Wednesday 2 May
We got off to a sticky start as we all forgot our breakfast vouchers. Having gone back to the room and then been issues with out “table in Use” token we embarked on breakfast.
The weather forecast - according to Stuart - was light rain later in the afternoon. So we decided on a half day excursion to Nijo jo castle and some retail therapy.
At the station a very helpful Tours Information lady who possessed the ability to write in english upside down put us in the right direction for trains, subways and buses.
This time we did not need the JR Ticket Office experience as the machine spoke english. To ensure the full experience we each individually purchased our tickets and head to platform 32 and the the Sanjin line.
A few stops on we alighted at Nijo Jo station and headed in search of coffee. The walk to the castle was about 15 minutes and we were faced with a major wall so the question was the entrance to the left or right - we chose right and there ahead of us was a subway station. However the lady had not thought us up to travelling on Japanese subways due ti their complexity.
The entrance was Yen 1200 and we followed the crowds into the castle just as the rain began to fall - Stuart becoming concerned regarding his coiffure - the rest of the party was more sanguine.
The low buildings were the main quarters of the the Tokugawa Shogun whose dynasty ruled Japan until 1868 when the Imperial rule was reinstated at the start of the Meiji period. There were a series of stateroom, audience chambers, offices and the shogun private quarters. But no photos !! One feature is the floors that speak - specially designed so that assassins could be heard.
Outside in the rain was the Shoguns garden with a perfect lake inhabited by a single stork. Beyond was the main castle foundations as the original keep had been destroyed by fire.
Feeling intrepid not to mention hungry we took the subway back to Kyoto station and went in search of lunch. Stuart seemed to have caught a cold so retail therapy was prescribed.
Given the rain we took the bus to the station in search of food. Tripadvisor recommended a ‘vegetarian friendly’ restaurant which unfortunately was full. So we ended up in a bar cum restaurant with Japanese ’soul’ food.
We got off to a sticky start as we all forgot our breakfast vouchers. Having gone back to the room and then been issues with out “table in Use” token we embarked on breakfast.
The weather forecast - according to Stuart - was light rain later in the afternoon. So we decided on a half day excursion to Nijo jo castle and some retail therapy.
At the station a very helpful Tours Information lady who possessed the ability to write in english upside down put us in the right direction for trains, subways and buses.
This time we did not need the JR Ticket Office experience as the machine spoke english. To ensure the full experience we each individually purchased our tickets and head to platform 32 and the the Sanjin line.
A few stops on we alighted at Nijo Jo station and headed in search of coffee. The walk to the castle was about 15 minutes and we were faced with a major wall so the question was the entrance to the left or right - we chose right and there ahead of us was a subway station. However the lady had not thought us up to travelling on Japanese subways due ti their complexity.
The entrance was Yen 1200 and we followed the crowds into the castle just as the rain began to fall - Stuart becoming concerned regarding his coiffure - the rest of the party was more sanguine.
The low buildings were the main quarters of the the Tokugawa Shogun whose dynasty ruled Japan until 1868 when the Imperial rule was reinstated at the start of the Meiji period. There were a series of stateroom, audience chambers, offices and the shogun private quarters. But no photos !! One feature is the floors that speak - specially designed so that assassins could be heard.
Outside in the rain was the Shoguns garden with a perfect lake inhabited by a single stork. Beyond was the main castle foundations as the original keep had been destroyed by fire.
Feeling intrepid not to mention hungry we took the subway back to Kyoto station and went in search of lunch. Stuart seemed to have caught a cold so retail therapy was prescribed.
Given the rain we took the bus to the station in search of food. Tripadvisor recommended a ‘vegetarian friendly’ restaurant which unfortunately was full. So we ended up in a bar cum restaurant with Japanese ’soul’ food.