Day 8 - Magome to Tsumago

Distance walked - 16km (Book said 10km but that was to our inn only)

I slept well and it turned out I had my bed set up so I was sleeping NE not the forbidden north so that was OK.  Breakfast was the usual feast of nibbles include a piece of mackeral and a fried egg in the shape of a heart.  I'm beginning to like eating rice wrapped in seaweed for breakfast.  However, there is a severe lack of fibre in our diet.

After breakfast we set off to visit the town of Magome proper.  It is picture postcard pretty and attracts bus loads of tourists.  We spent a hour pottering around exploring the town which is long and thin and winds up the hillside to the Magome pass.  After buying supplies for lunch we headed on up through woods over the Magome pass.  Much more enjoyable scenery for walking than yesterday.  At regular intervals there were bells to ring to, presumably, scare off bears.  However, the signs just said "ring for bears".  We rang them dutifully but didn't see any bears, which was shame.  We did see plenty of other tourists - no bells to scare them off.  This stretch of the Nakasendo Way is well known and rightly popular.

We stopped at a rest stop for lunch which had an undercover seating area, clean toilets, a free tea house and, best of all, rubbish bins!  The first I've seen.  Normally you have to bag up your rubbish and take it home with you.  And people do!  I've seen very little litter.

We then headed off again, stopping to look at two waterfalls that were close by each other.  These are known as the Male and Female waterfalls.  Tom told us a story of how they were named - a love story of course.  However, he stopped at the point where the two waterfalls got their names.  Much to his surprise, Cathy wanted to know how the story ended.  They lived happily every after, which was a let down.

Finally we headed off to another, even prettier, post town called Tsumago stopping at our inn first to drop off our packs.  It is about 2km this side of Tsumago.  We visited the Waka-Honjin there is now a museum and pottered around.  Tom was rather disappointed in us as we wanted to head back to our inn earlier than he did.  I wanted to buy a souvenir but all the shops in Tsumago had the same tourist tat that I'd seen in the shopping arcade in Kyoto.

We had an early dinner - a whole small pan-fried trout (again - 3rd night in a row), some fried fish, bamboo two ways, tofu, miso with soba and yoghurt with strawberries for dessert. 

After dinner we all put on our yakuta, grabbed our towels and were bussed to a nearby upmarket onsen.  We scrubbed, then soaked in an outdoor hot pool and then in an indoor hot pool.  Some of us (women) went into the sauna but only I braved the cold plunge pool (twice).  Oddly it was Paula, the hippy, who was shyest of undressing in front of the rest of us.  Nola and I (plus Diane of course) just threw off our clothes and pranced around.

After our bath it was back to our inn and off to bed - again by 9pm.  Are we party animals or what?

Day 7 - Ena to Magome

Distance walked: 21km (book claimed it should only have been 18km)

The bed last night was the hardest I've slept in on this trip and it was a mattress on a base, not a futon on the floor!  Still, it was pleasant to have a room with solid walls and a bathroom & toilet to myself.

Today's walk was all along country roads which made it rather hard under foot.  I kept waiting to get past the outskirts of Ena but in a way we never did.  It was all houses or small pockets of farms, then more houses.  Suburban houses too, not just farm buildings.  The valley is the only flat land hereabouts and is completely built up.

We stopped for lunch at another post town called Nakatsugawa.  This is the size of a small city/town so we had options and split up.  John & Nola went to the food court at the shopping centre and had savory rolls from the bakery.  Others went to a noddle place, Diane went to a pasta joint while Tom, Cathy, Doug & I went to a place that specialised in eel.  My set menu had eel on rice, a dish of tofu, some pickles and more eel inside slices of omelette.  All very tasty.

After lunch we did some pottering around what shops were open (it is Sunday today).  I bought some fancy ear plus from the Daiso here.  The foam ones we were given on the plane are useless.

