I thought I’d just get the ferry back which wasn't very frequent.

While waiting to buy my ticket, the clerk told me they offered one way bikes before running off to manage the ferry that just arrived. She was fairly much managing both the ticket office and ferry gates herself and was checking if anyone else wanted on before giving the clear signal.

I ended up sticking to bike. Don’t know how long since I last cycled. Struggled to balance a bit at first but eventually got back into the pace.

It was nice enjoying the wind and I could cycle as fast as I wanted because for most of the trail, there was no one around or other cyclists.

Dropped off the bike at the station side of the sea bank where the ferry docked afterwards. Was still quite busy at 15:00.

Viewland tickets were cash only. It might have been because of the time (sun was beginning to set) but there wasn’t a queue.

You could choose between the monorail or chairlift when travelling up or down. For the monorail you had to wait while for the chairlift you didn’t. I thought I’d go for the monorail first since the view coming down should be more fun on the chairlift when you're facing the view instead of having your back towards it.

Most seemed to go for the chairlift up though.

You’ll most likely be sharing a carriage up. People that were in the queue with me was trying to get a separate carriage but didn’t manage to. Everyone was very polite, hugging to the sides and keeping the front window view free so that was good.

The “Hiryu-kan [Flying Dragon View]” slowly appears as you ascend.

Viewland had multiple spots for you to enjoy the view from different angles. There are a few other things to do such as throwing discs through the Ring of Wisdom for good luck or the upside-down photo challenge the girls from Zatsu Tabi did.

It’s pretty satisfying if you walked or cycled through the trail first before going for the view.

After sticking around a bit longer, it was time for the chairlift back down. Kind of surprised there weren’t belts on the chairs. Never been on one before and it was a fun experience.

Stamp rally fans are catered to.

It was back to the station to get a train ticket since I decided not to book in advance this time round.

I had specifically asked for Nijo Station as the destination but when I showed my pass, he only booked up to Fukuchiyama which ended up causing issues for me (more on that later).

After buying my train ticket from the ticket counter for the journey to Fukuchiyama, there was still some time until the next train so I visited the nearby Chion Temple. I guess Senso Temple isn’t the only place with giant lanterns.

There was a stall selling bread for 10 yen! Sadly closing time everywhere… No conbinis like Family Mart around here unlike around Kyoto.

I just managed to grab myself a chicken cutlet burger when one store was just about finished for the day fortunately.

While I was eating, a bird appeared overhead. Then more started gathering so I thought, “Better move before they grab my food like seagulls in UK…”

Retro little place but so were most of the other buildings around here.

Hashidate train to Kyoto was pretty busy.

And the Tango train the Zatsu Tabi girls went on which JR doesn’t own. It runs up to Fukuchiyama before connecting with one of JR's trains which is what the extra fee is for even if you have their train pass.

Inside is really old; worn wooden seats with no charging ports. I like the pictures they hung on the sides and doors though.

Places were pretty busy by the time I returned to Kyoto. Many places had waiting lists to get a seat so I ended up just picking up a Bento.

Despite the issues I ran into (more below), I think it’s a pretty fun day out. Just hard organising the seat bookings if you’re using a JR Pass. The collab between the private rail and JR is really poor.

Also carry cash with you as a lot of places don’t take cashless or IC cards.

Travelling by Train from Kyoto to Amanohashidate... and Back

I had read prior that booking for the trains is quite tricky. I had no problems on the journey heading there but I did on the return trip.

The main issue is the railway leading to the place from Kyoto is partly owned by JR while other the other part by a private company. So, the rail pass only covers up to Fukuchiyama. You then have to pay a separate fee from the journey from Fukuchiyama to Amanohashidate.

For the journey there from Kyoto (I actually booked from Nijo because it was more convenient from my hotel), I didn’t have any issues. Having a Green pass may have helped but because you stay on the same JR train I think it’ll still be fine with a regular pass too.

Not quite sure how regular tickets would work though...

Once you arrive at Amanohashidate Station, you pay a separate fee 2000 yen in cash. No IC card payments so have some ready. You’ll want to have some for paying in the area anyway as most of the stores are cash only.

Now on the return trip, the local ticket office there again, only booked a seat for me the journey up to Fukuchiyama when I showed them my rail pass. I asked what about the second half of the journey and he said I can just show my pass.

I thought great, but not quite…

It didn’t work out. By the time I reached Fukuchiyama a man complained I was in their seat so I had to give it up of course. I was then stuck standing in the common area for an hour until the conductor showed up, letting me and the other tourists we could return into the carriage and find ourselves an empty seat.

That wasn’t so fun. Especially when I went Green to avoid all the seating and queuing hassles.

I think the bottom line is, it’s best if you insist having a seat reserved for the return journey from Fukuchiyama onwards if you want to avoid the situation I was in.