ようこそ! Welcome To Kyoto!

ようこそ! Welcome to Kansai Itami International Airport! I can't believe we got to ride upstairs on the plane. That was a first for me. Last year we had a row to ourselves, this year we get to fly in the business class section. That was very nice of the JAL agent. Why can't we get that type of service here in Hawaii? Isn't Hawaii supposed to be service oriented also?

We have lost one day already. It's Tuesday, yet my mind still knows that it's Monday back at home (へこむ!). What is there to do? We have some free time to go find something to eat or just wander around.

A group of us try to find a way to the 3rd floor with our carts. Come to find out, they do not allow any carts on the 3rd floor. It makes sense. You don't want to meiwaku and leave your cart outside of the restaurant or even bring it into the restaurant. In the end, me, Travis, and Amanda wander around trying to figure out what we would like to eat. Instead of finding something to eat, we find something even better, UNIQLO!

Time to head towards our hotel in Kyoto. It's approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. What is there to do? I am really trying hard to force myself to stay up. The only thing I can do to stay up is to take pictures of things I see on the way. The ride from the airport is like last year. There are many of those sound barriers around residential areas. I wonder if those things really work.

It is slowly turning dark. I notice that certain areas on the road are wet. I realize that it's raining. What a relief. Maybe it will be like last year where the temperature will be cooler and it will be rainy (^_^). It seems like an eternity before we reach the first bus stop. Only two more stops and we will be at the hotel.

We finally reach our hotel a little after 8:00 P.M. There we meet Yoko (久しぶり!). She already has checked us in. Now we have some free time to get settled and get some food (ああ、お腹がすいた!)

The boys go off on their own, but the rest of us join Jayson and Yoko in exploring JR Kyoto Station and finding a place to eat.


JR Kyoto Station is very unique in how it is constructed. My perception of Kyoto was that it was very traditional and prided themselves in preserving the past. The JR Kyoto Station is far from being traditional. In DK Eyewitness Travel: Japan it states that the station provides a futuristic entity in Japan's old imperial capital. Even though it is looks very futuristic, Eyewitness Travel says that it "ironically resembles a traditional wooden Kyoto house: pleasant in summer, but drafty and cold in winter." I wouldn't know if that statement is true. I have never seen or been in a traditional Kyoto house. I will just take the author's word.


As we head up the escalators, we stop to look at the Kyoto Tower on top of the Kyoto Tower Hotel. There isn't much information about this tower. I know Jayson was talking about the reasons for it but I don't remember. I should have taken some notes on it. Both DK Eyewitness Travel and Must-See in Kyoto do not mention the Kyoto Tower. Looking online, I found the official website of the Kyoto Tower and Kyoto Tower Hotel (http://kyoto-tower.co.jp/kyototower/index.html). It's too bad that the site is in Japanese. What I can make out of the information page is that the Kyoto Tower was built in December 1964. It was built to present an image of Kyoto being a city that lights the way like a lighthouse (I don't know if that is the correct translation).

We finally make it to the restaurant area in the station, only to find out that they are all closing (T_T). In the end, we head out of the station and find a Chinese restaurant. How strange. We go all the way to Japan to eat Chinese food the first night. It's better than eating nothing.

It's getting late and we all have to meet up early for a busy day of temple hopping. It reminds me of the day we went to Kamakura. I'm not too crazy about the amount of walking we're probably going to do tomorrow.