Berubes In Japan: What do you mean this train doesn't go to Kyoto?

Another day, another adventure.... and what an adventure it's been.

As all of my days start off, I woke up to this view of Mt. Fuji from the balcony of my room. Meh... no big deal. Ha! Anyway, after just staring at this breathtaking view for what seemed like an eternity, and would've been happy if it had, we made our way down to the dining room where we were served a traditional Japanese breakfast of rice, udon noodles, boiled egg, salmon, nori paper, various vegetables, yogurt, and some things which I had no idea what they were. Some items were better than others but all and all it was all pretty good.... just an odd breakfast. I know there are a couple things Jes wishes he didn't bother trying.

After breakfast we retrieved our luggage, requested a shuttle to the train station and purchased our bus tickets to Mishima where we would then hop on the Shinkansen for Kyoto. Tip: I had already mapped out my route but taking 2 seconds to simply ask the lady at the information desk for the best route saved me about 2 hours. The hour and half long bus ride to Mishima was amazing; as far as bus rides go. That's the great thing about traveling by bus and train. You get to see things you don't see by just flying everywhere. The scenery was beautiful and I just couldn't get enough. We also got to see all sides of Mt. Fuji as we circled it on our way to Mishima.

Once in Mishima we purchased our Shinkansen tickets to Kyoto for 11,000 Yen each (about $112) and asked which platform we needed to go to catch the train. Track 5 he said. Great. That's easy enough. Track 5. Wait for the train to stop at track 5 and hop on right? We got this right? Hey dummy, ever think that more than one train stops at the same platform? Tip: Pay attention to the LED signs displaying the times of the arriving trains and the time on your ticket. You want to get on the one that matches the time on your ticket. Anyway, it didn't take me long to realize that we may not be on the right train and when I asked the nice lady beside me who didn't speak a lick of english she tried frantically to tell me to get off the train but I just couldn't understand a damn word she was saying. At this point the doors were still open but we still weren't sure. A couple nice Indian gentlemen also tried to help, saying that we could just take another train at Nagoya to get to Kyoto but even they couldn't agree on which train. We also had a group of 4 elderly Japanese ladies weigh in on our little predicament (at this point there's still time for us to get off)... then the conductor came by, I gave him our ticket and he took it and said "wrong train" as the doors were closing. He left with my ticket and came back later with my ticket and a hand written note explaining which station to get off, and which train to hop back on to get to Kyoto. He also had exactly what time we'd get there and what time the train was leaving. As we got close he came by to tell me our stop was next and that the train was at the same platform... he made sure to tell me to pay attention to the time on the LED sign. Go figure.

Just realizing that this is going to be a long post.... hopefully you're not bored yet.

Anyway, we got to Kyoto, only 20 minutes later than scheduled I might add and made our way to our hotel on foot. We decided to go check out the International Manga Museum but first a quick bite at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant where I saw the most bizarre thing roll by me... the sign next to the plate that was passing us by read "Raw horse meet and mane". I've always said that I would try almost anything that was food to another culture at least once. However, out of respect to family who work with horses I opted NOT to eat the raw horse meat and mane.... and yes, that's a cop out and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

The Manga museum was pretty cool... I'm sure... for Jes. I could definitely appreciate the art work but I really had no idea what I was looking at. Jes seemed to soak it all in and even found something in the gift shop he just had to have. Next was my turn. On to the Kiyomizu Temple. As we were making our long treck on foot to this Temple, Jes asked me why this particular temple as Kyoto is filled with them. Once we got there, he understood why this particular temple. Besides the temple itself, the road to the temple is part of the fun. Tiny little streets intertwined up and down hills and filled with shops and restaurants. It was quite a nice surprise as I wasn't expecting it at all.

Just to touch on a point about Kyoto. Where Tokyo is quite modernized, Kyoto, although still quite a large city, still retains it's old world charms. Shrines and Temples are strewn throughout this city and even what google maps calls "streets" are nothing but double-sidewalk-wide pathways with residences or store fronts on either side. This has definitely been one of my favourite parts of the trip so far. We even got to see a real live Geisha walking down one of the little streets. I tried to get my camera out in time but I only managed to get the back of her. I really gotta keep that thing ready at all times.

Anyway, after navigating the tiny streets for about an hour I could tell Jes was getting a little anxious so we stopped at an Irish Pub of all places for a pint of Guiness then made our way to the nearest bus stop to grab the 202 to our hotel. Where in Tokyo we had to master the rail system, in Kyoto we had to learn the Subway and Bus Transit system. And I must say that Google Maps definitely saved the day again. I can't stress how useful an iPad Mini, Pocket Wifi, and Google Maps has been on this trip. I really don't know what we would've done without it. Probably not half of what we've been able to do.

So, now it's 9pm and we're just resting in our hotel room before heading out for a bite to eat. Tomorrow we check out the Kyoto Studio Park which has served as a back drop for many Japenese films. Then we make our way to Osaka for the rest of the day before hopping on the train back to our hotel in Kyoto.

Enjoy the few photos I capture on my trustee Lumia 1020.