We then set off for the next post town on the route - a little place called Ochiai.  Here we visited the honjin (inn for the important people) which has been turned into a museum.  We also browsed in a shop set up by local craftsmen.  I really wanted to buy some jewellery here as it would have been the ideal souvenir.  Sadly I didn't like any of it, much to the artist's disappointment.

Finally we set off for the last push to our inn which is just before the next post town of Magome.  Cathy was getting a bit cranky with all the delays.  She was done and just wanted to arrive.  However, Paula was always far behind as she seem to stop every 100m or so to take photos.

The last section (1 to 2km) is along some of the original road which is 200 years old.  As I have walked along original Roman roads that are 2000 years also I failed to be suitably impressed.

The inn here is the nicest we've stayed in so far.  I'm upstairs near Vicky & Dave, Diane and Tom.  Sadly both Diane and Dave snore.  Diane is particularly loud.

There are two couple sized bathrooms and three toilets with two cubicles each.  Better than before but still not as pleasant as having your own ensuite.  I'd also like to have a bigger bath so we don't have to take turns.  You can't really have a relaxing soak when you  have to keep one eye on the time.

Dinner once again was a beautifully presented feast.  A small whole fish, spinach with sesame, tempura, salmon sashimi, some wild boar the master of the inn had hunted (tough & tasteless unfortunately), various pickles, some other small things and red cooked crickets.  I ate one.  It was crunchy and the sauce was good.  I couldn't face eating any more.  Bruce finished off most people's crickets.  He also ate most of Paula's dinner.  She suddenly felt nauseous after her bath and didn't join us.

Dinner was very enjoyable. We've all gotten to know each other well enough now we can joke and tease each other rather than just make polite conversation.  We are beginning to gel as a group.

We all called it quits early (9pm) and headed off to bed.  We had to make up our own beds.  I think I've laid my out facing the wrong direction - north.  At least I think that way is north.  I really miss not having a map.

Day 6 - Hosokute to Ena

 Distance walked: 23km

Shoji screen "walls" do very little to block out the light and nothing to block out sound.  While my room itself was comfortable I could have happily strangled whoever it was (Bruce?) who was snoring in one of the nearby rooms. 

In spite of the poor night's sleep I felt OK when I woke up in the morning.  Breakfast was once again beautifully presented and mostly tasty.  After breakfast our cases were loaded into two taxis and we set off.

Tom isn't much good as a hiking guide.  He didn't give us any info on the terrain (hilly, falt, bitumen roads, gravel tracks) or likely distances or times.  Mind you, I didn't ask for this info either.  However, his occasional snippest of historical information were actually interesting and the walking was very agreeable.  Undulating but not too many steep or long climbs, all either along quiet back roads through farmland or through forests.  

I'm beginning to get along better with the group.  Still, I think in future I will stick to hikes operated by UK companies so the proportion of Brits to Americans is higher.  Politically and intellectually I probably have a lot in common with the two American couples.  As Vicky says, Trump supporters don't travel much, nevermind outside of the US.  However, our senses of humour do not click.

Mid-morning we stopped briefly at the next post town, Okute, to buy additional, perishable supplies for lunch.  We also popped into the local museum.  The curator was thrilled to have visitors and made us all tea.  It was flavoured with salted plums which apparently is ideal for hikers.  It was as disgusting as it sounds.  He also presented all the women with minature origami umbrellas.  I have no idea what I will do with it but have added it to the origiami crane and origami shuriken I was given by the children at Sekigahara and the women at the tourist centre in Mitake.

We stopped around 1pm at a picnic area in the forest for lunch.  I'd bought a baguette and some cheese which I thought would be safe choices.  Sadly the cheese was entirely tasteless and the baguette had been spread with a mix of butter and sugar.  I ate it because it was mostly all I had but it wasn't nice.  I also had a small bag of what I thought were candied chestnuts but turned out to be plain roasted chestnuts - delicious - and some spicy rice crackers (also yum) so I did OK.

After lunch we tried to pick up the pace so we could get to Ena before the Hiroshige museum shut.  I'd never heard of him but he was a woodblock print artist who is famous for, among other things, his 69 views of the Nakasendo Way.

We made it to Ena by 4pm and went straight to the museum.  First we watched a short video explaining how woodblock prints are made.  Fascinating actually but incredibly time consuming and difficult.  Afterwards we got a chance to do some simple prints of famous pictures ourselves which was lots of fun.  After that there was just enough time for a quick scamper around the gallery with Hiroshige's works and a visit to the gift shop before we were tossed out so they could close.

Finally we tottered off to our hotel, where we have Western style rooms, with real walls!  I like staying at ryokans provided I'm the only guest in earshot.  After showering and doing a pile of laundry (hope it dries before tomorrow!) we headed off to dinner at a local restaurant.  I had a breaded pork cutlet on rice with katsu sauce, cold soba noodles with spring onion, wasabi & a dipping sauce, pickles and one of those savoury custards.  My meal was the least elaborate of most of the ones on the menu.  Doug and I had dessert.  Everyone else piked.  I had matcha green tea ice cream with red beans. Yum.

Day 5 - Sekigahara to Mitake to Hosokute

 Distance walked: 14 1/2 km

I'd slept better than I had expected.  The futon was on a foam pad so it was comfortable and the quilt kept me toasty warm.  However, a yakuta is a daft garment for sleeping in.

Breakfast was a small dish of pickles and whitebait, a bowl of rice, 1 fried egge, some shredded cabbage and 2 thin slivers of ham plus some sheets of seaweed.  Apparently you are supposed to roll lumps of rice in the seaweed.  With the exception of the whitebait it was all quite tasty.  Coffee was those cup-based filters but decently strong.

After breakfast we caught 2 (3? - I forget) trains to some medium-sized town.  There we visited a supermarket to buy lunch for tomorrow as there won't be anywhere to do so on the way.  I bought a small bagueete, some sliced cheese and some rice crackers.  This should keep - except the bread is getting horribly squashed.  We then went to a cafe where we had second breakfast - coffee and a green tea croissant.

After second breakfast we caught three more trains to Mitake.  Here we had lunch - okonomiyaki.  We ate it in some tourist centre where we were asked to decorate paper scales than were to be stuck on giant fish kites.  They are being put up everywhere as it is Boy's Day next weekend.  Paula was, predictably, enchanted by it all.

After this we finally started hiking.  At last.  The other people on the tour are all perfectly pleasant but I'm just not very interested in them and Tom is a deadly dull guide.  Tom knows a lot, he just can't work out how to present it in an interesting manner.  Diane isn't much better as she is still learning about the Nakasendo Way.  However, the hiking was more what I wanted to do and left me in a much more cheerful frame of mind.

We are at our ryokan in Hosokute now.  It only has the one bath again - but I got to go first this time.  I was last yesterday.  It has two toilets.  That's going to be fun as there are lots of middle of the night visits given the age of the group.  My room is bigger than last night but closer to the others so we'll have to see how it turns out.

Today's hiking was mostly on back roads but also some paths through forest.  There were two climbs but nothing too long or too high.  The only drawback is the amount of standing water - and hence mosquitos - everywhere.

Just finished a beautifully presented and mostly tasty dinner.  First course was tiny, individual mouthfuls of various things - including a cube of silken soft tofu with sesame dressing.  Next was an entire trout each, about the size of my palm, which as crispy but rather fiddly to eat with chopsticks.  Next was a savory custard which was follow by a carp steak in teriyaki sauce.  The sauce was delicious but carp has a lot of bones.  Then came a bowl of slightly gluggy rice before dessert.  Dessert was a piece of grapefruit, which had had the flesh taken out and made into a tangy jelly and then reshaped.  Last came chocolates (milk mostly sadly) and genmai chai tea.  Mostly very good food and I enjoyed the company after having had some time to myself.

Tomorrow we spend the whole day walking.  We are supposed to cover 22km and Tom wants us to do it in 7 hours - including all stops.  Should be quite do-able provided it isn't too hilly.

