Train Ride to Kyoto

Woke up a few times during the night (ah, jet lag...), but I somehow felt rested in the morning. We had a leisurely breakfast at a restaurant downstairs. They had a quite nice buffet. In addition to typical western style eggs & toast type of fare, they also had Japanese breakfast items. Rice, Miso soup, pickles, grilled fish..., ultimate comfort food for me! I love to start a day like this... :)

We checked out of the hotel and walked to JR Nagoya Station to catch a Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. Riding a Shinkansen was something my son was looking forward to for so long. We took the train called Nozomi, which is newer and faster than its older counterparts such as Hikari and Kodama. As my son was jumping up and down with excitement, a shiny Nozomi train pulled in. Its long and pointy nose reminded me of a platypus, and it is almost comical looking.

The train was quite crowded, but all of us could get seats. By the time we settled in our seats, the train was going really fast. I heard that this Shinkansen could go up to the top speed of 285km/h. The view from the window flies away from front to back so fast, yet, the ride is so smooth that you don't feel the train going that fast. It was non-stop from Nagoya to Kyoto（147.6km), and the ride only took forty minutes. My son sat there, sticking his forehead to the window for the whole time.

From the station, we took a shuttle bus to our hotel, Kyoto ANA Hotel, which is located across the street from Nijo Castle. At the graceful lobby, all the ladies who work for the hotel were wearing Kimono; hmm, very Kyoto!  They were all very nice and helpful. Here, we met my old friend, Yuki, who traveled from Osaka to spend some time with us. After eating light lunch, we crossed the road and visited Nijo Castle.

According to the brochure, Nijo Castle (Nijo-jo) was built in 1603 by Ieyasu Tokugawa as the Kyoto residence for himself and his successors.

Once you are inside, you can walk through the long corridors looking into various rooms which used to serve for different purposes (from the waiting rooms for visiting lords to the Shogun’s living quarter). The sliding doors and walls of each room are decorated with wall paintings by artists of the Kano School. Some depict sharp-eyed tigers, and some with pine trees; they are all quite impressive. One of the most interesting features of the castle is “Nightingale floors” in the corridors. It is designed to squeak when someone walks on them to prevent intruders from sneaking into the palace. It wasn’t easy being a Shogun, I suppose.

By the time we left Nijo Castle, it was after four O’clock, and we didn’t have enough time to squeeze in a visit to another historical site.

So we took subway and hit the town. After getting off the train in the Shijo-gawara area, we walked through Nishiki Market, the “Kyoto’s kitchen”. Its narrow street is lined by a lot of shops: all kinds of fresh and processed foods including many Kyoto’s specialties, such as local veggies (the kinds you don’t see in other parts of the country) pickles, delicate sweets, and dried food. It is a very lively place, and walking through it is a multi-sensory experience. I couldn’t help picking up some sweets for myself; those are my favorite!

We continued to Ponto-cho, one of Kyoto’s traditional entertainment and nightlife district. Not that we would walk into any of the establishments since they are very expensive, and some places are not for walk-ins (you need to know right people).

Nevertheless, this narrow, but beautiful street was pleasant to walk around. We were hoping to spot some Maiko or Geiko, but that didn’t happen!

We had dinner at a wonderful noodle shop, and walked along Kamo River before we rode a subway train back to our hotel. We walked so much today that my calves were sore…