Sayonara Tokyo, konichiwa Kyoto

Well it is with a heavy heart that we left Tokyo today but the journey continues. We boarded another bullet train this morning and in a matter of just over two and a half hours we arrived in Kyoto.

Having left Tokyo on the quietest day of the week, we were surprised to find Kyoto station an absolute hive of activity. We had planned to catch a bus to our next hotel but after taking one look at the queue and another at our luggage, we quickly decided that a taxi was in order! We are now in a small guesthouse with only 3 guest rooms, right in the heart of old Kyoto. There are hundreds of tourists milling around the area so for once we don't stick out like sore thumbs.

The guest house owner is a lovely lady and she told us there was an antique market on in the ground of one of the temples. When she mentioned that they also sell cheap second hand kimonos, Glynn knew I was about to go into shopping mode!

We made it to the market quite late and some of the stalls were staring to pack up but thankfully we did have enough time to check out the many of the oddities and antiques for sale. The best way to describe the market really is that it was like a Japanese car boot sale. After trying on a few kimonos (there are literally thousands available here), I found a really lovely black one - surprise, surprise. I also found a couple of beautiful sashes to go with it though I couldn't find a traditional waist band to match. In all though it cost just 1200 Yen - about 6 quid - bargain!! Now all I have to do is post it home - feel free to try it on Mary! (that's Glynn's mum for those of you who don't know).

It seems to be very easy to travel around Kyoto. In Tokyo we did everything by train or metro, here they do everything by bus. It's a flat fee for any single journey (220 Yen or about one pound ten) or you can get an all day travel ticket for a bargain 500 Yen. Tonight we're going to try and find the covered food market and get some grub for dinner. Tomorrow we have arranged to meet up with another free guide for a tour of the city. Excellent!

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