Today was a transition day where we were moving from our Disney Hotel to our hotel in Kyoto. We had booked our bullet train for after lunch which meant we had plenty of time to get ready and get some breakfast. There wasn't much open so we stopped at McDonalds. It has most of what you would expect but adds several Japanese inspired options as well. We spent a bit of time wandering the mall and I took some photos of the outside of the restaurants. Most of them have these food displays where they have crafted models of what's on the menu. They seem to be really good at the Japanese foods but some of the western style meals don't quite look right.
Our experience with the bullet train was a bit hectic. The gate to check out of the regular train and into the bullet train is the same, so you have to have both your wallet and QR code available. Plus there is a separate line for physical tickets and about 500 people all trying to figure it out. Luckily there was someone there to help us through. The train itself was incredibly smooth and you only realize how fast you are going when you pass another train. You can't even count the cars as it passes. We had reserved seats and they didn't even check our tickets. I guess they figure if we had to check in the gate with a ticket and there are no arguments on seats, everything must be good.
There were trains leaving the station every couple of minutes and everything was precisely on time. You only had a couple of minutes to get on and off the train. With so many trains running, ruthless efficiency was a must. I can't imagine how much chaos there must be when a delay happens. We arrived right on time in Kyoto and checked into our hotel. The entrance is in a back ally but the hotel was very nice. I'm amazed at the craftsmanship of the room itself. Cabinets are installed square, wood details are perfect, and everything is built with materials that will last. Our layout is great for our family with four separate beds.
Once we had checked in and dropped off our things, we attempted to go to one of the local temples. Kyoto is known specifically for it's temples and shrines and there was a nice one near our hotel however the gates closed at 4:00p even though the area itself was open to 5:00p. Kyoto is a very different city than Tokyo. There are a lot more personal vehicles on the road and there are a lot more cyclists. There are designated bike lanes but the line between sidewalk and bike lane is a bit fuzzy so you have to watch where you're going. The other big difference is the buildings are a lot shorter, typically less than 10 stories in our area.
It was time for dinner so we headed to the Nishiki market. We focused on the main roadway which was mostly food. The whole thing is covered and there are open food stalls gong for several blocks. It's sort of like Granville Island. There were also non food stalls that branched off from the main area but we didn't have a lot of time so we never got a chance to check those out. We did buy a few food items including some Wagyu beef cooked with a blow torch which was excellent but admittedly we ended our evening at KFC. It was open later and was on our list to do just for fun anyways. It was effectively the same though I feel they were a bit heavier with the 11 herbs and spices.
We also grabbed a few drinks on our way back to the hotel. Although I was expecting more 'fancy' vending machines with things like cupcakes and food items, the reality is there are drink vending machines on every block and often more. You can find them on the main streets as well as the ally's. The drinks are also very cheap ranging from $1.50 to $2.00 Canadian for everything from water to sugar free ice teas, coffee drinks and Coke. On a hot day it's nice to be able to grab a drink wherever you are. Tomorrow we will explore more Kyoto.
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