Day 4 - Kyoto to Hikone to Sekigahara

 Distance walked: 8km

Breakfast was in the hotel buffet.  It was their attempt at a Western buffet breakfast.  It didn't quite hit the mark.   The sausage was pieces of Chinese sausage and there was no bacon.  There was shredded cabbage, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and corn kernels so you could make a salad (for breakfast?). The only cereal was corn flakes or all bran (labelled "all blanc").

After breakfast we piled into taxis and took a train to Hikone.  Here we stopped at a supermarket to buy supplies for a picnic lunch.  Next we went down to Hikone Castle.  First we visited a Shinto temple where Tom managed to make a description of it not particularly informative but dull. Next we went to the castle museum (also mostly dull) and then went through the local lord's administrative offices.  Here Tom managed to tell us one or two interesting things about Japanese architecture.  Then we climbed up to the grounds of the castle keep and ate our lunch.  Yoghurt that has been kept in the sun in a backpack for 2 hours was probably not a good idea.

After lunch we went up to the top of the keep.  The stairs (ladders) were treacherously steep.  We had to navigate them with our back packs on while carrying our shoes in plastic bags, plus all our rubbish from lunch.  Garbage bins in the street are few and far between.  Mostly you take your litter home with you - and people do.

After the keep we went to see the lord's ancestral home and have a brief scamper through his gardens (beautiful).  Finally we headed back to the train and headed to our stop for the night, Sekigahara.  This is the site of a pivotal battle which ended decades of civil war.  You guessed it, tom managed to make a description of it dull.  

We then were taken to meet a group of primary school students who wanted to practice their English on us.  They introduced themselves, individually interviewed us, took it in turns to tell us about the battle of Sekigahara and then give us a quiz.  Paula was beside herself.  She kept exclaiming about how cute the children were.  She is an aging (mid-50s) hippy.  While she is a medical doctor she has a keen interest in alternative therapies.  I shouldn't sneer at her.  She clearly has a very generous heart and a great enthusiam for life.  Her husband, Doug, runs a small movie theatre along the lines of the Westgarth cinema.

After our visit to the battlefield we settled in at our ryokan for the night.  It only had the one bathroom - suitable for a couple, and two toilets - one a single and the other with two separate cubicles.  John & Nola and I are in rooms in an annex while the rest have adjoining rooms in the main building.  We got the best rooms.  More privacy and close to the dual toilets.  Handy for midnight visits.  Speaking of those, I was making such a visit (warm yoghurt is definitely not a good idea) when someone else came in.  They didn't realise I was there.  When they left, in a fit of eco-consciousness, they turned out the light!

Dinner was shabu-shabu.  First of all we cooked vegetables in the dashi broth - cabbage (again), carrots, three sorts of mushrooms and tofu.  We then added another plateful of vegetables and thin slices of pork - except for Paula & Doug who are vegetarians and were therefore given fish.  We finished with bowls of rice.  It was filling but all a bit bland.

After dinner, even thous it was only just after 9pm, we all called it a night and headed off to bed.  I had nothing to read as our luggage had been sent on ahead to the next stop and I had packed my kindle.  Idiot!

Day 3 - Kyoto

 Distance walked: 15km

Today was overcast and cool but at least it has stopped raining.  Still wore the rain jacket.  See comment re "cool".

I planned to have an expensive 800Y breakfast at the boulangerie next to the hotel.  Serving sizes here in Japan are tiny and I was hoping to fill up on stodge.  Sadly they were full so I ended up at a coffee chain place.  I had a toasted ham & cheese sandwich and a mug of coffee.  My sandwich was only a half - i.e. one slice of bread.  After this princely feast I went back to the boulangerie and bought a red bean bun for second breakfast.

I headed off to Ginkaku-Ji temple - which is about 4 1/2 km out of town.  I navigated using a paper map & maps.me plus just heading in the right general direction.  I got there without having to do any backtracking!  Way to go me.

