The Road Back to Tokyo

Our time in Kyoto just wasn't long enough! We hated to say goodbye to the beautiful Hotel Nikko Princess, whose staff treated us like we were royalty. We relaxed as long as we could this morning, until I (who had been up since 5 a.m),, decided it was time for Sleeping Beauty to awake. I let a little outdoor light in from the room darkening curtains. Maggie finally rolled over and said "I'm hungry but I don't want to leave this comfy bed."

We treated ourselves to an elaborate breakfast in the hotel dining room. We missed the buffet, just barely, and chose what they call an "American breakfast." So here's what they brought us to eat...our choice of juice (orange for Maggie and mango for me), a bowl of yogurt with a pitcher of honey (so great), a gorgeous fruit plate (which included all kinds of fruits like oranges, blueberries, dragonfruit, pineapple, kiwi,etc.) our choice of three breads each (they haven't heard of gluten-free, obviously, which was good with us!), scrambled eggs, bacon (Maggie nailed it when she said it tasted like hot dogs), fried potato wedges, assorted cooked veggies (for breakfast?), and then coffee (or tea) to finish it off. We knew we had the train ride ahead of us, so we ate plenty! It was beautifully presented. One last princess perk.

After that we returned to our room to pack up and headed to the lobby to check out. They have all kinds of staff around the lobby.....I am not sure of the purpose of them all, but I do know that they seemed to anticipate and meet our every need. We decided to invest in the taxi to the airport (about $10....compared to $4.40 and a lot of steps for the subway.) Our sweet taxi driver turned around at a stop light and gave us each a piece of candy. Like everyone we have met, so very kind. He dropped us at the perfect place and told us to have a good day. He looked like he meant it, too!

With our rail passes, we can either reserve seats or just jump on certain rail cars on the train and grab a seat if one is available. We keep opting for the reserved seats. In a minute we had two seats to Tokyo on a train leaving in 15 minutes. Have I mentioned I love public transportation.....and our awesome rail passes? I want to find ways to use them again before they run out on Sunday. You know how I love a bargain, and each time we use them they are a better value! Next trip to Japan I think will be very little luggage, a train pass, and seeing how much "value" I can get from it.

Our seat mate on the train most of the way was a quiet and proper Japanese businessman. While getting settled I found my Fitbit,,,,,still on U.S. time, so it was right at midnight (or in other words, the start of the next day,) Without thinking I clip it to my bra. Yes, sitting in my train seat. It was one of those things that you do and then wonder "Oh, maybe I shouldn't have done that?!" But I was discreet.....really. (OK.,..I am sure I was less discreet than I think and he is now telling his friends about it.) By the way,  it was only about 2200 steps from the train to our hotel....but most of that was stairs, while weight lifting. I think instead of the Amazing Race, we are on Survivor.

This is a picture of some guys on the next train to ours. Is it creepy that I took it? (I thought it was less creepy than taking pictures of people on our train....right?) I thought you may want to see.

So we arrive at Tokyo Station....now to get to our hotel for the next four nights. We knew our hotel was very close to a subway station.....but of course, not on a line that is located at Tokyo station. I was tempted to get a cab, but have to live by what I told Maggie....you bring what you carry and you need to use public transportation as much as possible. Budget travel, remember? So we die carrying our luggage and practically fall into the lobby. The lady at the desk said "You look tired." No kidding. She checked us in within a minute, and we found our room. Well, after we got the elevator ("the lift") to work. You hold your room key to a black box, then push your floor. Quickly.

So it's no Nikko Princess, but a typical Tokyo budget hotel room. Very small. Really hot until you figure out how to get the air conditioner and the fan working (yes, you need both!)  A double bed, desk, not a lot of floor room and a small but well equipped bathroom. They do bathrooms well in Japan. And in the interest of letting you know the important things, this bathroom has a remote, where you can adjust things like the temperature of the heated toilet seats. They also give you instructions with the remote in case you can't figure out how to work it.

But we are in a great location. We'll be able to get around well from here. Tonight we walked around the neighborhood. Not only is there a McDonald's a block away, but also a Burger King. If I don't feed Maggie well, she has options. She chose our place tonight, though it was French instead of Japanese. We had steak frites (steak and fries.) The Japanese are known for their steak, right? It really was good....and I had Japanese beer. 

We got more yen tonight....hopefully enough for the rest of the trip, but I suspect not. Funnily enough the 7/11s are where you can usually find the ATMs that accept international debut cards(which I prefer to exchanging cash). 7/11s are everywhere, almost on every block, which makes it very convenient.

We are seeing a friend of Maggie's tomorrow and another one on Saturday. We have no idea what Tosh has planned for us yet, but I am sure it will be fun. I love having our own special tour guides. I'm so glad Maggie has been drawn to Japanese friends even before this trip. They are all giving us such precious memories and making us love this country and its people even more.

A Rainy Day in Kyoto

We hadn't made strong plans for our Hiroshima trip, so when I could tell Maggie was enjoying sleeping in, I decided she probably needed the rest. Well, until I needed to check out the very loud expresso machine for a caffeine fix. I didn't know it was loud, but yeah....think jet taking off in the room. Any regrets about waking Maggie? No....I am a bit selfish when it comes to the first in room coffee I have had on our trip.

Travel is tiring. Maggie wanted to wake slowly. Well, after the initial shock of the coffee taking off shocked her awake. Plus it was raining....not ideal for touring Hiroshima. So, we decided on a lazy day in Kyoto,

Oh, I know we're supposed to go to the golden shrine and the silver shrine and such and I am sure we would have enjoyed that. We learned they were about a 30-minute cab drive away (we're staying in central Kyoto) But as I keep reminding myself, this is Maggie's trip and needs to reflect who she is now. Maggie is not really about shrines and history and such. She is 21, and still very in touch with her inner child. She loves to play. I do, too. So we went for a fun day in Kyoto.

Maggie was smart enough to pack a rain jacket, and she wasn't even aware rainy season was starting. I was, but yeah....never packed one. So I get wet. We'll see if I buy one before the trip is over. Strong possibility.

We first went to the food markets. So many interesting things, I wish we had her friends around to tell us what some were. We tasted a sweet sake from one of the vendors. It was good....but we didn't want to carry a bottle around. We started looking for somewhere to eat. We were looking for a Okonomiyaki (savory pancake) restaurant that the concierge had recommended.....one of the things I had not yet tried. We never did find it, but Maggie saw a "real" pancake house. OK....I knew dinner was possibly not going to be to her liking, so it was local and not an American chain.....I was in! The pancakes were thick. Not very sweet. I had carmelized bananas, she had fruit and chocolate sauce. There was whipped cream....something I would normally say "no" to....but we both agreed it was great. OK....not the typical lunch, but we were full when we left and it really was good.

So then it was time for the high point of Maggie's day. Time to play dress up. We went to a place where she was made up and dressed up as a geisha. Well, actually as a maiko....a geisha in training (she liked the outfit choices better.) I opted to watch (I had done something similar with my friends the Bradys when they lived in Okinawa) and truthfully it is pretty fun to watch and relax,You wouldn't believe the layers of fabric that it takes to make a geisha. Maggie said she could barely breathe.

A Japanese mother and daughter were there when we were and I believe they were fitting them for their "to keep" kimonos. I knew Maggie would covet the pretty pink one of the daughter....and she did. 

Maggie's friend Shino tells us she mostly wears a kimono on ceremonial occasions.... most recently her college graduation. We have seen many on the streets, though.

After the maiko adventure, we ran back to the hotel to relax before our evening. It was then I realized we had not gotten tickets for Hiroshima tomorrow. The concierge had recommended we do so because she said the lines in the morning can be long. So while Maggie got ready for the evening, I took off running for the subway. I easily found the station at the directions of one of our bellmen (have I said how much I love the staff here?) and made my way to Kyoto station, where the train office is. I tried to remember the stop and the subway line and even landmarks to where it was. It's easy to get screwed up and go on the wrong line. The train office was through a mall area and then out across the street in another building. I only stood in line a minute, completely knew what train I wanted (thank you precious concierge), had the necessary passports and passes, and within a couple of minutes I had tickets. 

I ran back across the street and where I needed to catch the subway, but my first issue was all the subway signs were in Japanese. Usually there is something with English, but I couldn't find it.  I then try the machine, find the English button (we have been doing it in Japanese after watching Shino a few times) and tried to find the station. I should have written it down. What I thought it was....it wasn't. I'm starting to get anxious because we were supposed to leave at 5 to get to the meeting place for our dinner tour we had planned. It's about 10 minutes 'til. So....I try to find something on the internet that shows the station. Nothing. 

