Journey to Kyoto
I woke up to a different view this morning in Kyoto, missing the Hakone woods and vistas!
Yesterday ended up pretty much revolving around getting to Kyoto. My train was at 2pm, and the luggage transfer timing wasn’t going to work, so I had to lug my suitcase case with me out of the Hakone/Gora countryside. That curtailed any dreams of hiking to the nearby lake. I asked the hotel what they thought, and they agreed it was best to just head straight to Odawara, where I was catching the bullet train to Kyoto.
I took two different buses, one which went up the mountain and one that took you back down, winding through the forest mountainside. The leaves are starting to change and we also passed lots of cute towns but again, it was too crowded for any photos. My seat mate, who had the window, must have been local because she kept her nose in her book for the whole ride.
I only had about 90 minutes before the Shinkansen bullet train, which I spent wandering the station and surrounding area wondering why it’s so hard to get a hot tea. I have been getting hojicha lattes out of the machine, but they have sugar added so it’s not ideal. This time I went to 7-eleven and got the famous egg salad sandwich with the latte. Delicious! As expected.
The bullet trains are totally amazing and even a bit scary. When they go through the station without stopping the whole place shakes. It was just over 2 hours to go over 200 miles. It would have taken 5 hours by car. 🤯
Gorgeous clouds as we whizzed by:
This is a glimpse of my day in translation. I found out when I got to the train station that my IC card (transit pass) had been locked when I was in Tokyo. Luckily the Kyoto transit folks were able to help me figure it out.
I heard Kyoto was touristy but I wasn’t totally prepared for it. It reminds me a bit of Barcelona. Tourists and shopping everywhere. I was pretty exhausted after getting to my hotel. I’m in a central neighborhood, which is great for walking. But I had another one of those what-to-eat moments where you’re surrounded by options but every time I picked a place they were either full or just closing. I wasn’t really even that hungry but ended up at a place near my hotel. It was fine, nothing to write home about!
Today I’m exploring Kyoto, trying to get outside and if possible (not really possible) avoid crowds. It’s a glorious day and starting Friday there’s going to be quite a bit of rain on my trip. More later!