At one point on my trip I was walking past some sort of official residence/consulate/something?  for about 1km on either side were officials of some sort keeping an eye out/watching the traffic while official looking people in official looking cars drove down the street to this fancy official place - plus me in my bright red coat wandering along looking at maps.  At least nobody seemed to have a gun.

I stopped along the canal path for second breakfast before reaching the temple.  I had my bun plus a bottle of (unsweetened - yay!) green tea from a nearby vending machine.  I love the vending machines.  They are everywhere.

The temple is a Buddhist one and was very lovely.  It would also have been very zen except that I arrived at the same time as a group of school children on an excursion.  Generally well-behaved but so many of them.

After that visit I walked the length of the canal path - the Philosopher's Walk - back toward Kyoto.  Along the canal there were ducks and some of the biggest carp I have ever seen, even though the water can't have been more than a foot or two deep.

At the other end of the path is the Narizen-Ji temple.  I climbed the Sanmon Gate - suicidally steep stairs & fantastic views, and also peeked into the temple itself (closed) and toured the meeting/conference (?) room complex.  

I've been a little disappointed in the temples to be honest.  My lack of knowledge about Buddhism, coupled with the lack of signs in English, mean I miss most of the symbolism of what I'm seeing.

All templed out I headed back towards the centre of town.  I looked for somewhere to have lunch but couldn't spot any restaurants or cafes so I ended up getting something from a 7-Eleven (chicken teriyaki with coleslaw - I think, plus a piece of cake).  I ate it setting at a bench outside.  A sparrow came down and sat on my knee (!) to eat crumbs from my cake.  We got into a tug of war over a large piece.  The cheek!

Next stop was the Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts - weaving, embroidery, dying, woodwork (Mum would have loved that section), lacquer work and several others.  Very interesting displays but, frankly, I found a lot of the results tacky.  Or to put it politely - not to my taste, either kitsch or overdone.

I then headed back to the boulangerie for afternoon tea.  I'm not sure I will lose any weight on this trip, even with all the walking.  I seem to be eating constantly.  I had a coup of weak, tasteless coffee and a slice of tasteless chestnust cake.  It was actually studded with chestnut halves but had not flavour.  I can't imagine how they managed it.

Finally, I headed back to the hotel and settled into my new room.  This is cheaper than the one I had previously but in some ways I prefer it.  It is slightly smaller and looks out the back not over the street in front - but who cares about the view?  This time I have a double bed rather than two singles.  On balance, this is better.  Plus I have a token for breakfast in the hotel restaurant tomorrow.  It is a buffet.  I will pig out.

Met up with my fellow hikers.  All couples of a certain age.  I feel like they are of my parent's generation but I suspect they are at most 10-15 years older than me.  One couple - Nola & John - are from Perth, Cathy & Bruce - Utah, Vicky & Dave - Seattle and Paula & Doug - Calgary plus Tom the guide and Diane the apprentice.  Diane is an American who was living in the Phillipines with her American husband when the Marcos regime fell and came to Japan as a short term solution and have never left.  They've been here 31 years and have 8 (!) children.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Tom was an academic, which is how he started these walks.  The first was a result of research he was doing into the period.  As he did more expeditions, people asked to come along too.  He has since given up teaching and now does this full time.  This was a wise move.  Teaching is not his forte.

We headed out to dinner at what was apparently a traditional sake bar.  The idea behind these places was you'd go there to drink sake and perhaps nibble on some snacks.  These days they've gone upmarket and the food is actually very elegant.  The place we went to only sold two varieties of sake but had plenty of food.  They had traditional low tables but thankfully a pit under the table to dangle you legs in.  Still not as comfortable as a chairs though.

Tomorrow is our first "hiking" day - which is almost all by train.  Our luggage goes directly to the next inn plus one, so we have to carry our overnight things in our day packs.  There is also only the one bath in our next inn - just big enough for two - so we will have to draw lots for our turn.

