Japan 2010 Day 3

110910 1447 local time (GMT +9)
Kyoto, Japan

Another walk down memory lane for me, literally. After a futile search for a breakfast place, we headed up the all-to-familiar shopping street below Kiyomizu temple. This has to be one of two locations in Japan I am most intimately familiar with, and I'm on a bus to the second now.

At the top I tried something new- a walk down a literally pitch black tunnel, representing some Buddha's room. It was as if my eyes were completely closed.

Following that, we explored the main temple, and I said hi to my good fire extinguisher friends. We then proceeded down the shopping street to find some lunch.

I had a Kaiseki meal for lunch, which is a traditional Japanese way of eating involving many small courses, and a changing menu depending on the season. This was long and expensive, but really delicious and the presentation of the courses was superb.

Now on another bus, let's see where this takes me.

2300 local time (GMT +9)
Osaka, Japan

What an exhausting day.

When I last left off, I was on a bus to Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavillion. I've seen her many times, but she remains my favourite spot in Kyoto.

Following that, we took a JR train to Kobe, as opposed to the private railways we'd been on for the past couple of days. JR trains, I found, tend to be faster and smoother, and have forward facing seats, a big plus for me.

While on this JR train, I saw a sight which captured my imagination. As we were gaining speed out of Kyoto, we were overtaken by one of the most elegant trains in the world, a Shinkansen 700 series. It overtook us, then banked left and swooped away, almost like an aircraft.

Once in Kobe we headed somewhere to try the Kobe beef. This was quite good, but also exorbitant. Following that, we took a Nozomi service back to Osaka. Nozomi is the fastest of the three Shinkansen, though the only difference is in the number of stops, and since Osaka was the next stop, there's no difference no matter which you take. Still, the experience was nice, the speed and smoothness of the ride was evident.

After walking around Dotonburi and sending my brother off to the airport, we headed for the hotel near the Shinkansen station, thus ending my last full day in Japan. It seems so short now...




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