Shinkansen to Kyōto

Today we left Tōkyō for Kyōto which is about 500km away. For this trip we took the train from where we were staying with my cousin to the Tōkyō station and then boarded the Shinkansen better known as the "bullet train". Obviously, not as fast as a bullet but with top speeds of around 300 km/hr. The trip took around 2½ hours and it was a very smooth and quiet ride. This was one of the things that I was looking forward to on this trip.

The trains are always on time and I was told that the deviation from the schedule is rarely more than 15sec. The doors were opened at 11:25am and by 11:33am, we were pulling out of the station. They wheel carts up and down the aisle selling food and drinks. But there was a huge selection of box lunches in the Tōkyō train station for less than half the price of what was being sold on the train. Below is my bento box lunch with some rice, pickled vegetables, two kinds of grilled fish and a small dumpling. A delicious bargain.

It was raining very lightly as we left Tōkyō and by the time we arrived in Kyōto  it was raining almost continuously. No views or pictures of Mt. Fuji due to the low lying clouds. Hopefully Fuji will make an appearance on our trip back to Tōkyō and the Narita airport on Sunday. According to the proprietor of the townhouse where we are staying here in Kyōto, there is a typhoon headed this way and it will probably be raining until at least Friday afternoon.

As we left the Tōkyō region, more and more rice fields started to appear along the train route. Many times there wasn't much of a view from the train as there were sound barriers to keep the train noise from the homes near the track. You could really tell that you were moving pretty fast when you were going through the towns or when passing another train going in the opposite direction.

More evidence of politeness was the train employees always bowing when entering or leaving the train car. Even when buying groceries at the store, the cashier would hand you your change with two hands, bowing and saying thank you for visiting their store.

This was a very relaxing trip through the country side and I'd really recommend that you put it on your itinerary. There are probably many faster trains but non with the phenomenal combination of politeness, quiet and comfort.

The townhouse where we are staying in Kyōto has traditional futon beds on tatami mats. And the front door is located in the middle of a covered shopping street. This evening, one of my cousins stopped by with his wife and daughter. It has been a really long time since I had last seen them. They came loaded with groceries for our stay.

Wandering Around Tokyo - Day 2

On today's walk to the train station, we passed this Japanese oddity. I have not seen anything like this driving around on the street. In fact, today I saw a Fiat 500 going down the road and it looked huge compared to many of the cars. Even the motorcycles and scooters seem large compared to some of the cars and tiny vans.

We took the train and subway to the Asakusa district of Tokyo and went in to see Sensoji temple. This was one of the oldest temples in common use. There were a lot of people in this area as there was a huge shopping area called Nakamise shopping street between this entrance gate and the temple about ¼ mile back. Lots of tourist stuff for sale at hundreds of small booths and shops.

This is the second gate right before the entrance to the temple. From this point on, the only shops were those run as part of the temple. There was a large smoldering fire burning incense which is visible in the next photo. It was interesting watching all the people coming to visit.

This photo was taken from the temple steps looking back towards the same gate. You can see the smoke from the incense fire as well as the fortunes for sale in the side buildings. Behind me was the large collection box for anyone who wanted to enter the temple itself. Lots of people and hot and humid. Not a great combination but very interesting. On the subway, there were more people talking but on the subway trip back, the train was standing room only again.

One of the many shopping areas in the Ginza region that we visited next. Lots of smaller shops mixed in with the large, name-brand stores such as Tiffany's and Apple. We had lunch here and I neglected to take a picture of my daikon salad and sushi.

One last picture as we headed back to the train station at the end of the afternoon. It wasn't as crowded here as there were in other areas of the city. I fully expected this area to have a lot of traffic and people but there was neither. Tomorrow, we take the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. 

Wandering Around Tokyo - Day 1

Train Station and Cute Little Vans

We left town on Friday and after landing in Portland, OR, we hear that all of the flights leaving have been delayed or cancelled due to a problem with their fuel system. Fortunately, it's repaired by the middle of the day and things are back to normal by the time we fly out for Narita, Japan, on Saturday afternoon. We arrive late afternoon on Sunday after losing a day by crossing the International date line.

Plastic Replicas of Lunch Offerings

Phone Booth

Today, Monday, was spent getting our Japan Rail passes for the week and exploring one of the temple grounds near the train station shown in the first photo. Kind of odd in this land of technology gone wild, phone booths are still very common. This phone booth is on the temple grounds. Lunch was in a noodle restaurant and was very good. Much, much better than the American view of ramen.

Temple Gate

The grounds were beautiful, peaceful and you forget that you are surrounded by city as far as you can see. There was a small pond that filled with giant carp and turtles. In addition, there was a special floral display with thousands of ?? blooming. Each group of flowers was labeled (I can't read any of it!) identifying the particular species.

The paths through this garden were all very well maintained and no one ventured off of the paths or cut through the switchbacks. There are some odd behaviors compared to Americans. On the train and bus rides, almost no one talks. On the temple grounds, everyone talked in subdued tones. No one used their cell phones on the trains or buses or even in the restaurants. Even though just about everyone had one.

This is my niece using a wooden ladle to wash her hands before going into the temple grounds. Everything is spotless without a single bit of trash littering the grounds or the street. The trains look well kept with no evidence of any abuse to the equipment.

After a delicious yakitori dinner, we went off to find the old electronics section of town but it has turned into an anime area with many girls dressed up handing out flyers kind of reminiscent of walking around Las Vegas. We went to a huge electronics store with six floors of just about any kind of gadget you can think of from cameras to major appliances. There were more than a few appliances that were controllable with your smart phone. Even the vending machines were pretty entertaining.

BTW, Internet around here seems to be pretty fast...

Off On An Adventure

The parking lot next to my building is being torn up so they moved motorcycle parking. In spite of what the said during the planning process, they are still three spaces. I still opted to use most of one of the spaces. I returned from Barrow on Monday to beautiful, warm weather and I've been running around ever since. Another Ural rider/blogger, CCjon, came through last night but too many things going on to meet up then. I invited him to coffee this morning but I think he wanted to get an early start up the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay. It would have been nice to meet up, but just didn't have time last night.

Tonight, Bridget and I begin our adventure when we head off on our first international trip together. (Driving through Canada or cruising to Ensenada doesn't really count) We initially head to Portland, OR, for a day then we are off to Japan then on to Singapore. Should be interesting. I'll post pictures when I can.