Crossing Bridges: Journey to Kyoto
I had never been in a typhoon before, but this was poor timing on Mother Nature's part.
We woke up to see a dark, cloudy sky threatening to unleash its rain on Tokyo. Our bags were packed and we were getting excited for the next leg of our Japan adventure. The only worry was what the weather was planning on doing.
We ate our breakfast down in the lobby, my eyes constantly going back and forth between the food and the sky, anticipating the impending storm. It was morning, but the darkness of the clouds made it seem like it was night. Once we finished eating, we grabbed our bags and checked out of the hotel, saying goodbye to the front desk attendants. Then we were off to the train station. I took one last look at my surroundings and felt a pang of sadness as we passed the bookstore. I had come to love this little area and I wished I could've spent more time there. But the journey must continue, so after checking the vending machine one last time for Dr. Pepper (of which there was still none), we entered the station and made our way back towards Tokyo Station.
Today was the first time I would ride the Shinkansen, or bullet train. Getting tickets for this train was set up different from the average ticket station. I couldn't figure out how to work the machine, but luckily one of the station attendants saw me struggling and came over to help. We hauled our luggage through the gates and up the stairs to the platform. The train pulled into the station, and after a few minutes of waiting for it to be cleaned, we boarded. I sat down in my seat and took a deep breath, grateful that the ticket fiasco was over. I was hoping that would be the only drawback of the day. (Mother Nature had other ideas but we'll get to that in a minute.)
The train pulled out of the station and I said goodbye to Tokyo one more time. Even in the gray light, Japan was beautiful. Since I was more awake on this train ride than I was on the ride from the airport to Tokyo, I could fully enjoy the sights. The train ride from Tokyo to Kyoto was about three and a half hours, so we had a lot of different landscapes and cities to look at as we went south.
By the time we got to Kyoto, the typhoon was settling in and rain was beginning to fall from the sky. We quickly ran from the Shinkansen to a local train as the rain came down harder. When we finally reached our last stop, the storm was in full swing. Fortunately, most of the street had covered walkways. Unfortunately, the covers ended with the sidewalk, since Yasaka Shrine sat at the end of the street. Once we realized we couldn't go further without getting soaked, we hailed a cab. Our hotel was right next to Yasaka shrine, so there wasn't far to go. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication between us and the taxi driver when we stopped, and we ended up walking in the wrong direction once we got out of the cab (even though we later discovered he had parked right in front of our hotel). By the time we had figured out we were going the wrong way, we were at the end of the street and were completely soaked. I donated my umbrella to my friend because her electronics were in danger of getting wet, and there were no covers to hide under, so you can imagine it wasn't a whole heck of a lot of fun. At least it wasn't cold.
We turned around and walked back down the street. At the opposite end, we found our hotel. As we walked in, a doorman came to help us inside. As we checked in, he brought us some towels to help us dry off. After one of the most stressful days, his act of kindness almost made me cry. I don't remember how many times I thanked him for his help. We got our keys and headed up to our room. We felt a new wave of excitement as we opened the door. It was a traditional Japanese room, or "Washitsu" (和室). Immediately, we began freaking out.
We quickly took our shoes off at the genkan (玄関; this is the entrance you will see in a lot of houses) and stepped up into the room. To the left of the genkan, there was a door for the toilet room. In most Japanese homes, the toilet is separate from the sink and bathtub. In front of the genkan was a doorway to the sink, and just beyond that was the shower/bathtub. There was a sliding door just waiting to be opened, and when we did we gasped. The room was covered in tatami mats, with a chabudai (ちゃぶ台; short-legged table) sitting in the middle of the room. A pair of Shoji doors slid open to reveal a hardwood eating nook, complete with a little breakfast table, coffee bar, and refrigerator. A closet holding the futons was on the opposite side of the room. I pranced and jumped around the room, taking it all in. I had seen many pictures and videos of these kinds of rooms, but I never believed that I would be able to stay in one. And it was truly the most amazing room I'd ever stayed in. If I could've stayed there forever, that would've been fine with me.
After we got settled in the room, the weather started to calm down. Once the rain had stopped, we decided to go out and explore a bit. Down the street, we found a couple vending machines. Further down we found a 7-Eleven, a Lawson and a Starbucks. We explored the street leading up to Yasaka Shrine easily now that we weren't dragging heavy luggage through pouring rain. Along that street were multiple local stores and a lot of the merchandise were handmade items. So far, Kyoto had a lot of things going for it, and I already found myself falling in love with this historic city.
