Konnichiwa Kyoto

Tuesday, May 07, 2024
Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
Assaulting senses,          
Like ants trapped in a can, then
Free to chill night air.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
It was a long day of travel today, starting in Singapore and ending up in Kyoto. We had a comfortable stay in the Singapore transit hotel, the shower was hot and we had breakfast included, which is where we headed and hung out for a while as we woke up. The choices were limited, but we both had nasi goreng and terrible coffee. The hotel was a good way to spend the stopover, especially at that time of the night.
We had hoped to find a coffee on the way to our boarding gate but snobbishly bypassed the Starbucks and missed our opportunity. Avoiding the multitude of sleeping bodies strewn across the terminal, we found ourselves at our gate. They were doing the pre-boarding check through security into the holding room. No coffee for me. 
The flight was okay, we had the same seats so no one to get in our space. The pre-booked food was minimal but tasty. The service on Scoot is pretty basic, but we were comfortable.
We arrived in Osaka and the confusion began. We had downloaded the Japan customs forms but I couldn’t get mine to load. The eSIM was not giving a strong enough signal and the airport wifi was very slow. After many attempts we could see the QR code and joined the long line of visitors entering the country. I like to check out where everyone is coming from by looking a the passport covers. The majority were from China this time. It was a slow shuffle to an efficient system where our fingerprints and photos were taken. Then we joined another slow line to show the QR code and our passports once again. Finally through to the baggage carousel where the friendly attendants were taking the suitcases off the carousel and lining them up in neat lines.
Suitcases retrieved, we had to try and get out of the airport. The mass of people buzzing around us only added to the confusion. None of the signs seemed helpful so we followed the crowd and joined a queue only to discover they all had paper declaration forms. We left that one and found the QR code line where we scanned our passports and codes and were on our way.
Ken needed to add credit to his Suica train card. I have mine in the apple wallet but Japan don’t allow androids to join the party. Fair enough. We found the train station and moved in and out of the throng of people trying to get to where they needed to go. We couldn’t find where to charge the card so joined another queue to buy physical tickets for the train to Kyoto.
Tickets bought, crowds survived, we found the platform and boarded the Haruka Express to Kyoto, which is a very cute Hello Kitty train. It was very comfortable and we watched the scenery fly by. Osaka airport is actually a long way from Osaka, so we travelled over a long bridge and through countryside, towns and then to Osaka, before continuing to Kyoto. The trip was about 75 minutes.
We arrived at Kyoto to be welcomed by an attendant as we joined the massive crowd of people. It was about 5.30 so we had a lot of commuters to contend with as we tried to work out the right way to exit the station. We had planned to take this part slow, make sure we knew which way we were going. But, we just headed off and ended up in the wrong direction. Once we recalibrated we were out on the street and enjoying the sights. There were a lot of people heading home and a lot of bicycles meandering along the road with the cars.
We found our hotel, the Hotel Tou, and had to do an electronic check in, even though there were 3 staff at the counter. All details entered into the computer, both passports screened, credit card payment, breakfasts selected and then our room keys were spat out, along with receipts and 10 vouchers for our breakfasts. It was then that we got to talk to someone, who gave us the rundown of the hotel.
The hotel is very zen and very moody. The lighting is low, but it is well appointed and our room is really nice and not a bad size. We have a low futon bed on a tatami mat. After freshening up we headed out to dinner.
We finally stopped at a little bar restaurant. Not sure what we were getting into, we stepped behind the curtain and found a spot at the counter. There were only 6 other people in there and the place was almost full. We ordered beers and mixed udon, mixed grilled sticks and fried noodles. We are not sure what was in the udon, but it was delicious, maybe some tofu, a turnip type vegetable, an egg and some other things in a dashi stock. The sticks were green chilli, lotus root, prawn, chicken and some other meat Ken cannot remember. They were good. The noodles were very good, although the savaloy sausages on the side were a mystery I could do without. It was a cosy little bar and our dinner only cost us $37 with beers. 
We headed back to the hotel and went to the bar for a drink and to plan for our day tomorrow. We are a bit worn out and looking forward to a long sleep.
Other Entries

Comments

2025-02-18

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank