Leisurely start today - 0800 Shinkansen to Kyoto.
Love me a bullet train ride. Never fails to thrill. I was awake at 0500, so went for a morning constitutional... the Japanese are not early risers, and the first shinkansen doesn't leave Nagoya till 0620 I discovered. Gates were all locked still at 0545:
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Nagoya concourse had been crazy last night, but at this hour, it was majestically empty:
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The troops were awake on time and we got on the platform with enough time to watch a few trains come and go ahead of our reserved express. Or catch up with friends in Australia.
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The ride there took about 30 mins, and our hotel, which is just one block back from the station had chains and lockers, so we were able to leave all our suitcases and backpacks safely, and head out to explore.
First stop: Kinkku-ji, because it was one of the furthest out, and hopefully least crowded.
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About those crowds...
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It actually wasn't horrible, but it sure wasn't zen.
I can't say I'm a huge temple fan - I got more from my experience in Naraii - and the kids certainly were ambivalent, which I'm okay with.
From there, we took the 204 bus east...
