A long ride to Kyoto

Day 3 Saturday April 7th

Saturday for me didn’t really start until about 2pm as I was sleeping the morning away and getting over the 8 hour time difference between England and Japan. Once I was up though it was back in Tokyo to see the temple/shrine called Meiji Jingu. But before heading into the temple we had a look around at all the Goths and “unique outfits” people were wearing and posing for. Apparently this happens every weekend and they don’t ask for money they just enjoy having their photos taken.

The temple was established in 1920 and was dedicated to Emperor Meiji who passed away in 1912. It is a place of worship for peace and prosperity but is also used for Shinto weddings which we were lucky enough to see. We walked around the paths, gardens, buildings, and shrines before heading back towards all the Goths and into a park close by.

At the park were a few live bands playing and selling their albums. These bands were really good but just out to practice, make a few new fans, and make some money selling their CD’s/. I did end up buying a demo of one band that I was impressed with. We walked through the rest of the park watching some skateboarders before ending up close to Shibuya again. We had a quick look around some of the smaller streets after dark when they were all lit up before heading back to Ryan’s place and packing our things up for our trip to Kyoto.

The plan was to take the “local” train (I use the term local lightly) that would take about 8 hours or so to get to Kyoto. Fair enough though, as it was the cheapest way down there. It was overnight and we would have to change trains about 6 or 7 times which wasn’t a problem though it just meant we wouldn’t have a great nights sleep. Well the first hour and half was fine and ran smoothly with the efficiency and timing you would expect in Japan. Not a single train was delayed. Well the problem/adventure all started when we tried to make a transfer in a town called Odawara. On the internet it said that we didn’t need to have a reserved seat for this next train but we soon found out that the rules had been changed 5 days ago and they would let us on the train and after Ryan’s friend had a argument we realised that it was hopeless and they were not going to bend the rules. Also the station was closing and we were forced to leave. So at this point it is now 2am, we have nowhere to stay, and no transportation. So what do we do? We found an all night bar and proceeded to drink beers for the next 4 hours laughing about the whole situation. I thought it was the greatest thing ever and I am actually glad that it worked out the way it did. As the sun rose and the station opened again we jumped on the next train and continued our journey down to Kyoto.

Ryan enjoying a beer at 3am

One of the many trains we took to Kyoto

Sunrise over the Pacific means its time to catch the next train

Day 4 Sunday April 8th

We arrived in Kyoto about 12pm and were met by some more friends at the station who took us directly to the river where a people were all sitting around on tarps drinking and laughing in the park to celebrate Hanami. It was a great time and we met people from all over the world including on Canadian who happened to be a Ottawa Senators fan and was wearing the shirt to prove it. We exchanged a few words….. Running on hardly any sleep at all we grabbed some more beers and spent the afternoon in the sun under the cherry blossom trees eating and drinking away. When night fell we walked back to Ryan’s friend’s house with the large group to drink more beers and eat a few hard boiled Easter eggs. It was a long trip but at least it makes a great story!!!

The main river and park in Kyoto

More Cherry Blossom tress outside Kyoto Station