Bullet Train to Kyoto

Wednesday was getaway day and we decided to avoid people and eat in the room.  Hard to beat the view anyway. 

At 11:10AM, we checked out at headed for Toyko Station, in style thanks to our wonderful concierge Sanae.

And arrived 10 minutes later.

And finally found our way to the right track and waited for our train to arrive.

Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station
Nozomi 227
12:00PM-2:17PM
April 2, 2014
"First Class"
Car 8, Seats 11CD

Our cabin crew waiting to board.

And the cleaning crew waiting to prep the train once it arrives.

Our sleek train pulling into the station. 

The doors opened for pax at T-5 minutes.

Comfortable 2x2 seating.

We depart on time at exactly 12:00PM.

And after a couple of suburban stops, were on our way at 200mph to Kyoto.

Service?  Meh, what service?  Guess I was expecting a Eurostar kind of deal.  Beverages and limited snacks for sale from a cart.  Most pax brought meals onboard. Seriously? This is First Class.  I guess you pay for the seat and that's it.  WiFi was supposedly availability and indeed was announced but I couldn't find a network and there was no information whatsoever.  We arrived at Kyoto Station on time and were met by a Ritz Carlton driver at our car, despite having told the very challenged Ritz concierge staff that we would just take a taxi.