Off to Kyoto

Yesterday I left the hostel in Tokyo and headed for Tokyo train station.  There I got on the Shinkansen to Kyoto.   It is about a 280 mile trip and only took 2 and 3 quarter hours, now why cant we do that in the UK.  The train even had nice leg room and comfy seats.  Once I got to Kyoto I went to the hostel I was staying.  My room is quite nice and I am sleeping on the floor.

After I had checked in I went out exploring the local area.  It was a bit colder than Tokyo but still as sunny.  After I had looked around for a bit I found a nice restaurant where I had a nice chicken ramen.  Kyoto is very different from Tokyo, it seems a little more laid back and a bit quieter, also not everyone is wearing a suit.

This morning I went to Nijo-jo castle. It was very different to the castles in the UK.  It had an outer moat and an inner moat, but didn't have a keep.  It had a palace where the shogun used to stay and then another building where he would meet feuding warlords.  Again it was a beautiful day with a temperature of 18 degrees.

After Nijo-jo castle I decided to go into the centre of town and go down a few of the smaller streets.  One of the side streets was a food market, with many different types of food that I had never seen before.

After I was passing through Kyoto train station and a group of junior school children came up to me and wanted to practice their English.  Their teacher was there and explained that they are going to the USA soon and wanted to practice their conversational English.  So they asked me a few questions like where do I come from and what am I visiting in Kyoto.

This afternoon I visited the Toji pagoda.  It is 5 storeys and is the tallest pagoda in Japan.  It has been destroyed by fire a few times and then rebuilt.  Inside had many statues of Buddha and his followers.

Some of the blossoms are blooming:

Well I am off to find some dinner.