Japan! Day 2: Kyoto

Our second day in Japan we woke up at 3:00AM ready for lunchtime... until we realized it was only 3:00AM. 4 hours later we got out of bed and headed to the train station to catch a bullet train (shinkansen) to Kyoto. The hotel we stayed in was located next to the Ueno train station which is just two or three stops from the Tokyo station. We needed to first get to the Tokyo station to catch the bullet train. Monday morning at 7:30AM... let's just say we weren't the only ones trying to get to Tokyo. As we left our hotel, we followed a sea of people all dressed in white, off-white, or light blue button up shirts and black slacks. Once at the station, everyone catching the train to Tokyo got into two single file lines leading to the platform. Once to the platform everyone picked a door and lined up in two single file lines waiting for the next train. Once the next train arrived the two lines split to allow people off the train and then one by one people filed into the train. It was really crowded so they would turn around and push backwards to allow as much room as possible. I couldn't believe how many people they would squish onto the train. We saw one girl (the last person to get on the train) push back as far as she could, allowed the doors to barely close in front of her, and then fell forward onto the door once it closed all the way. As Rob later learned, these doors aren't forgiving at all. If you're standing their way when the doors close, you could lose a hand...


Once in the Tokyo station, we had some time to spare and decided to find something to eat for breakfast. There were so many little shops to buy snacks and treats... I ended up with a donut and a vitamin water (I know... haha), and Rob ended up with some sort of fish sandwich and tea juice (he tried to order a tuna sandwich and fruit juice.)
The ride on the shinkansen was great... it went over 100 mph and we purchased the best snack ever... Chip Chops! They are these chocolately chips filled with chocolate. I'm not usually a a big chocolate lover mostly because chocolate is so sweet... but these were amazing!

Japan! (Day 1)

Hi all~ as promised I am going to blog about our trip to Japan. Day 1 wasn't too exciting. It started off with a night of 4 hours of sleep due to lack of preparedness, a 10 hour flight and a 2 hour train ride. We left at 11 AM on Saturday morning and arrived at the station in Tokyo Sunday evening at 6pm. Here is what I saw when I stepped out of the station in Tokyo... keep in mind it's 6pm. It got dark really early.




We stayed in a private room in a hostel. The mattress felt like a table top... but after a mile walk with a 40 lb pack from the station to our hotel in a very humid 90 degrees and a long shower, the bed was a very welcoming.




Check out the size of the bathroom~


Look! We even had a small TV in our room... all I can say is the Japanese really love their game shows.