Day Four - Tokyo to Kyoto - Planet Japan

Early start and I mean early. Alarm at 6.00am, quick shower and out of the door.  I called an Uber (thank goodness for Uber and Airbnb I have always used them in a time of crisis).  It was raining and I mean raining. They had

forecasted storms but thank goodness that had not materialised.  But there was rain. Our driver arrived almost at once and we bundled ourself into a spotlessly clean car and were driven to the train station.  I wanted to take this man back to London with me as in my eyes he had saved me a lot of trouble lugging my suitcase up and down numerous stairs to get on numerous tube trains. We did offer him a tip, but there is no tipping in Japan. My ex would have loved that, he was so bloody tight.  The taxi guy would not accept the tip and gave us the biggest bow yet.  I probably offended him with my kindness.

When we actually got into the station it was like hell upon earth. There were so many people; and I mean so many people.  We found the way to the train

platform.  Last night whilst I was in the Onsen, Andy had Googled the train details, of which was the platform number the train would be coming in on.  Any of you who have travel to the north via Euston would be very much aware that you wait on the concourse there and are then given 5 minutes to get on the train!  Not in Japan. We walked along the platform and then found out that there were five unreserved carriages.  Up until now we were given the impression that there was just one.  Then by carries one to five (the unreserved) was an orderly queue of which we were third in line.  Not for the 7.03 train as that was full already but for the 7.33 train to Kyoto.  At least at this point we realised we were going to get to Kyoto.

The train arrived about 15 minutes before departure and we were allowed to get on. The seats and leg room are very spacious and we had to put our suitcase in front of us, but that was fine.  At 7.33 exactly, and I mean exactly, the train

pulled away. The Japanese are able to list their train delays, if any, by the second, not the minute or even hour like in the UK.  The carriage was spotless, the people were quiet it was all very ordered.  We were intending on buying a bento box at the station for our breakfast, but in all the panic did not have time. However, people were sitting on the train, eating away.  We had a cereal bar and a bottle of water.  I did have to smile as every time the train approached a station they played a tune which sounded like the first five bars of our National anthem to let us know a station was approaching.  The Japanese do like their quirky little tunes.

When we arrived at Kyoto we could not believe our eyes.  It was so busy.  All the order and calmness had been replaced with utter, yet organised chaos. There was noise, there were so many people.  We managed to find a ticket office and a person who spoke a little English and booked our seats for the rest of our train journeys.  At least now we know that we have a seat on a train.  We then decided, well I decided as I was so hungry by now, that we

would go into coffee shop and have a drink and something to eat.  I was so excited as I managed to order not only a coffee (which once again was vile) but also an omelette. Fed and watered we caught a taxi to our Airbnb accommodation.  Very compact but it will do the trick thank you for the next three nights.  We took some time to unpack (well as you do when you are living out of a suitcase) then decided that we would go to Nijo-Jo Castle which was literally just up the road.

This place was amazing.  I really enjoyed it there.  It was steeped in history and was absolutely fascinating.  The buildings were so beautiful as were the

gardens. It was quite busy I guess because of the holiday but we must have been there a good couple of hours.  We then decided to have a look around and come across a huge arcade full of little shops, restaurants and other crazy stuff. By now we were getting hungry so went for a traditional Japanese meal.  When you eat in a restaurant here they give you a basket to put your bags in. I guess it is all part of the everything has to be neat and tidy thing.  I had some lovely tempura prawns with miso soup, rice and shredded cabbage. The gave us some sesame seeds which we had to grind then add various sauces to them. Everything her has tradition, ritual and or meaning.  I did have to laugh as they gave us a cup of some cold vile coffee/tea thing. Vile. However, we drunk some to be polite and the girl kept coming along

to fill it up again!  I wanted to pour it into the little lily pond next to us. Since arriving in Japan I have taken to Sake. In fact, I can't get enough of it lol and today was lovely.  It was a huge vase of it for around £3.50 - much cheaper than gin in London.  Before we left I had to go to the toilet and was in for yet another treat.  As I opened the door, the toilet seat lit up. So funny and yet another warm toilet seat.  We saw the Toto shop today, they are the company that make all the toilets here.  They had their bespoke model in the window and it worked out around £3900 for the toilet!  It was so lovely.  I swear, if I win the lottery I am so having one of those in my home.

We had a slow walk back via the supermarket.  We decided to get a few bits in case we were hungry later on.  Considering we have been up since 6.00am it

has been yet another long day.  The supermarket was brilliant, so many unusual things to have a look at and the sake there was cheaper than Diet Coke!  I am saying no more, you can judge me.  Back at the apartment we had to make our beds up which is basically a mattress on the floor, but all good.  It reminded me of my time in Thailand.

So a quiet night in really, eating our food and planning our day for tomorrow.  We have couple of thoughts already but it is good to get things sorted really.  You think you have so much time but we are packing so much in each day, the time soon flies by.  So we are in Kyoto until Sunday, so I better go get me some new adventures.

As always, with my love x