To Kyoto like a bullet

This is a two-day post for two reasons: nothing much of interest happens on a transit day (famous last words) and the following day was full of rain.

Day one

We got up reasonably early to get everything packed so we could head to Tokyo station for our 11am bullet train to Kyoto where will spend our next five nights. It’s only a small apartment in Tokyo but it’s also amazing how much stuff three children and a Teneille can spread across a tiny space. We sorted our suitcases and a bunch of shopping carried shopping bags given all the stuff everyone had bought around Tokyo - we may need to buy an additional suitcase for the trip home.

Having packed everything and swept the apartment for loose items we checked out and walked the 20-minute stroll to Tokyo station. Teneille was not impressed about halfway through when one of her suitcase wheels appeared to give up under pressure. Not sure what she expected from a cheap Kmart suitcase she only bought because it was pink but there you have it.

We arrived at Tokyo station and grabbed a snack from the cafe before using the QR codes I’d printed to try and access the gates. The codes worked and the gates issued proper tickets for us to use for the journey. We headed for our platform and found the area where carriage five would pull up. I was quite stressed about finding where we needed to go but everything was relatively easy which meant we were on the platform 40 minutes before our departure time. I’m not even sorry.

Our bullet train.

Our bullet train, or Shinkansen as it is known in Japan, arrived on time as expected of the Japanese transport system. The drive to Kyoto would be almost two hours. Our train will do it in just over two courtesy of 300kmh+ top speeds. My only gripe with the bullet trains are the limited storage capacity for big suitcases which means first in, best dressed. We, as it turns out, were not best dressed. Oh well. A little cramped with our seats then.

We arrived in Kyoto on time and opted for a taxi to our hotel given the bung wheel on Teneille’s suitcase. It would have been a roughly 25-minutes before our walk otherwise. The ride only cost 1000 yen or about $10. Bargain. A similar ride in Sydney would have charged my like $30 I imagine. A Sydney cabbie would charge you $10 just for looking at their car.

We headed into the lobby to check in to our Kyoto home for the next week and the receptionist asked for our passports to log into the system. Our passports. Instant dread washed over my entire body. I’d left them I. The room safe of our apartment in Tokyo. An absolutely monumental fuck up. No other way to describe it.

Interesting carpet choice in our hotel.

I called the complex in Tokyo and explained our situation. The lovely woman on the phone said she would go check the room straight away and could I call back in 10 minutes. What followed was 10 minutes of Teneille telling me it was going to be ok and thank God she didn’t leave the passports behind. When I called back they said they had found the passports and could courier them to us in Kyoto. They also kindly scanned each passport and emailed it to me so we could check in at the Kyoto accommodation as well.

We finally got settled into our new home which is an out-and-out hotel as opposed to an apartment like we had in Tokyo. No kitchen here or decent-sized fridge but we do have two adjoining rooms which means the kids each have a proper bed. The hotel is apparently styled with a manga inspiration which makes for some interesting carpet and wall patterns.

The view from our room.

We had dinner at a place directly across the road which was similar to the one we ate at on our last night in Tokyo except the machines had an English setting.

We then retired for the night although I was still uneasy about our passports being somewhere other than my hands. The Tokyo apartment staff said we should have them within two days. Fingers crossed they arrive safely or the kids might get to love in Japan permanently.

Day two

We awoke on our first morning in Kyoto to rain and opted to have a relaxed day instead of our original plans. A lot of the Kyoto activities are outdoors so rain is not ideal but it is scheduled to clear the following day.

We decided to wait for a break in the rain before walking to a local shopping centre for lunch and a look around. We also decided to use the additional free time to get some washing done at the hotel.

I wonder what this restaurant specialises in…

Before we could leave, though, our room phone rang. We had a package downstairs at the front desk. Our passports had traveled through the night and arrived before lunch. About 15 hours from door to door in the end. I cannot describe the relief at having them back in my own hands. Phew. Buoyed by the return of our documentation, we walked up the road to the shops.

Kyoto is an interesting city. It is like it has multiple personality disorder and can’t decide who it wants to be. Along the main roads everything is modern. Shops and restaurants and hotels and apartments and high-end department stores. But just one street back from these modern finishes and you find old Kyoto just beneath the surface - wood panel homes, sloping tiled roofing, power lines going everywhere. It is really quite fascinating.

Kyoto means capital, because that’s what it once was. Japan’s imperial rulers governed from Kyoto for 11 centuries until 1869 when the capital was moved to Tokyo. Kyoto was originally considered as an atomic bomb target by the US during WWII due to a belief the loss of such an important city might force Japan to exit the war. The city was spared, in the end, after US officials opted to replace Kyoto with Nagasaki instead.

A narrow side street off the main drag.

As we walked to the department stores we saw glimpses of the pre-war buildings that Kyoto is famous for thanks to the virtually non-existent bombing it endured during the war.

We went straight to lunch when we arrived at our destination, with Teneille choosing a wagyu steak place. It was pricey but they steak really did melt in your mouth. After eating, we explored the multi-level building as well as the one across the street. There were more AI companion robots, a Nintendo store and a whole bunch of other stuff. Here are some pictures of all those things:

We eventually headed back to the hotel to do some washing and that was the day thanks to all the rain. Hopefully tomorrow comes with a little sun.