Bus VS Local Trains From Hyogo Prefecture To Amanohashidate - Part 2

The bus and train teams continue racing from Himeji in Hyogo to Amanohashidate in Kyoto. The bus team has cleared the selfie mission at the first checkpoint Himeji Central Park, while the opponent team is attempting it for the third time. The bus team, now in the lead, is walking to the Nibuno bus stop to head towards the second checkpoint, Uemura Naomi Adventure Museum in Toyooka. It is now 11.30am and the train team wants to take the train from Nibuno Station at 12.35pm to the nearest station to the museum, Ebara. The train team manages to complete the mission on the third try and starts walking quickly to Nibuno Station. However, they are short of time so decide to take the next train at 1.05pm from Nibuno Station instead.

The bus team reaches the Nibuno bus stop and catches the 11.45am bus to Fukusaki Station. They ask the driver about going to Asago from there but are told there are none. At Fukusaki, they enquire at the information desk and are advised to go to Kanzaki General Hospital by bus and then take the 1.25pm bus from there to Ikuno Station in Asago. As they have less than 20 minutes left before the bus departs from the hospital, the bus team members opt to take a taxi to Kanzaki General Hospital to save time.

The train team finally arrives at Nibuno Station and takes the 1.05pm train to Teramae Station. They arrive at 1.40pm and must wait until 2.35pm to transfer to a train bound for Wadayama Station.

The bus team reaches Kanzaki General Hospital and the taxi fare comes up to less than 5,000 yen. They manage to make it in time to catch the 1.25pm bus to Ikuno Station. They enquire about getting to Wadayama Station and are told they can take the 1.50pm bus from Ikuno Station. They also ask about getting to the second checkpoint, Uemura Naomi Adventure Museum. They find out that after getting to Wadayama Station, they can take the 3.40pm bus to Yoka Station and then transfer to a bus bound for Toyooka at 4.20pm. Then they can transfer to a bus heading to the Ebara Riverside Theatre. They reach Wadayama Station and while waiting for the bus to Yoka Station, ask about going to the third checkpoint, Kinosaki Onsen, after doing the mission at the museum. They find out they can later take the 8.10pm bus bound for Kinosaki Onsen from Ebara Riverside Theatre.

The two teams happen to see each other at Wadayama Station. The bus team is the first to leave, travelling by bus towards Yoka Station. The train team departs about five minutes later. The team arrives at Ebara Station, near the second checkpoint. They check the schedule and see that there is a train going to Kinosaki at 6.45pm. So they have 2.5 hours to clear the mission at the museum and walk 4km back to Ebara Station. They start walking to the second checkpoint and are the first to reach the Uemura Naomi Adventure Museum about an hour later. In the meantime, the bus team arrives at Yoka Station and transfers to a bus bound for Toyooka. 

The Uemura Naomi Adventure Museum is named after a world-renowned adventurer who was born in Hidaka Town, Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture. He was the first person in the world to reach five of the world's greatest summits. His achievements and almost 300 pieces of his personal items are showcased at the museum. For their mission, the teams must do bouldering - using protrusions of various colours and shapes called holds to climb up a wall. The wall here is about 5m high. The teams must pick one out of six cards colour-coded by difficulty and climb to the top using only the protrusions of their chosen colour. All three members of each team must touch the highest protrusion within three minutes in relay style in order to pass the challenge. Black is the highest level of difficulty, while red is the easiest. If a team fails, they will swap turns with the other team.

It is now 5.25pm and the train team aims to catch the 6.45pm train from Ebara Station, which is about 4km away. The team unfortunately picks the black card and fails at the first attempt. So they exchange places with the bus team, which has reached the checkpoint by now. The bus team picks yellow, the second-easiest level, and the three team members easily clear the challenge. The train team makes their second attempt, this time picking blue, which is the intermediate level. They finally clear the mission at around 6pm. 

The third checkpoint, Kinosaki Onsen with its several public hot springs, is about 20km away. It is a popular spot where one can enjoy locally caught snow crab. The train team is rushing to catch the 6.45pm train from Ebara Station. The bus team reaches Ebara Station first and the members have two hours to spare before taking the bus to Kinosaki Onsen from Ebara Riverside Theatre at 8.10pm. They have dinner at a restaurant called Taniyama Shokudo, ordering old-school Chinese-style noodles and Kansai-style chicken and egg bowl. 

Meanwhile, the train team catches the 6.45pm train from Ebara Station and is now in the lead. They arrive at Kinosaki Onsen Station. However, the place where the mission will take place only opens from 6.30am to 5pm. So they start looking for an inn to spend the night. They are told that most of the hotels are fully booked since it is the crab season. They are advised to go to the neighbouring town of Toyooka, which has business hotels. So they take the 7.40pm train to Toyooka Station, a few stations behind Kinosaki Onsen Station. The bus team, meanwhile, are lucky enough to secure rooms at an inn at Kinosaki Onsen. 

On the train, the team members gather information about hotels in Toyooka. Green Hotel Morris is mentioned and after arriving at Toyooka Station, they make their way there. Unfortunately, it is fully booked and the alternative hotel the staff of Green Hotel Morris recommends, Sky Hotel, does not have enough rooms for the three of them. The train team members are now in a bind. 

Tips:

1)    A local speciality of Kinosaki Onsen is snow crab
2)    Business hotels are a convenient alternative when other hotels or inns are not available