Konnichiwa, Japan! (Kyoto, Japan)

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(Day 147 on the road)I arrived in Kobe, Japan, after a 54h ferry crossing from Tianjin in China. The sailing was smooth, and I spent most of the time either sleeping or sitting on deck reading my book and watching the ocean go by. It was nice to be forced to do nothing for two days after all the running around in Beijing during the Olympics. Immigration into Japan then was tedious and took over two hours. Once in Kobe, I took the train to Kyoto, about two hours away.

One of the first experiences in Japan was buying a snack at the train station: The cash register didn't have a drawer that opened so the sales person could take out the money. Rather, the attendant keyed in the amount due and the amount I had given him, and the cash point then spit out the change due automatically. It was then that I realised that I had arrived in one of the most efficient countries on earth...

In Kyoto, I met up with my friend Ann, who had come over from London to visit me for a week. It was great to see a familiar face from my "old life" after being on the road for almost five months by now! Kyoto is famous for its beautiful temples and gardens, and we spent two and a half days wandering around, visiting amongst others the Imperial Palace. Walking the streets, we also realised that Japanese fashion is very very different from anything I have ever seen. We saw women in fell boots and hot pants, with woollen hats, with hold-up stockings and extremely short skirts, guys with amazing hair-styles, and in between business men with suits and ties. What a wild crowd!

On the second day, we took off for Tokyo to spend the next four days there.

Next stop: Tokyo (Japan).



To view my photos, have a look at pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).

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Comments

[Adam]

Hi, I was curious as to how much the ferry was from Tianjin - Kobe? Also, did you have to make reservations for the ferry and, if so, how long in advance? The reason why I am inquiring, is because I am planning on taking this same route, as well. Thanks! Adam