Day Six - Taking the Fast Train to Kyoto

I was very nervous when I woke this morning. Laying on the bed was probably the most comfortable thing I could do for my back, so getting out of bed this morning was going to be a moment of truth for me, or at least for my back. Thankfully, it felt a lot better, but by no means was it it painless, it's just that I seemed to have the mobility that I really lacked yesterday. So it was another early rise requiring us to pack up, clean up and vacate our Airbnb apartment and walk the half-a-kilometre or so to Hiroshima Station to catch the Shinkansen to Kyoto. Kyoto is situated only 40-50 kilometres from Osaka, so our journey took us to the Shin-Osaka Station, where we caught a train to Kyoto, then another which took us Emmachi Station, then a short walk to our next Airbnb house.

Compared to all of the other places we have been staying, this was by far the best. Very traditional decor throughout and the house is over 90 years old. I bet these walls could tell some stories. The owner Koichi came to greet us and made us some lovely Japanese Tea having us sit around the table as he conversed with us via his Google-Translate application on his mobile phone. Not too bad for a 66 year old, and he was such a lovely person as well. He gave us a tour of the house and explained the Tokonoma (a built-in recessed space in a Japanese style reception room, in which items for artistic appreciation are displayed). He took a photo with us all in front of one of the Toconoma(s?) and left us to ourselves. It was really touching when Koichi said that he really loved to have conversations with people from all over the world, and his company was most enjoyable. 

We had decided to rest for the rest of the afternoon, but some of us were getting itchy feet. We decided to head back to Kyoto to visit the Kyoto Rail Museum; however, as luck would have it, they are closed on Wednesdays. So we decided to head into Kyoto nonetheless and check out the city centre.

In case you were wondering, Kyoto is located in the central part of the island of Honshu, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the Imperial capital of Japan for more than one thousand years, it is now the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture located in the Kansai region, as well as a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area.

Our first attraction was the Kyoto Tower. The steel tower is the tallest structure in Kyoto with its observation deck at 100 metres and its spire at 131 metres. The view from the top was hampered by the weather, but we could still see the nearby Kitayama mountain range. The lift to the top was the smoothest I had ever ridden, I actually was wondering when we were going to be moving, and we were already half-way up.

Afterwards we decided to split up and do our own thing, which mainly included shopping at the nearby Yogobashi shopping complex, whilst Kyle and Jen ventured nearly two kilometres to check out a new Basketball store, where he bought two NBA jerseys.

After meeting back up at the defined meeting place, we caught the train back to Emmachi Station and had Bento Box for dinner before walking back to the apartment.

We will be in Kyoto for two sleeps and then head into Tokyo for eight days.