Day 5 - Hakone to Kyoto

The began like many others had: in search of coffee!  Our ryokan had a coffee machine in the lobby, so we availed ourselves of a cup to start the day.  We had a myriad of things to do, and a short timetable, so we skipped the breakfast offering from the ryokan and worked on packing up for the next leg of our journey.  After assembling our luggage, we bid farewell to the friendly staff at the front desk and climbed the hill to the bus stop.  In just a few moments, the Touzan bus appeared and carried us to Odawari station, where we would board a high-speed (Shinkansen) train from Odawari to Kyoto.

Arriving at the platform a few minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive, Karl hoped to get a picture or video of the trains speeding through the station.  Sadly, he missed two opportunitties, due to the trains' sudden, yet almost silent appearance.  When our train quietly "whooshed" not the station, we took our seats and found ourselves hurtling through the countryside.  As this was a "short" route with several stops, the Shinkansen was not scheduled to exceed 150mph, not that we could tell the difference between 120mph and 150mph....

Until today, the weather in Japan had been warm and sunny.  Today's forecast included rain for the region, which was sure to add a little complexity to the execution of the day's plans.  Still, the rain was probably welcome to the locals, as it had only rained a few days in the few weeks Karl had been watching the weather.

In just over two hours, we traveled the 240miles from Hakone to Kyoto.  Kyoto, once the old capital of Japan, is known as the most popular tourist location in Japan.  In just a few short moments, we saw considerably more foreigners than we'd seen in Tokyo.  Moreover, we saw many large groups of middle school students, most likely on a school excursion to Kyoto.

Our tour company booked a Japanese tea ceremony with an English-speaking guide for us at a specific time, so we made our way from the train station to our hotel.  While we could take a bus or the subway, we opted for a taxi, to ensure we'd have plenty of time.  In contrast to the classic ryokan we left, our driver delivered us to the front door of the modern Kasamura Kyoto hotel, which could easily pass for an American Hyatt or Westin Hotel.

With a quick change in wardrobe, we were out the door and headed to the subway stop, also conveniently located 20 feet from the hotel lobby.  We took the train to Higashiyama station, just a few blocks from the tea house.  After a short walk, we arrived at our destination.  Our hostess greeted us and led us to a tatami mat-lined room.  The air smelled faintly of incense, from an  stick burning near the door.  We were invited to join a few other guests (a pair of 20-something girls from Switzerland) sitting on the floor.  After a few minutes, our hostess discussed the various preparations for hosting a Japanese tea ceremony, including items such as the fan, tea cups, and so on.  After the introduction, another younger hostess performed the movements of the tea ceremony, gracefully drawing water, heating it, pouring the tea powder, whisking the tea with water and serving it.  Afterwards, she discussed the movements themselves.  After taking a quick picture of her and the arrangements, we concluded our visit to the En Tea House and were back on the rainy street.

We walked back across town to our hotel, and could see Kyoto Tower illuminated in the evening sky.  The tower was adjacent to Kyoto Station and made it easy to enter the malls and shops at the base of the tower, which connected to the shops beneath the station itself.  In the basement of Kyoto Station, the grocers had many upscale food shops.  Delicate tea cakes, ornate box lunches and all manner of foods were available.  Since we couldn't find a seating place to eat, we opted to try the restaurants on the 11th floor.  There, we found an Italian restaurant that served a variety of Italian dishes.

After our meal of spaghetti and steak, we were certainly ready for bed.  Returning home on the subway, we were soon fast asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows!