Day 5 - Kyoto to Yudanaka

Today was a travel day - making our way up to the snowy mountains of Japan. First, we checked out of our hotel and weren't sad to see our hard beds go. We made our way to Kyoto station where we caught the Shinkansen to Nagoya - took about 1/2 hour. But we were crammed in beside a woman who was napping, so couldn't really see outside. Our next train took us to Nagano. It was an express train that took about 2 and 3/4 hours. We slept a bit and took in the beautiful countryside of Japan. So, the first thing I have to share with you are pictures from the train.

We then made it to our next train which would take us to Yudanaka. We had an amazing seat just under the driver so could see for miles in front of us. Needless, to say I took a whole heap more photos.

For those who are transport minded (working for TMR for 6 years has done this to me) you will notice the photos of the freeway and the fact that the track we are travelling on is a single lane track only. That is what you call scheduling!

After one more train change in the middle of nowhere, we finally made it to Yudanaka. We jumped off our train and into a taxi to get to our hotel. It wasn't far, but it was uphill in the snow and ice, in the dark. It would have been a fun trip. Starving after a day of train travel, we asked our Japanese reception staff about somewhere to eat. He took us out the back door and pointed at a little Japanese restaurant. Inside was warm, the food was amazing and filled us up. Best of all, it only set us back $23. That's for the whole meal. Cue photos… (and yes that is a hagen das icecream vending machine - in our hotel foyer)

Our next outing was to head downstairs to the onsen that is attached to the hotel. For those not in the know, an onsen is a japanese bath house area. The hotel that we are staying at has both an indoor bath and an outdoor bath. We just could not resist trying outdoor bathing. So, we stripped and washed off, dashed out the door, past the piles of snow and into the warm water. It was such an experience. Perfect really. The water was lovely and warm, it was just the two of us and there was snow on all the gardens and lanterns. Then, to top it off, it started to lightly snow. Perfect. We stayed until pruney.

Day 4 - Nishijin & Kawaramachi

We had a very big day planned, but things did not quite go to plan. First, we had planned to see the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Unfortunately because today is a Sunday - it was closed. But we decided to persevere and head to the Nishijin Textile Centre. Unfortunately the map was kind of terrible and we ended up walking about 3 blocks too far. We finally back-tracked and found someone who knew where it was. He drew a map for me and we were there within 10 minutes. After all that trauma, we were determined to go!

And we are both incredibly glad that we did. First up, we watched a video about the silk making process. I don't think I will ever again complain about the price of silk after I have seen what goes into making it. We got to see some vintage textiles that dated from 1000 - 1500 as well as some looms. On display were people working on painting silk fabrics by hand. And a kimono fashion parade. Best of all though, was that we were able to shop there for yukatas and silk products.

Afterwards, we had planned to visit another temple complex, but we had wasted so much time looking for the textile center that it was just not feasible to get there in time. So instead, we did the final part of our itinerary - shopping in Kawaramachi. In specific the covered arcade shopping area. And boy were we successful. I found a lolita shop (Metamorphose) which was completely unintentional, I shopped for boots to keep my tootsies warm and stuck luck with a pair of Vans furry boots for $30. One of the best buys of the day was the vintage kimono and obi silks that I picked up in a store.

For dinner, we decided that instead of just picking something up at the local Family Mart that we would sit down to a meal. We decided to try out Lipton. Yes, they served tea, but they also put together a lovely meal. And the atmosphere just made me feel incredibly fancy.