We woke to a bright and clear day on the Narada River. Of course we had the typical Japanese breakfast. You’d think I’d get used to it by now. But no, I can tolerate it less and less. I managed to get down the partially cooked egg on rice with soy sauce but that was it. No more cold fish or other stuff which I can’t even identify. There was no coffee. On my way back to the room I spotted a vending machine which had a can of cold latte. That helped. Then, at the train station, the first thing we spotted was a French bakery. So I had a real breakfast with a cappuccino.
This is a travel day. We’re travelling from Gifu to Kyoto by way of Nagoya.
We’re already learned that Gifu is the crossroads of Japan. There are only local trains through here. Signs in the station are in Japanese only and it’s difficult for tourists to find their train.
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is Japan's third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area. It is located on the Pacific coast on central Honshu. It is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Kitakyushu. It is also the center of Japan's third-largest metropolitan region, known as the Choky Metropolitan Area. As of 2015, 2.28 million people lived in the city, part of Chūkyō Metropolitan Area's 9.10 million people. Both the local and bullet trains come here. The electric signs, although primarily Japanese, would occasionally flash English.
From Nagoya to Kyoto we’re on the Shinsanken, bullet train. These are things of beauty when their long sleek cars pass through a station. Inside they’re whisper quiet and smooth, even at high speeds. Of course there is free wi-fi on board.
I screwed up our hotel reservations in Kyoto. They were supposed to be by the train station but the ones I made are by the bus station. This is a couple of miles and an $18 cab ride from where we wanted to be. However, our hotel is quite nice and the reception staff speaks good English.
At the Kyoto train station there were two taxi lines, one for Japanese and one for visitors. We stood in the visitor line for 15 minutes and not one taxi arrived. During this time there were probably 50 pickups for the locals. I approached the guy I thought was running the show to show him I had the hotel address in Japanese and ask if we could possibly get in the local line. But he turned away from me. I had noticed a couple of taxis parked on the side and occasionally someone, someone important I imagined, would be directed to these parked taxis. One of the drivers of these parked taxis saw me and came over. I showed him my directions and he said “come”. And he took us to within a half block to our hotel. Otherwise, I might still be standing there.
A local map furnished by the hotel says we’re in the Gion area. Just a subset of this part of town, maybe 10 blocks wide and 6 blocks tall contain 4 7-11’s and 3 Circle K’s.
We go to the Mall for dinner and find PASTA. Hamburgers for lunch and Penne Pasta for dinner. Life doesn’t get much better. We check out the subway for tomorrow’s trip to the train station. I’m skeptical but Brenda thinks we can do it. We’re meeting our friends for a 9-hour walking tour of the town. Kyoto is booming at 8 pm. Stores are open. Everything is well lit. The streets are full of people. Makes you think you’re in New York.
Glad you found some good ole American food! I would never make it there with the food.
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