And so we finished our last day in Tokyo with a food tour. We were joined on the tour by a family of four Americans who were good company.
The tour started with a stop for ramen. You can get variations on this noodle based dish all over Tokyo but this was easily the best I’d tasted. We then had a drink stop featuring some Japanese beer and two more stops, both of which enabled us to try tempura style dishes.
https://tours.arigatojapan.co.jp/
I enjoyed the tour although I did feel it was a little too heavy on battered fried food. Once we had said farewell to the Americans and to our guide we returned to the hotel.
On the way back I took a short detour and paid my 100Yen for another ‘fortune’. Tonight’s turned out to be a “Good fortune”. Apparently ‘my wish will come true and I will be happier like a ship sails before the wind’. Plus – an extra bonus – ‘both building a new house and removal will not cause me any trouble’. Perfect
After breakfast we made our way to Tokyo Station to get the 10.00 bullet train to Kyoto. It was exactly as you might imagine it to be, including departing exactly on time.
Our journey took us past Mount Fuji – Anna got a terrific photo.
We arrived in Kyoto at 12.15 and went straight to the hotel. Our forwarded luggage hadn’t yet arrived and we couldn’t check in but otherwise we felt the hotel was a step up from the hotel in Tokyo
For a start there is a bar and lounge where we can have a drink and relax together. There is also a communal hot bath which we intend to try
We had a couple of hours to kill so we went to the nearby food market which is allegedly a mile long. I’m not sure it really is that but it’s certainly a fair distance
We got back just in time for check in. Our room is fine if a little short on storage space. Before we go out for the evening I intend to try the communal baths and the washing machine.
This evening we are finding out about the world of the geisha girls and their history and culture and a tour of Gion, the geisha area here in Tokyo.
Tomorrow is the last day here for Anna and I so we are having a full day sightseeing
Pearl Blog 3 