Let's Going to Kyoto!

After slaying the Japanese driving test dragon, I triumphantly took a taxi to the airport. My months-long mission accomplished, I immediately set about honoring a promise I had made to myself. I took the bus back to Nagasaki, got off at the train station at about 4:15, and marched into the JR ticket office.

After the trip to Indonesia, I decided to make an effort to see more of Japan. Having seen Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Sasebo, Tokyo, and Hiroshima, I had set my sights on Kyoto. To me, there were three great times to visit: springtime, because of hanami (cherry blossom viewing); winter, because of the backdrop of snow; and autumn, because of the colorful momiji (Japanese maples).

I decided any of those three would be beautiful, and when I had to use a vacation day for the driving test, I vowed revenge. I purposefully took the vacation day to coincide with the weekend of Japan's Labor Thanksgiving Day, giving me a four-day window for travel.

The maples were just about to start shedding leaves, so I knew Kyoto would be a popular destination. I fully prepared myself for the possibility of all the trains being full. As casually as I could, I told the lady where I wanted to go. She didn't even flinch, and began typing away. The necessary route would be Nagasaki -> Hakata Station (in Fukuoka), then Hakata -> Kyoto. The next Hakata-bound train was departing at 4:25--in about 9 minutes. Taking that as a sign that it was meant to be, I went for it.

Since my anxiety was evaporating, letting my appetite get back on its feet, I darted into a nearby bakery for some snacks. After somewhat of a mad dash, I got on my Kamome train safe and sound.

The ride to Hakata took just under two hours. I had an aisle seat, and it was dark outside anyway, so I spent the time reading. Glancing at my tickets for the first time, I noticed that I had precisely eight minutes to make my transfer at Hakata. This made me only a little nervous; I was too excited from the spontaneity of it all to be bothered.

We arrived precisely on time, and I darted for the gate. Having never made an actual transfer on a Japanese train before (Hiroshima was nonstop), much less dealing with going from standard JR to Shinkansen, I got a little panicky. A couple of workers helped speed me along, though, and I found my Nozomi train literally one minute before it left the station.

The trip to Kyoto would take just under three hours. I did some window shopping at the first few concession carts that came by, and finally took the plunge with a bentō marked as featuring chicken. While not quite worth the $8 I paid for it, it wasn't bad.

One of the train's several stops was Hiroshima, and I got a thrill from knowing I was officially going farther on the train than I'd ever been. We passed near Osaka (Shin-Osaka Station, to be exact), another city I'd like to visit before I leave.

We finally arrived at Kyoto Station at 9:14. (Not 'around 9:15'--exactly 9:14, as listed on the ticket and timetable.) The station was pretty neat, and already had all of its Christmas decorations on display.

I called Ju, who lived in Kyoto for a year in college, and asked her for some recommended destinations. (Not wanting to count my chickens, I hadn't done any serious planning for what to do once I actually got to Kyoto.) Being awesome, she said she'd email me some suggested destinations. After doing a little bit of sightseeing in and around the station, I headed out for the city.