changing trains...in Hiroshima

What more is there to say? I got the heebie-jeebies when I booked my Shinkansen ticket at Kyoto Station on the morning of August 6th and saw this:

WHERE am I changing trains?!

I couldn't go directly from Kyoto to Kumamoto. I would be switching lines at some point, from the Tokaido and Sanyo Line (Tokyo to Hakata) to the jurisdiction of JR Kyushu. How lucky was I that the switch would take place in Hiroshima?

I won't bore you with pictures from the rail journey between Kyoto and Hiroshima. There honestly wasn't much to see. I'll just leave you with the pics of Hiroshima Station, and my new train (Sakura this time, not Hikari) down to Kumamoto.

This pic and the four preceding it were all I could capture of the city of Hiroshima itself.

The interior of the Sakura-type Shinkansen reserved-seating car. Only four seats across instead of five, and each one like your grandfather's favorite armchair. Hoopy!

A cup of coffee, a sandwich, and you-hoo...

This was after we'd come out of a long tunnel. Yep, we're definitely in Kyushu now...

Next up: Day One of Kumamoto. First, I do some hardcore historical stalking at LAFCADIO HEARN'S OLD HOUSE. Don't know who that is? Good, tune in and learn something.