Let the experience begin.

Day 2 - Kyoto

 Distance walked: 13 1/2 km

Today was mild but overcast and drizzly.  I decided to walk everywhere in spite of the weather.  I need to 1) burn the calories; and 2) get in some walking practice before the hike starts.  I will do the same tomorrow even though the starting point on my temple crawl is 4 1/2 km away.   Plus, I will avoid having to work out where to get off the bus.  Tomorrow's itinerary should end up around 15km but essentially on the flat so less demanding than the actual hiking holiday to come.

Breakfast wasn't included in my room rate so I went to a nearby cafe and had a toasted scrambled egg & ham sandwich with lettuce & tomato.  I also had a cup of their house blend coffee - which tastes as if it has been blended with charcoal.  Interesting.  I could get to like it.

First stop today was Nijo-jo Castle which was very impressive.  I spent all morning wandering the grounds and looking through the Ninomaru-Goten palace inside.  The "castle" has two moats - an inner & outer moat, and two palaces - only one of which is open to the public.

The complex was built at the start of the Tokugawa shogunate.  Bits of it have been rebuilt or just plain moved there from somewhere else.  The Japanese are very big on flexibility & portability.  Not only of the contents of their buildings but the the buildings themselves.  Result of living in an earthquake zone I suppose.

The palace itself was essentially lots of empty rooms with elaborately decorated walls and ceilings which were all highly symbolic.  I was crushed to learn that nightingale floors are just an unintended side effect of the construction method and not done deliberately to prevent assassinations.  I didn't need to learn that.

I had a coffee from a vending machine at the castle before heaidng back towards my hotel/what I see as the centre of the city.  I don't think it was the sort that you could heat up but I could have missed the option.  There was a lot of writing on the can but precious few pictographs.

On the way back I came across a cafe of the sort Ken had told me about.  There is a touch screen where you order and pay for your meal, which is then brought out to you.  While the menu had pictures of all the dishes, none of the characters on the menu matched any of those on the buttons.  There was a queue forming behind me so I gave up and left.

Shortly after I came across a similar cafe.  This one has machines with an English option button.  However, this selection only translated about a third of the buttons, but with the help of a waitress I got myself some lunch.  For the princely sum of 790Y (about $10) I got a bowl of miso soup, stired fried pork & vegetables, a cube of tofu and as much rice as I wanted.  Best of all were the western style tables with chairs!

On the way back I passed a sign to the Kyoto museum.  I couldn't remember why it wasn't on the planned itinerary but I though "why not?".  Since at least I'd be warm and dry inside.  I ended up going into their annex first which had an exhibition on a mad Frenchman called Jean-Paul Goude.  He is an artist and a magazine illustrator as well as having made ads for Chanel and done fashion shows.  His artworks (photos, drawings & paintings) were mostly intriguing, although often pornographic.  Occasionally they were simply pretentious.  One "display" was a woman dressed in haute coutere, with an enormous Marie Antoinette wig.  She sat in front of a mirror set up so it looked as if she was sitting in a fire.  She then sang opera to herself.  At other times, she would walk slowly about the room.  There was also an hour-long movie about his life and work - in English! - whcih was actually very interesting.

After this I finally found the entrance to the museum itself.  It had an exhibition on the history of Kyoto.  Sadly very little was in English - which is why it hadn't been on my list of places to visit.  There was also some works by a local family of silversmiths.  One piece was of a rather haughty heron princess that I would have happily taken home.  Unfortunately taking photos was forbidden and there didn't seem to be any sort of gift shop where I could get a postcard or some other copy of the piece.

After the rather disappointing museum I went back to all the shopping arcades.  I had yet another cup of "interesting" coffee and a piece of cheesecake.  My meals today have been filling at the time but lacking in fat and/or protein so I don't stay feeling full for long.  Must buy a bag of some trail mix type substance for the hike.  I'm getting low blood sugar headaches which aren't a good idea if the next meal is going to be sometime away.

