12 November 2025
Back to the mainland
Takamatsu to Okayama on the slow train
Other than changing to the Shinkansen at the station on a previous trip to Shikoku, now I am in Okayama for the first time.
It seems large and fancy.
Getting here was a slow train, IC card accepted, no reserve seats. You can get a green car seat, but that kind of seems pointless. Total cost was about $16 for the hour or so journey, which includes going over the giant bridge.
Before I started my journey over the sea, I killed time by doing my washing again (laundry) thus ensuring my man tights and new blood red t-shirt are ready for more adventures, now that I am back in bear territory. The laundromat experience was also uneventful.
I still managed to arrive in Okayama about 90 minutes too early to check in, so I did some pre reconnaissance, but mainly checked out the prices of meat and vegetables in the supermarket. Fascinating to read about I am sure.
Behold, the coin laundry. Cheap too. I think the washing machine was 300 yen, and the giant dryer I only used 300 yen on too. If you squint you can see my underpants.
Here is my train, the marine liner. The front carriage is a double decker green car, the other 5 are just normal train cars with no reservation.
As you can see, the normal cars are very normal. You can see my bag on top of the rack. I did not forget to take it with me when I got off.
I will now attempt photos from a moving train. As you go over the bridge, it crosses a couple of small islands. You can exit the bridge (if you are in a car) and go hang out at a mid sea convenience store. There is no way to walk over the bridge though.
Another mid sea island and exit ramps.
Here you can see the mainland, and the bridge structure. Steel I reckon.
After I dropped my bags off at the hotel, it was time to wander around, but not take any real photos. I made an exception for the station, because that was kind of part of the journey.
My no photos rule on travel day is so that I do not ruin everyone's favourite, the hotel photos. This is the smallest room yet. Via Inn Okayama. Literally on top of the station. When I booked you could choose room with desk or room with couch. I chose desk. A plus for this hotel is they don't clutter the desk with hundreds of useless advertisements.
No series of hotel pics is complete without the pre fabricated modular plastic bathroom pic. I think we should embrace these in Australia, seriously.
And finally, my room has a fantastic view. I can see the bullet trains coming into the station on the left. This is actually the quiet side of the city, the other side of the station has a lot of bigger buildings.