Travelling by conventional railways
（続き）
Zento-Mukou (Forward-Invalid)
Once you get off the train, go through the station gates and out, you cannot go further, even if that is before your destination.
The journey took nearly five hours one way by conventional train only.
I had confirmed that I was in an area where ICOCA was available, but when I tried to leave the automatic ticket gate, I was warned that I had to go to the ticket gate counter.
They said that they could use the system, but as it was a long-distance ride, they would settle the bill here.
Do I have to buy a ticket for the return journey?
Yes you do, but you cannot buy it with ICOCA, so please use cash or a credit card.
The next day, the automatic ticket vending machine did not have a button for the station I was returning to, so I went to the ticket office again. The ticket purchased is a magnetic ticket with a brown reverse. It was a large size, but as a matter of course, it had an Zento-Mukou (Forward-Invalid) indicator.If I could return with ICOCA, I intended to exit the ticket gate once at Okayama Station. I could see the words Oote Manjyu from the train window. I wanted to try the manjyu that the eccentric Uchida Hyakken loved so much. I tried looking for it when I was waiting for the train I was due to board,but the shop inside the ticket gate only had Kibi dango. Since I was using ICOCA, it would have been possible for me to go out to wait for the next train, but I would have had to pay a new fare there. If I tried to get out and missed the next train, I would have to wait for almost another hour. It is not always possible to find Oote Manjyu. After giving this and that some thought, I decided to get off at Okayama on the way back.
However, what I got was a (Forward-Invalid) ticket. Uchida Hyakken, who was a great admirer of Oote Manjyu, was also an incomparable railway enthusiast. In the days of the Ministry of Railways and the Japanese National Railways, when he was so fond of trains, I wonder if all train tickets were valid for the journey ahead.
He would take the train on a whim and get off somewhere on a whim. It is difficult to make such a journey with a (Forward-Invalid) ticket.
