Japan, Day 8: Kyoto and Japanese TV
Today was, in some ways, a bust. I explored Kyoto, but found little of interest. I ended up wandering Kyoto Station, which is itself a marvel of engineering. To give you an idea of its scale: the extreme west end of the station consists of a department store that’s 13 floors high. Not just 13 floors up; it goes from floor 1 to floor 13. And that doesn’t even reach the top of the station. […]
Japan, Day 7: Kyoto’s Temples and Gardens
As I mentioned yesterday, I took a quick walk up to a nearby temple to verify its location. Today, I woke up early and decided to head right up. For breakfast, I didn’t want to waste time, so I crossed the street to Kyoto Station and popped into the 7–11. I polished off an energy bar and a bottle of milk, then headed north. I soon arrived at Nishi-Honganji. It’s hard to get across just how huge it is. According to the placard […]
Japan, Day 6: Bullet Train Travel
I awoke early, at 6:15am, and I’m glad I did. I had plenty of time to stretch, dress, and walk around Kakunodate with my camera before leaving. Low clouds hung over Kakunodate, and the air held the cool promise of autumn. I returned to the river walk and took more photos, though the diffused light did the river no justice. Back to the hotel, where I reluctantly gathered my belongings and checked out. I told the staff that this was my first […]
Japan, Day 5: Kakunodate, the Town of Samurai
Today worried me. (Worry is a theme of this trip.) This was my last day in Tokyo; I had to get up to Kakunodate, about 3 hours north of Tokyo. I knew I had to take a single bullet train from Tokyo Station, but I wanted to get to Kakunodate by lunch, which meant a fairly early start. To get to Kakunodate by lunch time, I’d have to leave Tokyo around 9:00am. This meant facing the legendary […]
Japan, Day 4: Imperial Palace and Akihabara
Today would be my day of culture and errands. I wanted to visit the Imperial Palace, and find a few things I needed: an AC adapter for my laptop (it was just too convenient to check the weather and change reservations from the laptop), and an extra SD card (I’d already burned through most of a 16 GB and all of a 2 GB card). I also needed extra cash; I’m used to operating mostly with cash and had already spent […]