Blogs from Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan, Asia - page 8

I thought that Japan had shown me it all would regarding fancy toilets, but I was in for a surprise in a most unsuspecting place. I had previously booked a one day cycle tour of Kyoto after reading great reviews on Trip Advisor with Cycle Kyoto and so we turned up at the backstreet office near Kyoto Station at 9.30am. Greeted by Jaime, a Chilean guy who has lived in Japan for 20 years, we clambered past the many bikes in the cramped room to the low sofas at the back to wait for the other people. Through a small sliding door behind us was a compartment containing the 'restroom' - a pale avocado all-in-one sink and loo. The sink area was the top of the cistern with a solitary tap that had no mechanism to ... read more

The day started with rain, lots of rain and continued with more rain. I just don't know how rain can keep raining so much without running out of rain. I really don't. Looking out of the window this morning, my heart sank a little as it was raining as hard as rain can. Never mind, I said, a bit of rain won't stop us seeing Kyoto - we've come a long way and as always, no time to waste. But it wasn't just a bit of rain. Kyoto Station is pretty awesome and gets a few paragraphs (a futuristic entry into Japan's old imperial capital, etc) and a photo in my guidebook which proved to me that this was a station to see - although I'd already seen much of it. It has many floors, shops ... read more

Trains, rains and crap automobiles. Kyoto adventures part 1. Boxes on wheels. What is it with the boxes on wheels here? As everything else gets more streamlined the cars in Japan offer about as much streamlining as Henry Rollins' head. The cars would probably be economical in the first place but surely even more so if a bit of aerodynamics was applied. I suppose it's all part of the Japanese determination to be different, something which is apparent in more ways than their transport preferences. We've already mentioned the slipper sagas, public nudity and terrifying toilets...and that's just the beginning! But this is all part of why we're here. To see trains that run on time, to sample food they wouldn't even serve in Blighty and to be helped by so many polite and friendly people ... read more

Well after an amazing 1 1/2 days in Tokyo we caught the Bullet train to Kyoto which was pretty straight forwards. The train left bang on time & travelled at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour which sometimes made you feel like you had a bit of motion sickness. We felt like 1 of the locals as we all had bento boxes to munch on the training with Starbucks coffees as apparently that is a Japanese tradition when traveling on the bulllet train. Once we arrived in Kyoto station we went to the information desk eventually as John couldn't figure out where the car hire company was & gave in & let me ask for help. Just a couple of minutes walk from the station we arrived at the car hire desk. We were ... read more

Difficile de résumer Kyoto en quelques lignes. L'ancienne capitale du Japon offre encore une ambiance très particulière avec ses petites rues d'une autre époque dans le quartier Gion, certainement l'un plus beaux quartiers du Japon. Tout au sud, il ne faut pas manquer le sanctuaire Fushimi Inari avec ses milliers de toriis orangés qui s'accrochent à la colline qui surplombe la ville. Cette image est en effet l'une des plus connues du Japon. Malgré la pluie et la chaleur écrasante, nous avons réussi à grimper au travers d'une partie de ce couloir magique pour y apprécier l'unique sanctuaire consacré au dieu du riz et du sake. À l'origine chaque torii était élevé à leurs noms par des agriculteurs, dans l'espoir d'une récolte satisfaisante. De nos jours, ce sont plutôt les commerçants actuels qui les paient pour ... read more