Kyoto Autumn 2008 Day 1
22 September, 2008 by MJ
The signs were all in Japanese! The people were all speaking Japanese! The girls were all so cute! We’re in Japan! weeee~ As i walked around, i felt a strange sensation of missing subtitles.
Day 1 of our 14 day adventure in the land of the rising sun. Follow the journey as we head from Singapore to Narita by plane, then to Tokyo and Kyoto on train.
Some first impressions after touchdown :
The People
Apart from being so darned cute, the service people here are incredibly friendly. From the moment you enter the store to your purchase, to when you leave the store, they got every step covered. Amazing. And it’s not just at airports. It’s Everywhere! How come we don’t have such nice service culture back home? xD
The Weather
Yes everyone i know asked about the weather, so here it is, it’s about 18 to 27 degrees. It gets hot in the afternoon, but it’s not as humid. Early mornings and nights are cold! The winds can get really chilly.The sun rises really early. Even at 6.30am the sky is already bright. It’s completely dark at about 7pm.
Corporate people are, Corporate
I’ve not seen a corporate guy here without a suit and tie yet. The ladies too. All completely formal. Maybe it’s considered improper to dress without a suit?
Yes here comes the photos :
At Terminal 3, close to the boarding gate of the A380, 11:30pm flight to Narita Airport.
They have internet terminals for use while you're waiting. Cool neh.
On the A380, it's not a lot of leg space, but the Krisflyer entertainment system more than makes up for it. Tons of stuff to watch and listen.
Wilson K.O'ed. I fell asleep halfway through 'Chronicles of Narnia'.
At Narita Airport. Our first encounter with their 'everything-also-have' vending machines.
Got our 7 day Rail Pass at the airport.
Wilson blogging on his iPhone. On the way towards Tokyo Station.
View from our seats.
Toilets on the Narita Express Train.
View from place we put our baggages.
Close to 10am, the red lights are where we are along the journey.
External view of our train.
Got a few shots before it zoomed off again.
Tokyo Station!
It's not confusing, the station has 5 levels, nope.
Bought our first 'microwaved' lunch. Going to be a 3 hour ride to Kyoto.
First experience with the service culture here as well. Super friendly!
Instantly got lost the moment we reached their 'control station'.
Too many tracks. Which one to take?
Eventually found our way to the right track. Bullet trains!
Yeap, the HIKARI 411 to Shin Osaka. Notice the ladies in pink?
Our ride arrives!
Pink ladies get to work turning all the seats to face the other direction.
There it is, Kyoto. 11:33am.
Got a quick shot before boarding. We only had 2 minutes before they close the doors. lol.
Reserved seats! Check out the ample leg space.
Tokyo City whizzing by.
Started to settle down with our lunch. Had tomato rice and some horrible black coffee. xD
Act like the train too fast. Lolz.
The urban areas start to become wide landscapes the closer we get to Kyoto.
3 hours later, Kyoto Station!
Cam whore time! 
Middle platform.
Ok enough shooting, time to look for our hotel in Kyoto.
Heading down to the exit.
Got a bit lost here as well. There were like 7 exits. Lots of school kids~!
Got out eventually. Went to look for a map at the visitor centre. No luck.
Outside the station. Finally we were out in the open. Been underground since we landed.
In front of Kyoto Station
Random plant.
Random cigarette bin. I love their infographics.
It said walk till you see a 7-eleven, then turn left into the alley...
And so we did. Dragged our baggages along for a while,
wondering where our hotel was hidden.
Found it in the end. Ikoi no ie!
Narrow building, shared toilets and bathrooms. Nice and cosy decor.
Here's how the room looks like. Cosy right! Wilson brought his laptop.
There was internet access in the room.
Alternate view. It came with a boiler, cups and green tea. Nice.
The cute receptionist gave us a map of Kyoto! Planned a bit before heading out.
It was about 4pm, looked like 6pm in Singapore.
Exploring the surrounding streets and homes.
No curbs along the streets. Bike friendly.
Random alleys. The lighting was just awesome.
Main Road near the hotel.
Lots of bikes all round.
Headed towards the Kyoto Tower. Within walking distance from our hotel.
Also just right beside the Kyoto Station.
Bought tickets to go up the tower.
It's nice to get photos of the tickets for reference at the end of the trip.
You can view these things free of charge.
Unlike the ones at Sentosa where you have to put coins.
View from the tower.
Getting Crowded.
Too short for this guy. xD
Decided to wait around for the sunset.
Group shot~!
It got nicer as the sun started to set.
No i wasn't standing outside, some parts of the tower was extruding.
Like so.
Everyone snapping away at the sunset.
One level down the obervation deck.
Where they had really random stuff like this warped mirror.
Headed across the road to the station to look for some place for dinner.
View from Kyoto Station.
I think this was Daimaru. Right beside the station.
It had a sky garden. Cool ya.
Got too hungry to shoot. Must eat.
Waiting outside for food.
Ate here for 2000yen. Realized later it was a S$26 meal. lol.
Mini supermarket on the lower levels.
Food looks fresh!
Shopped around a bit before heading back to our hotel.
Melon buns for tomorrow's breakfast.
By the way we couldn't finish the can of sake. 50% alcohol. lol.
That’s all for Day 1!
Planning your holiday? We recommend visiting Agoda for a full list of hotels with early bird specials.
Born and raised in Singapore, MJ earns his keep by pushing pixels around as a media designer. Other jobs include getting paid taking pictures, as well as being a full time fanboy for all things cool & kawaii. MJ shoots with a Canon 5DmkII.