Once we were adventured out for the day, we returned to the hotel and took turns using the shower and bathtub. As I sat in the tub, I let all the stress of the day melt away. It was so relaxing, I didn't want to get out. I hadn't taken a bath since I was a kid, and I didn't really enjoy it then. But wow did I enjoy it now. Once I had finally garnered the strength to get out of the tub, I got into my pajamas and put my futon together with my friend's help. I watched TV until my brain told me it was time to sleep. I snuggled under the fluffy comforter. warm and cozy, and took a deep breath, letting the exhaustion take me off to dreamland.
We woke up to see a dark, cloudy sky threatening to unleash its rain on Tokyo. Our bags were packed and we were getting excited for the next leg of our Japan adventure. The only worry was what the weather was planning on doing.
We ate our breakfast down in the lobby, my eyes constantly going back and forth between the food and the sky, anticipating the impending storm. It was morning, but the darkness of the clouds made it seem like it was night. Once we finished eating, we grabbed our bags and checked out of the hotel, saying goodbye to the front desk attendants. Then we were off to the train station. I took one last look at my surroundings and felt a pang of sadness as we passed the bookstore. I had come to love this little area and I wished I could've spent more time there. But the journey must continue, so after checking the vending machine one last time for Dr. Pepper (of which there was still none), we entered the station and made our way back towards Tokyo Station.
Today was the first time I would ride the Shinkansen, or bullet train. Getting tickets for this train was set up different from the average ticket station. I couldn't figure out how to work the machine, but luckily one of the station attendants saw me struggling and came over to help. We hauled our luggage through the gates and up the stairs to the platform. The train pulled into the station, and after a few minutes of waiting for it to be cleaned, we boarded. I sat down in my seat and took a deep breath, grateful that the ticket fiasco was over. I was hoping that would be the only drawback of the day. (Mother Nature had other ideas but we'll get to that in a minute.)
The train pulled out of the station and I said goodbye to Tokyo one more time. Even in the gray light, Japan was beautiful. Since I was more awake on this train ride than I was on the ride from the airport to Tokyo, I could fully enjoy the sights. The train ride from Tokyo to Kyoto was about three and a half hours, so we had a lot of different landscapes and cities to look at as we went south.
By the time we got to Kyoto, the typhoon was settling in and rain was beginning to fall from the sky. We quickly ran from the Shinkansen to a local train as the rain came down harder. When we finally reached our last stop, the storm was in full swing. Fortunately, most of the street had covered walkways. Unfortunately, the covers ended with the sidewalk, since Yasaka Shrine sat at the end of the street. Once we realized we couldn't go further without getting soaked, we hailed a cab. Our hotel was right next to Yasaka shrine, so there wasn't far to go. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication between us and the taxi driver when we stopped, and we ended up walking in the wrong direction once we got out of the cab (even though we later discovered he had parked right in front of our hotel). By the time we had figured out we were going the wrong way, we were at the end of the street and were completely soaked. I donated my umbrella to my friend because her electronics were in danger of getting wet, and there were no covers to hide under, so you can imagine it wasn't a whole heck of a lot of fun. At least it wasn't cold.
We turned around and walked back down the street. At the opposite end, we found our hotel. As we walked in, a doorman came to help us inside. As we checked in, he brought us some towels to help us dry off. After one of the most stressful days, his act of kindness almost made me cry. I don't remember how many times I thanked him for his help. We got our keys and headed up to our room. We felt a new wave of excitement as we opened the door. It was a traditional Japanese room, or "Washitsu" (和室). Immediately, we began freaking out.
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| Rough Layout of the Hotel Room |
After we got settled in the room, the weather started to calm down. Once the rain had stopped, we decided to go out and explore a bit. Down the street, we found a couple vending machines. Further down we found a 7-Eleven, a Lawson and a Starbucks. We explored the street leading up to Yasaka Shrine easily now that we weren't dragging heavy luggage through pouring rain. Along that street were multiple local stores and a lot of the merchandise were handmade items. So far, Kyoto had a lot of things going for it, and I already found myself falling in love with this historic city.
Once we were adventured out for the day, we returned to the hotel and took turns using the shower and bathtub. As I sat in the tub, I let all the stress of the day melt away. It was so relaxing, I didn't want to get out. I hadn't taken a bath since I was a kid, and I didn't really enjoy it then. But wow did I enjoy it now. Once I had finally garnered the strength to get out of the tub, I got into my pajamas and put my futon together with my friend's help. I watched TV until my brain told me it was time to sleep. I snuggled under the fluffy comforter. warm and cozy, and took a deep breath, letting the exhaustion take me off to dreamland.
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