Travel Musings | A trip to Tsumago-juku using a long-awaited 'single-stroke' train route. From buying tickets to the chaotic journey home

Hello, this is Tabinaka.

Actually, on my trip to Tsumago-juku, I fulfilled something I had wanted to do for a long time.
It was a so-called 'single-stroke' train journey.
The plan was to take a route that circles back to Tokyo without passing through the same station twice, going from Tokyo to Nagoya, Nakatsugawa, Nagiso, and Shiojiri before returning to Tokyo.

In this age of online reservations, this type of ticket can only be bought at the counter, so I stood in line to purchase it for the first time in a while.
That in itself was a fresh experience that made me feel like the journey had truly begun.

Furthermore, this was my first time trying out non-reserved seating on the Shinkansen.
The sense of relief when I managed to get a seat became a small but fond memory.

I transferred to the Limited Express 'Shinano' in Nagoya and enjoyed the view from a route I had never taken before on my way to Nakatsugawa.
I arrived while it was still light out and was excited for the trip to Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku the next day.
At that time, I had no idea about the unexpected chaos that awaited me the following day.

―― The next day. After returning to Nakatsugawa from Tsumago-juku and having lunch, I took a bus to Magome-juku.
Once I finished sightseeing, I planned to take a bus to Nagiso Station and then head home via Shiojiri Station on the Limited Express 'Shinano'.
Since I couldn't predict how long I would stay in Magome-juku, I hadn't bought the return limited express ticket yet. 'I'll have 30 minutes when I get to Nagiso Station, so I'll buy the ticket then and use the remaining time to pick out some souvenirs.'

This plan was naive.

When I arrived at Nagiso Station, almost all the bus passengers rushed to the ticket counter.
There was only one counter and zero ticket machines.

While waiting in the long line, the departure time approached in the blink of an eye.
I tried to make an online reservation in a panic, but it wasn't possible at a station without ticket machines...
In the end, my turn came just in time, and I managed to secure a limited express ticket, but... they said it was fully booked from Shiojiri onwards!

From then on, I had no time to enjoy the scenery and spent the time until Shiojiri glued to the 'Ekinet' website.
Every time I found an empty seat, I tried to reserve it, but it didn't work, perhaps due to poor connection or because everyone else was fighting for the same seats.
As a last resort, I thought, 'Maybe I can get it if I break it up?' and arranged it as Shiojiri to Otsuki, and Otsuki to Tachikawa.
This worked, and I was able to head home as planned.
I was also lucky enough to find a seat that allowed me to stay on the same train, and I was able to settle down after changing my seat.

In the end, the journey home was a hectic one, but that is also part of the thrill of travel.
I learned a valuable lesson: 'From now on, even if I assume I might change it, I'll secure my tickets early.'
The experience of the long-awaited 'single-stroke' journey, including the mishaps, remains in my heart as an unforgettable travel memory.