Japan Day 2

            Alexa, Liz, and I met for breakfast before heading out for the day.  We decided we wanted to visit Kyoto.  Liz and I wanted to see a place with lots of Cherry Blossoms and Alexa wanted to see a temple that had been used in the filming for Memoirs of a Geisha.  I haven’t seen that movie, so I can’t really say much else about that part…

            Anyway, we got on the train and headed towards Kyoto.  It was about an hour and a half long ride, but on the way we got to see a lot of Japan through the windows of the train!  When the train stopped and we got to Kyoto we went to the tourist station to get a map and then stepped out into the pouring rain.  I was the only one who had brought an umbrella and it was very small, so we went to look for umbrellas first.

            We spent most of the day walking around.  We stopped in several temples and shrines and at a vending machine that handed out hot drinks.  Mine was so hot I had to put it in my jacket pocket and not touch it for about five minutes until it cooled down.  At the preport meeting they had told us you can buy practically anything in a vending machine in Japan, even Smart Cars, but hot drinks was the most interesting thing that I was able to find.

            We stopped in a convenience store between shrines to buy some lunch.  Unfortunately, it’s rude in Japan to eat in public standing up and there were no benches around.  So we walked around with our boxed sushi lunches for a while.

            Liz and I were pretty much dying of hunger at this point and we still couldn’t find anywhere to eat…  So we walked into the woods and sat down by some trash cans to eat our lunch.  I am not sure if that was culturally insensitive or not, but I was really hungry.  Since it had taken us so long to find the temple that Alexa wanted to see, we didn’t have time to visit the Philosopher’s Path and instead we had to head back to the ship.

            I had to get back to the ship in time to pack my things and head our since I wasn’t planning to stay on the ship while it moved from Kobe to Yokohama.  The train ride was another hour and a half long.  When I got back to the ship I packed my things and headed out since I only had a few minutes before I was required to be off ship.

            I met Joe and Josh outside the ship.  We were planning to take an overnight bus to Tokyo and we would be there by morning, but first we stopped for dinner.  I had tempura this time!  I am not sure I ate anything in Japan I didn’t like.

            The overnight bus was fascinating.  It had foot rests, comfy chairs, blankets, and visors that went over your eyes to block out the light.  It was probably the most comfortable night’s sleep I will ever have on a bus ride…  Unless I go back some day and take another one.