BG Report: JR Thunderbird train to Kanazawa

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(the article below accompanies this video)

I rode the Thunderbird, a limited express train from Japan Rail (JR) that runs between Osaka and Kanazawa. The train leaves several times a day in each direction, goes through the cities of Kyoto and Fukui, and runs beside Lake Biwa.

The trip is a bit under three hours – and mine was a morning ride, so I hoped my blood sugar would behave. After breakfast is often the time of day when my BG trends higher. It’s related to waking up after sleeping, and it’s hard to control.

My reading at breakfast had been fine though, and there was a decent amount of moving around before the train ride. Exercise after breakfast does wonders for morning blood sugars. And Osaka station is a large place; finding the correct ticket office and platform took a lot of walking. And the train was leaving; no time to dilly-dally so I was moving pretty hurriedly.

The ride was great. The Osaka and Kyoto parts were not too nice, but after that, the train went by lovely Lake Biwa. It’s one of Earth’s oldest lakes, and Japan’s largest. After that, the landscape became low, green mountains interspersed with vast flat fields.

On board, I checked my blood sugar to see where I was: it was 146. Very good. I was able to relax about it, and just enjoy the scenery. And eat my sandwich lunch in the seat.

Soon we arrived in Kanazawa, a city I’d never really visited before. (I think I passed through once, merely changing trains there but not getting out to see anything.) BG was still good; I could feel it. Thanks, I guess, to the JR Thunderbird – a train ride I recommend to anyone who happens to be in the area.

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