First Day in Kyoto
We headed to Kyoto with all of our luggage, souvenirs, gifts, and the duffle bag full of Kit Kats from Donki. We decided to wait to buy tickets once we actually got to the train station. There were still delays getting to Shin Osaka from Osaka Station. Universal City to Osaka Station was fine though. So, we decided to take the fast train, Tokaido Sanyo, but not the shinkansen. The luggage was way more difficult to deal with now. We had bags on top of the luggage, which made it really hard to lift the luggage for escalators and for getting on and off the train. Ship your luggage if you can or go light! Luckily, we had already planned to ship the luggage from Kyoto to Tokyo Disney, so this was the last time we would have to do this. Using the fast train instead of the shinkansen was actually faster, since we didn’t have to go to another station.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have the oversized luggage spot for this train, and the seating area was smaller. We sat with our legs squeezed around our bags. Thank goodness this was only about a 30 minute trip. We got up a little before they announced the Kyoto stop, since we had to gather luggage. We were still standing near our seats with our bags when the train stopped. We headed to the door, and everyone was pouring into the train. We tried to get off, but people wouldn’t let us. We missed the stop
It was such a short stop too. All we could do was wait to see where the next stop was. We stayed in the area between cars near the exit. The conductor came by and we showed him our tickets to explain that we missed our stop. He said it was an hour away to the next stop at Tsuruga, which was probably the end of the line. He graciously let us sit, since there were empty seats. Unfortunately, the luggage was just rolling and sliding around, so my husband stayed with the luggage. We didn’t have to pay for the extra stop, but we did have to buy a ticket to get back to Kyoto. We managed to get back. We were up with our bags at the exit 15 minutes before the stop
So, get up and block the door before the train stops. Otherwise, just be pushy. We don’t travel by train in the US and are used to remaining seated on planes until they land. Lesson learned. We did go by a very beautiful lake called Biwa; it’s the largest lake in Japan. Oh well, another adventure to add to our post 9/11 (5 days after) Germany trip, Rome when the Pope died, and London catching the chunnel with a 3 year during a tube strike
They had visitor, ie English, specific cabs at Kyoto Station, so we grabbed that. Excellent service. We got a cab to our hotel, Mimaru Suites Kyoto Central. We loved the hotel. It was even better than the Mimaru Suites Tokyo Asakusa. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. They had sake and beer from 9am-9pm. It was conveniently located too. The hotel, not just the sake
We had hoped to get to Kyoto earlier, but that didn’t happen
We actually thought we would get in before our 3pm checkin. Most of the shrines and temples closed early. The Nintendo Store was still open, so we headed there. We hadn’t been to one yet, and the Kyoto one is the newest and largest. The website discusses entry tickets, but we didn’t need it. I don’t know if it was because it later or if that was more of a covid or opening day protocol. It was on the top floor of a department store. Had to pick up some things for a friend. It’s not massive, but they had a lot of interesting merchandise. Our son tried to buy a game, but it was only for presale and wouldn’t be available until later at the beginning of July. For some reason, they didn’t do the tax free sales here. Lots of places did it for nonperishable items. This was one of the first that didn’t. It wasn’t a problem; we hadn’t expected it before arriving in Japan.
For dinner, we grabbed some fluffy pancakes and dessert from a coffee shop near the Takashiyama department store where the Nintendo Store was located. We dropped stuff back at the hotel and decided to visit Sennen-zaka and Ninen-zaka streets while it was dark and cooler. We had to take the bus, and it was packed, standing room only. The shops were all closed, and the street was pretty dead. Many places had signs about no photographs. It was still very beautiful, and I am glad we went. It would be a totally different experience later, when we visited one of the shrines.
