BG Report: Kintetsu Urban Liner train to Osaka

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(the article below accompanies this video)

The Kintetsu Railway company has a limited express train called Urban Liner. It runs between the cities of Nagoya and Osaka in central Japan. I rode it one day through the countryside, and I paid extra for a Deluxe seat.

Like the similarly-routed Hinotori, the Kintetsu Urban Liner has deluxe seats that aren’t really that much more expensive, but are quite a bit nicer. My ride started shortly after lunch in Nagoya, and it took about two and a half hours to reach Osaka.

On board, I enjoyed my seat, which was the “1” in a 1-and-2 seating configuration. So, nobody beside me, and plenty of personal space. Monitors in the front and back of my car showed, respectively, live feeds from cameras on the front and back of the train itself.

There was what they call an “observation deck” outside of my car, which was a bit of an overstatement: it was merely a small space between the seating area and the driver area which had large windows. There was indeed a great view down the tracks, though.

On board, I checked my blood sugar to see how I’d done with my lunch dose of Humalog. It was excellent – 88, actually on the low side of excellent. I tucked into the doughnut I’d bought in Nagoya station, and a can of coffee I’d bought on board the train itself.

I took no insulin for the snack; my blood sugar usually gradually creeps downward between lunch and dinner, so I thought the 88 plus the doughnut plus that lowering effect would all work out in the end.

We arrived at Namba station in southern Osaka, and when I got to where I was going, I checked to see how my complex BG triangulations had done. Superbly: it was now 77. I certainly hadn’t needed any insulin, and could actually have had another half a doughnut if I’d had one on me.

The Urban Liner is an excellent train, but not as exquisite as the Hinotori, which leaves just as often, takes about the same time, and is even nicer and newer. And costs about the same. But I was glad to have experienced the Urban Liner, and even gladder that my BGs had been perfect the entire route.

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