Next on my shopping list was a badly needed coin purse.  They have 500Y and 100Y coins here - roughly equivalent to $6 and $3 coins - plus smaller denominations.  You end up with lots of change.  This place is almost a purely cash-based society.  I haven't seen a single EFTPOS machine.  I'm burning through my cash at an alarming rate.  I started to worry about being ore economical but had to remind myself I can just go to an ATM and get myself some more cash.  Next on the to-do list, after a brief rest/pit stop at my hotel.

When I headed out to dinner it wasn't mild and wet so much as cold and wet.  First stop was a 7-Eleven to get more cahs and then I settled on the pizza place down the road from the hotel for dinner.  I was hungry, sue me.

Every time a guest (or party of guests) was seated all the staff would call out something to greet them.  So far, so typical but ti didn't sound like what I'd been hearing elsewhere.  Finally it dawned on me.  They were all saying, in their very best Italian, "buonasera"!

I had a calabrese pizza and a beer.  The pizza was very good.  Thin, crispy base with just the right amount of topping.  A bit stingy on the the more expensive toppings but still very tasty for all that.

After dinner, I stopped off at another 7-Eleven for some random snacks and now I'm back at the hotel.  I plan to spend the rest o the evening holed up here, warm and dry, with a good book.  All in all, an enjoyable day, but I'm done now.

Day 1 - Toyko to Kyoto

Distance walked: 7.8km

JAL premium economy is spacious enough that you don't need to worry about being elbowed by your neighbour.  Also, the seat slides within its shell rather than reclining so you don't end up with the seat in front in your face.  That's the good news.  The bad news is they barely recline/slide at all and the footrest is a joke.  I was sure I wouldn't get any sleep but when I checked my watch 5 hours had passed.  I managed to doze for another 2 1/2 hours after that so I was feeling OK - just hungry.  We didn't get supper, we were just handed a bag of snakcs - chips, a Tim Tam (!) and a small chocolate croissant.  About 2 hours before landing we were served breakfast.  I had the chicken teriyaki rather than the (western) omelette and sausage.  Start as I mean to go on.   We also got a tiny serve of potato salad with a sliver of smoked salmon, strawberry yoghurt, 3 slices of fruit and a bottle of Yakult.  I'd never had that before and won't have it again.  It was disgustingly sweet.

Immigration at Tokyo airport (well Narita) was a bit of a shambles.  We all lined up in a long, snaking queue before being directed to one of 10 or so stands where we were fingerprinted and photographed.  We were then sent to join a number of queues for an actual immigration officer.  These queues intermingled with the ones for the fingerprinting/mug shot machines.  In addition, every immigration officer had one of the machines themselves so I don't see the point of doing it in two steps.

I got a ticket for the Narita Express and got to Tokyo Central without any real drama.  Getting off the train the first person I saw was a worker dressed head to foot in a yellow plastic suit and a face mask.  At first it looked like a hazmat suit and I was wondering if I should start to panic but I think he was just some sort of sanitation worker.

I managed to stuff up buying my Shinkansen ticket to Kyoto.  Tokyo Central is huge - sprawling over multiple levels.  I went out through a ticket barrier - which swallowed my Narita Express ticket.  I then bought, I thought, my ticket for a reserved seat to Kyoto and went back in.  It turned out the machine had just sold me the seat reservation, not the actual base fare.  I discovered this later.

By this time my stomach said it was lunch time.  I had a vague recollection that it was bad manners (or perhaps even forbidden) to eat on the train so I stopped at a food hall and ate a very indifferent bento.  Bland pork slices on rice with a cube of omelette, a small piece of carrot and another of, I think, turnip - couldn't tell from the taste.

I had 15 minutes to catch my train but the ticket barrier wouldn't let me through as I only had half a ticket.  I got help from a station guard who explained the problem and I queued up to buy the other half (not panicking at all at the delay).  The ticket seller was more interested in how I got to Tokyo station than in selling me a ticket to leave it.  I tried to explain but his English couldn't follow my (odd to him) behaviour.  He eventually gave up and sold me what I needed.  I made it to the train with a couple of minutes to spare to sit, surrounded by locals, eating their lunch!