I must have looked perplexed because a sweet Japanese guy touched my elbow to get my attention and looked at me as if asking if he could help. I showed him the hotel name and he didn't know it, so he took me to the tourist information booth and waited to make sure a very slow agent helped me. (God bless that sweet man!) While the agent started typing things into a computer,  I saw a diagram of the stations in English and said "That one....that's what I need. It's 220 yen, right? Where do I get that ticket?" She acted like she didn't hear me, and finally as if in slow motion, pointed to a machine. I was off. I get the ticket, run down the subway stars, and realize I don't know what direction I am supposed to head. The one I think is right doesn't match up with the diagram I find on the wall. So I go with the diagram, and chose right. I text Maggie and tell her to meet me in the lobby. 

Luckily I remember the direction I am supposed to leave the station and run back to the hotel. I tell the doorman we will need a taxi but I have to go to the lobby to get Maggie. I go into the lobby. No Maggie. She had run back upstairs because our internet doesn't work in the lobby and she wanted to text me again (she didn't get my second text because she had thought I was already in the lobby.) I texted her and told her to run down fast, and she did. 

We managed to arrive at the meeting place at another hotel close enough to the time that we could fake out the tour guide that we had been looking for her. She comes and points us into another cab, with another couple of tour members, Terry and Sue from Australia. We started talking with them and fell in love with them immediately. They were an older couple who were very well traveled. We stuck with them through the evening show and on the walk to dinner.

The evening show....it was essentially a cultural tour of Japan. Not too long, but started with a short demonstration of some of the womenly arts (tea ceremony, flower arranging and Japanese harp playing). Next was a demonstration of court music, a comic play, dance, and a puppet play. So OK....it was all fine, but the ADD side of me got obsessed with a couple of Japanese men and their cameras. The one in front of me had an awesome camera with a great telephoto lens. He used it like an point and shoot...no zoom and pretty bad pictures (I could see what he was shooting), I wanted to hold out mine and say "Wanna trade?" The other guy was using his cell phone to record the acts. In between he would turn it on himself. I don't know....cracked me up.

We walked through the streets of Gion, where the geishas are usually hanging out. I think they stayed in because of the rain. We head over to dinner and poor Maggie....it was a vegetarian tempura meal. Lots of tofu and soy and strange leaves and vegetables, She liked the green pepper. And the rice. I thought it was all interesting....though most of the time I didn't know what I was eating. I meant to bring the menu home, but forgot. Anyway, the bossy folk in charge separated us from our buddies Terry and Sue. We didn't like that. But we were grouped with a young woman from Singapore (there by herself) and a couple that seemed to only speak French.

After dinner there was a tea ceremony and they led the five of us there. It was not handicapped friendly and the French lady seemed to have Parkinson's or something similar, The young guy that was leading the intro to the tea ceremony seemed oblivious to this couple. Maggie kept staying behind to help, but there were wet rocks and the terrain was uneven. Finally the guy got a clue. Eventually we all made it to the tea house.,.,where those of us besides the French couple had to go in a dog door. So maybe it wasn't a dog door, but it felt like it. But that's evidently how the tea houses work, That was the doir and what looked like a door was actually the window. (They did let the French couple in that way.) The French couple continued to do the tea ceremony their own way, which made us giggle a time or two. They disobeyed all of the ritual and simply drank the tea down. We enjoyed them. The ceremony was fun overall and a good ending to our evening. They put us in a cab back to our hotel and now we're enjoying night two of our three-night stay. Tomorrow really us Hiroshima, though we haven't made strong plans for the day. But we have our tickets and we will see what we can find. 

On to Kyoto

We....OK I.....had decided we needed to go to Kyoto for a few days to see a different side of Japanese life. I knew this was going to be a hard day. I had bought seven-day Japan Rail Tickets back in the states because you can't buy them in Japan. They are a bit pricey, but the Kyoto trip itself almost covered the fare. Plus I wanted (needed?) to go to Hiroshima....and since it is closer to Kyoto we will travel there from here. If we figure out somewhere else we want to go in the train in those 7-days, we travel for free on the pass. Anyway, Kyoto and Hiroshima were my idea,.,,I admit it. I did plan it during the week so we could spend weekends with Maggie's friends in Tokyo, however,

We go have been waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. Maggie usually goes back to sleep for a while after this. We had to check out if our Airbnb apartment by 11, but dreading this trip I decided we needed to leave by 10. Around 8:30 I woke Maggie up. She wasn't quite ready to be awake, so I did feel a bit guilty....but there were a lot of steps to our day and I figured she could sleep on the 3-hour train ride to Kyoto. We had a couple of different options for stations where we could redeem our rail passes. Maggie mapped it out and we set out. She is quite the expert.

