We only had a limited time in Kyoto, so we were determined to use it to the full. After getting to bed reasonably early, Dean, Conrad and myself decided to get up early (6.30 is way before anything opens here) and started cycling to and around Gion, the older section of Kyoto where we had been last night. The previous night it had taken about 1 hour to walk back from here to the hotel, but even with snapping photos every couple of metres and taking slight detours (just to see something cool we caught a glimpse of) it only took us an hour to get here and back. We returned just before 8 to meet up with the girls for breakfast downstairs. Breakfast was nothing of note, although they had some nice fresh bread which I whacked some egg on, and got a decent espresso for 250Y. If you are ever in Kyoto, I can recommend K's House. It's only classified as a backpackers/hostel, but with families staying there it's quiet and clean.
We wanted to do something cultural, but with most of Kyoto's sites being either Shinto or Buddhist shrines and temples, it actually doesn't leave that much to do in my opinion. I pulled out the map, and saw Nijo Castle and Gardens, so after checking out and storing our luggage, we decided to cycle there. Now Mum hasn't ridden a bicycle in 37 years, but after quite a few wobbly moments, she's riding with some decorum, and Whitney is doing about the same, so after about 45 mins we've cycled the 4 kms or so to the castle.
Unfortunately, a lot of Kyoto's sites attract tourists, so they like to get some tourist dollars... It was 200Y to park our bikes, and 600Y to get in, though after we were in, I'd gladly pay 800Y for the experience. Here there are actually, 2 castles within the walls, Hamamaki? and Nijomaki castles, as well as gardens surrounding them. Considering you'd pay $10 for Bli Bli Castle, which is just a cheap, gaudy imitation of an English castle, the amount of time you can spend here vs the cost of entry makes it good value for money. We walked around, in and out, up and down as well as went inside one of the castles. I felt like a taskmaster, because I had to keep everyone moving. We were expecting to get the shinkansen at around 2pm, so I didn't want to miss that and have more stress. We also got to see everything, and take plenty of photos/video, so we'll probably bore you with these when we get back.
Just as we got out of the castle, it started spitting, though this didn't hang around, so we took the most direct path back to the hotel. I'd like to say it was uneventful, but it wasn't. Because Dean and Conrad were still stopping to take pictures, and Mum wasn't cycling as fast as the rest of us, we kept getting seperated by sets of light. Anyhow, at one section where Mum, Dean and Conrad had fallen behind, I am cycling when I hear a crash behind me.... Whitney had dropped her bike (thin skinny tires and water in the gutter don't mix) and it had landed on her foot, sandwiching her between the bike and the pavement. Now I must tell you that these bikes, although newish, are built old-school, with a lot of thick steel and weight a ton. I could barely bunny hop these things, while I could hop/mono my MTB at home with ease. And all this weight came down on the Bubz's foot. Damn... She said she was alright and and we got back to the hotel quickly after that. About this time, she started complaining that her foot was sore, but it's not that far to the station, so we walked it in about 10 mins.
After studying the boards, we decided to get the 14.29pm Hikari Shinkansen. This gave us about 1.25hrs before we had to get to the platform, so we booked the tickets then went in search of food. Dean didn't want to stress about getting to the right platform and having enough time, so after a brief look around, we grabbed some stuff from a place called Vie de France. It sold baked goods, similar to Bread Top in Brisbane, so the others picked out a few things, then I went and grabbed my. I think I had a big eyes, little belly, because I grabbed a few different things and it came to nearly 1700Y. I did want some stuff for the journey though, as the Hikari Shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo takes nearly 2.75hrs, so I didn't want to be hungry. Anyhow, one of the things I grabbed was a Calzone (tasty) as well as a Curry Donut. I was expecting it just to be a bun, as the japanese it used was for bread, rather than donut, but after eating, I'd say the English is more correct. The dough was sort of sweetish, and it actually went really well with the curry. I ate a couple of things before we headed upstairs and through the rabbit warren that is a japanese train station, before we found the right track and went there.
It was actually really cool in Kyoto, with the temperature staying about 2 degrees C, and a chilly wind blowing. It meant that standing on the platform was a little cold, as we'd all worked up a sweat carrying bags around with our jackets on. But it didn't matter too much, as the train soon arrived, and we hopped on. The rest of the journey was uneventful. I blogged, Dean did a little, as well as snoozed and Conrad read his book on Steve Jobs on his iPad. We arrived in Tokyo about 4.45pm, but with the sun setting early here, it was dusk before we got out of the station.
In previous years, we have either sent backpacks with Mum and Whitney in a taxi, and dragged luggage to the hotel ourselves or just walked it, but we're either getting softer or smarter. We had sent our main luggage to the hotel via Takkyubin, so all we had was our backpacks. But this time, Dean, Mum and Whitney jumped in a taxi, while Conrad and I jumped in another. Most of the Taxis in Tokyo are either new (old) Toyota Crowns, new (old) Nissan Cedrics, or a mix of Prius and other modern 5 seaters. With 5 of us in the travelling party and no maxi-taxis, we had to split it 3 and 2. We must have got the dumb one, because Dean said they showed theirs the address, and he went straight there. I showed our one the address and he couldn't understand it, so he actually asked us for the hotels phone number and rang them for directions. Anyhow, I got Conrad to get this one, as I didn't have any schrapnel on me. But at 710Y, it was probably worth it not to have to walk the 2 kms or whatever to the hotel.
By this time we were starting to get a little hungry, but we checked in and headed upstairs. The Smile Hotel was only refurbished January last year, so a lot of the decor is clean and new. The beds are king singles and there's a good amount of amenities in the room. As were were getting ourselves freshened up, we get a phone call from the front desk. Yoshi, a brother we know here (used to live in Brisbane) was ringing us, and said he'd come over. So about 25mins later we were downstairs and looking for somewhere to eat. We decided to just go to the restaurant (Cherbourg) downstairs in the BF floor of our hotel. The prices are actually quite reasonable. I got the sirloin steak for 1300Y, and we shared pitchers of beer. Yoshi also invited another brother that works with him, so we got to meet someone new as well. We were sitting around eating and talking, when Yoshi disappears for a few moments. He comes back with a receipt! The sneaky little fellow had paid the bill for us! We'll pay him back sometime, but he must have really like the pizza when he came over in September.
After going to Lawsons (convenience store), which is next door to our hotel, we headed back upstairs. Whitney was already reclining on her bed. During the train trip, her foot had swelled up something fierce and was now really aching. But as we weren't doing any more walking, we just sat around and had a couple of drinks, before retiring for the night around 9pm.
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