I started out on the subway, then at Nagoya station I started looking for the right way to get to Kyoto. A friend has strongly suggested that I go on the Kintetsu line, so I made my way toward that. The man behind the counter understood that I wanted to go to Kyoto on the cheaper line, and I got a reserved seat on a two story train for a very reasonable price. Here is where the trouble started. After I got my ticket I asked the man for a map.
Me: “Sumimasen, chizu kudasai?”(Excuse me, could I please see a map)
Him: “(Something rapid in Japanese)”
Me: “Moichido itte kudasai”(Could you please repeat that?)
Him: “(More rapid Japanese followed by the X sign made with his arms)”
OK, so this means I am about to travel half way across the island with no map into areas where there is guaranteed to be no English speakers. Awesome. Well, I wanted an adventure, and that's what I'm going to get. So here I am, on the train, let the adventure begin.
Traveling by train here really shows you how much of the Japanese landscape has become either suburbs or rice fields. I've chosen these two pictures that exemplify this observation.
Eventually my predicament started to dawn on me. I had no way of knowing whether I had passed the transfer I supposedly needed to make in order to make it to Kyoto. This would mean that I would have to get off the train at a random spot and hope that someone would know enough English that I could communicate what I needed, or at least get a map of the train stops. So, at the next stop I bid farewell to my reserved seat and hopped off the train in look of someone who might be able to help me. I found that person in the very last place I could, the turnstiles for entering the train station.
An interesting side note here before I continue. I have become very good at getting lost in this country, and I've noticed something that should serve you very useful if you ever are really, truly lost. Don't speak Japanese. If you are not fluent, the best thing you can do is play the role of the ignorant but friendly foreigner. The alternative is using your limited understanding of the language and attempting to get across your meaning. I believe I've mentioned the hazards of this before, but it is important and bears repeating.
Anyway, I slowly explained to the woman that I needed to get to Kyoto, and she slowly in Japanese told me that she didn't speak English. I repeated myself, still in English, and she gave me a map. Furthermore she left her post and directed me to the right train platform, making sure that I got on the train in the best car, and informed the people on the train that I should be alerted when I needed to make my transfer.
Man I love this country.
After that it was easy, I just rode the rest of the way until the person came and told me I needed to make my transfer. I got off the train and they told me what number platform I needed to be on, and I was on the right track again. I got on the next train and was able to sit back and enjoy the scenery as the sun started to shine.
More photos are on Flickr.
Arrival! There is something strangely wonderful about Kyoto. If someone asks I suppose I would say that it's the closeness of it. This is a city where the vast majority of people seem to live on streets that are alleyways six feet across. Bear in mine that the below street is also a two way street, despite being no more then eight feet across at any one point.
I got out of the station and the rain had stopped. As I walked down vaguely familiar streets the sun started to peek out from behind the clouds, and the city was bathed in a golden sunset.
I meandered along until I reached my destination, a small hostel called Ikoe-no-ii. The receptionist was an incredibly nice girl named Yu-mi(pronounced you-me) who I chatted with for a while about the different things to do in the area. She suggested that I go to the famous Philosopher's Path, and at the end there would be a temple that I should see before I leave. I thanked her and she showed me to my room.
This is a traditional style Japanese inn and the beds consist of futons that you lay out over the tatami mat floor. There is no real furniture or anything in the room itself, but all the amenities are right outside your door or in the multiple common areas. Below is where I sit now writing up this post, sipping some free green tea provided in the kitchen and chatting with this girl from Denmark called Ann.
Yu-mi has told me that the best place to go at night is downtown Kyoto, so that is where I think I will be going out tonight. I'll add the photos from my night out to my photos on Flickr.
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Japanese Time!
English: Where is the inn?
Japanese: りょかんはどこですか？
Pronunciation:ryo-kan wa doh-koh des-ka?
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Best Wishes,
Dan