While we planned luggage pretty well in one sense (big bagpacks and a carry on), they are still rather heavy and they are getting a bit heavier as time goes on. Especially with the million subway stairs you walk up and down while carrying it all. We maneuvered the subway, then had about a 15-minute walk to where we redeemed the voucher. Keep in mind that Maggie had not had a full meal since lunch the day before because I wasn't feeling well that night....and Maggie likes her three meals a day. And I woke her up before she was ready. We knew the walk to the next station wasn't too far, but the map wasn't good. It started to get stressful. We definitely didn't need extra steps. There was a line of cabs there, so I decided it was time for Maggie's first cab ride ever. Definitely money well spent. The route would have been a bear to walk with luggage. 

We take the taxi to the service center, and find the place where they give us our vouchers and a ticket for a trip to Kyoto. Problem was it was getting ready to leave. No time for lunch. Maggie agrees it will be OK (and I verified there were McDonald's in Kyoto and there were none close to the station where we were), so off we go. We headed through the station, but there us absolutely nothing on our tickets that match up with the signage around us, We keep asking folks and each advances us a bit more. The last was a fare agent, so I felt fairly confident we got on the right train, but without sugn confirmation I wondered. I only confirmed it about an hour into our journey.

The train was great. Clean, well maintained, racks overhead for our large luggage. It was quiet and peaceful....conversation is really frowned upon on public transport here, especially loud conversation. We passed some beautiful scenery and some big farming and industrial areas, The three hours flew by and it actually was a very enjoyable experience. Maggie caught up on some sleep and re-gained most of her zen.

We arrive in Kyoto, and by then we just want to dump our luggage and find Maggie her McDonald's. Neither of us felt like thinking at that point (and finding your way requires your full brain here), so time for our second cab of the day. We arrive at our third accommodation of the trip and it is a definite upgrade from our first two. Our room is beautiful, The staff is attentive. It will be a wonderful place to rest for a few days. 

As I checked us in, Maggie is getting directions to the nearest McDonald's from another staff member. We put our things in our room, and set out to find it. It was about a 10-minute walk away. We are almost there (the Golden Arches are in our sight) and I am greeted by five children, one who solemnly tells me they are junior high students studying English and asks if I would answer some questions for them. They take turns asking me questions. "What is your name?" "Where are you from?" (North Carolina was a bit advanced....I quickly added USA, America. I think America made the cut.) "Why are you here?" "What do you like about Japan?" They took turns and all were excellent in their delivery. They asked if they could take a picture of me at the end. I said if I could take a picture of them. We told them they were speaking English very well, and their giggles were precious. As we left I said "Come to the USA and visit us sometime and they looked like they liked the idea of that." (And for my UNC Model UN'ers....no, I didn't tell them where I lived. Oops.) It was a wonderful encounter and they made my day. I wish their teacher had been around....they were obviously very good at their job and I would have loved to tell them.

But then in a few steps we were in a Nirvana....also known as McDonald's. As we ate (and it admittedly was good!) Maggie  contemplated whether she should get an extra burger to eat later. I talked her out of it. Cold McDonald's? Ick. But I suspect we may see McDonald's again. Along with the Pizza Hut that is just a block away from our hotel. But really....she is trying Japanese food, too, so I'm going with it. And she is loving the Japanese chocolate and finding her favorite snacks Shino sent her over the years and eating plenty of them....that counts!

Walking home we went into two different grocery stores. One didn't have the snacks she sought, but we found a bargain there on water (33 yen per bottle). At the other store I waited outside while she collected snacks for Kyoto. She came out with a filled bag. She's afraid I am not going to feed her!

When we got back to the room I drew Maggie's attention to our fancy Japanese toilet (really....I have to bring these up each place we stay because they are all different and fascinating.) Her squeals when she pushed buttons had me laughing so hard I cried.

Then Maggie decided to try the in-room massage. This tiny little Japanese lady came, and she packed some power! Maggie said it hurt at first, but then started to feel good. The foot massage especially looked awesome. I'm trying to hold out for Diana time when I get back (Diana is my friend and awesome massage therapist), but yeah....if tomorrow brings as much pain to my feet as prior days have, I just may cheat on her!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will visit Hiroshima....at the top of my list to see in Japan since reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich in high school. It's a two-hour train ride there and back, but worth it, I think. Of course we have made no real plans, so if we wake up too late or logistics seem too burdensome, we will tour Kyoto tomorrow and wait until the next day. We're flexible...we're on vacation!

(View from this room.)