My room here at my hotel in Kyoto is a standard sized mid tier hotel room.  Nothing as dinky as I was expecting.  I've stayed in smaller places in Europe.  I move to a cheaper room once the tour starts so I may have to revise my opinion.

The toilet in my room has a Toto washlet attachment - as did the JAL plane.  I'm underwhelmed.  I definitely want to use TP as well as it too get properly clean.  It also wastes a ridiculous amount of water, starting with a small flush as soon as you sit down, presumably to mask any sounds you might make.

After settling in and taking a shower, I headed out just to wander around my local neighbourhood.  Several of the main streets have been turing into shopping arcades interspersed with the odd temple.  Most of the temples here have little to no English signage (understandably).  However, this means I'm not sure if it is OK to just wander in for a look around.  I don't even know if they are Buddist temples or Shinto ones.  Even the ones with some English signage don't bother to explain.  I peaked inside a few when I saw other people about.

I ended up wandering down the Nishiki Market strip - food market mainly.  I had planned going there tomorrow but it turns out to be closer to the hotel than I had thought.  It was fun looking at all the weird and wonderful things for sale.  Most stalls were very specialised - one just sold things made from sesame seeds, another chestnuts (surely not in season), yet another things made from matcha (I bought some hand cream) and one that appeared to sell nothing but different types of bonito flakes.  All the stalls that sold "takeaway" food had a few tables and chairs where you could eat.  Eating in the street is seriously frowned upon.

I also came across a cat cafe.  For 780Y you could get a cup of tea-like substance from a machine plus spend half an hour petting their Bengal kitties.  If you sat still long enough they would come and sit on you.  they had amazingly soft silken fur.

After getting my cat fix I wandered down Pontocho Alley looking for somewhere to get dinner.  I didn't fancy anything too upmarket but also nothing too cheap & cheerful.  I settled on a very traditional Japanese place with a 7 course set menu for 2,980Y - which ended up costing 4,125Y after adding a beer, an obligatory cover charge and some other mysterious fee.  It was very tasty though.

However, it was also very traditional.  Not only did I have to take my shoes off at the door, the tables were so low you had to sit on the floor.  I know enough not to lean against the wall but I sat cross legged because there is no way I can sit in hero's pose throughout an entire meal!

The restaurant was spread over several rooms over several levels.  I was put in a room of 3 tables for 2 by myself.  I suspect this was so no-one would have to pu up with my table manners.  Towards the end of my meal a young couple with a toddler was seated in my section.  I guess they assumed our table manners would be on par.

Day 0 - Melbourne to Tokyo

Distance walked: none to speak of

I'm sitting in the Marhaba lounge at Melbourne Airport feeling grotty with sore eyes, thinking this doesn't bode well for my holiday.  Then I realise the reason I feel like shit is because it is 11pm and I'm very tired!

I was all packed and ready to go by 5pm but Mary & Jim didn't pick me up until 7pm.  Spent the time reading, watching TV and trying to make things up to Pete.  The house minder, Carolyn, doesn't show up until tomorrow morning.  I feel mean but I know she will spoil him even more than I do so he'll get over it.

I've already been bowed to 3 times and felt like a clueless, mannerless barbarian.  This is going to be an interesting trip.

Had a big meal of Greek (Cypriot) food with M&J, which I paid for as my taxi fare for being taken to the airport.  My last taste of European food for the next two weeks.

Feel like I should be spending my time reading my guidebook or learning some key phrases but I'm just too damned tired to care.  I'll do it in the morning - in preparation for landing.

Sticking to my (new) rule of not eating anything from a buffet that isn't individually packed.  Don't want a repeat of last year's debacle.  It's hard - so much on offer it is tempting, even though I'm not hungry.  Will go and sit somewhere else.