Day 2 - Kyoto

Manhole cover in Kaizuka

View of Kaizuku from the hotel room

Our booking included breakfast, Japanese only. The fairly economical Sunshine Inn was mainly occupied by students, and we met a few at breakfast, which consisted of fish, pickles and a small cup with a type of junket with cooked octopus at the bottom - a bit of an acquired taste. The view from the room we were to realise was typically Japanese, with the cityscape criss-crossed by power lines and dotted with small shrines and temples. In the distance we could see Kansai airport  - didn't realise we were so close. After breakfast we caught to JR Train to Kyoto. Japan is incredibly well-served by trains as most settlement is on the narrow flat plains along the coast and there is a combination of local and long-distance trains, both government and commercial.

Kyoto Railway Station

Where are we? - in Japan

We arrived at the huge Kyoto railway station and there was no confusion about which country we were in as a feature of the station is a giant statue of Astroboy (Tetsuwan Atomu) at the entrance.It was only a short walk (although it felt further dragging our bulky suitcases in the heat) to our accommodation, Miwaya Ryokan. A Ryokan is a traditional Japanese type of accommodation, where you sleep on tatami mats on the floor at night which are then rolled up during the day to provide a living space.

Inside the Garlic restaurant

Unassuming entrance to
Miwaya Ryokan

We spent the rest of the morning exploring central Kyoto, and ended up having lunch in Isetan, a huge Japanese department store with a number of small restaurants - Something similar to Market City in Sydney, but much nicer. We had a nice hot lunch in the Garlic restaurant, and surprisingly felt quite at home for being in a foreign country for less than 24 hours.

In the afternoon we took it easy, exploring a little more of Kyoto, before having a light meal and hitting the mat.