kyoto

My new friend from Australia, Eleanor, was going to be in Kyoto yesterday so we had agreed to meet.  Katie was in Hiroshima with friends for a 2 day bike trip, so this was my first time in Japan really alone.  I feel pretty comfortable in Osaka most of the time now, so I guess it was time to push myself further.  I’m truly not sure what this says about me.

My anxiety was extremely high yesterday morning without Katie to help me plan my trip.  Eleanor had given me the name of the train line, the Karasuma Line.  The train system is similar to the subway system, but different, and different = scary, at least for me.  Kyoto is a large city and I was so worried about getting there and not finding Eleanor, or ending up in who-knows-where.

First I had to get to Umeda, my nemesis at first, but now I feel much more confident there.  I spoke to the train master about how to get to the Karasuma line and he pointed me up 2 floors to the Hankyu-Kyoto trains.  Katie called me just then and hearing her voice helped.  I couldn’t find the platform at first and I’m sorry to say I was feeling really sick and unsure and really just wishing I was home.  I was waiting on the platform and the train was due to arrive any moment.  There were so many platforms!  I found another employee and sure enough, I was on the wrong platform.  Down the stairs, up some more……I boarded the train with utter trepidation.  I did get a seat though, for which I was grateful.  The ride was 55 minutes and by the first stop the train was standing room only.

The scenery was magnificent!  I really tried to relax and appreciate the mountains which were much closely and covered in trees.  Kyoto is like driving from Orlando to St. Augustine in distance.  After 30 minutes it struck me.  I don’t know where my head was–somehow I thought I would just ride the train until it stopped then get off.  I suddenly realized I had no idea where I was or when to get off the train.  I knew I was looking for the Shijo Station.  One of the differences between trains and subways, however, is there is no flashing sign over the door to tell you what station you are in.  Another difference is they make zero announcements in English and I could not hear the conductor making the station announcements.  At the first stop so many people were exiting I asked the guy next to me if this was Shijo–yes!  I asked again–yes.

No, it wasn’t.

I went to the station master’s office.  A women was trying to tell me something over and over but I could not understand her.  I bet we do that to people in the US all the time, just repeat the word, as though hearing it repeatedly will help.  Finally she got a guy with better English.  It became apparent they were trying to correct the amount charged to my train card.  I told them I didn’t care, I just needed to get to Shijo. I asked him if I could walk–no, over an hour.  He told me to give him 30 yen, then he wrote a note in Japanese on a small form.  He told me to go to platform 3 and go 1 stop, which I did and I was there!  I gave the guy at the real Shijo Station my form and he let me pass through a special gate without paying again.

Thankfully, finding Eleanor was easy this time!  She had been there for a day and a half, so she knew a bit about the city.  It was 55 degrees with rain in the forecast.  We walked through the famous Nishiki Market.  Kyoto had way more tourists than Osaka.  The market went on for blocks and blocks with interesting shops, restaurants, and food markets.

Then we went to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine.  I can barely describe it.  Wiki says the earliest parts were built in 711 AD.  The whole of Mt. Inari makes up the shrine, with thousands and thousands of bright orange torii gates.  Businesses buy the gates, almost like sponsors.  But here it is more like a prayer of prosperity.  The large gates are tens of thousands of dollars and each one is replaced every 4 years due to the weather deterioration.  We climbed and climbed, frequently thinking about turning back.  Ultimately we went to the top; my phone app says we climbed 75 flights yesterday.  There were many women, young and old, and even some men wearing the traditional beautiful kimonos.  Along the way there were many smaller shrines, each one quiet and beautiful.  It turned out we only had a few sprinkles and the cooler weather was welcome with all the strenuous climbing up and down.

The view of the city from near the top was extraordinary!  You could see the raised highway snaking it’s way through Kyoto with the ever present mountains in the background.

We were pretty tired and hungry when we finally made it to the bottom, 2-3 hours later.  We had spotted a ramen restaurant on the way through the city and were determined to have warm, rich ramen for lunch.  We passed by dozens of delicious smelling booths with fish, beef, corn, all things Japanese.  The shrine and city are adjacent, so even though the shrine felt like it was in the woods on this mountain, which it was, the city is right there against it.

We finally found our restaurant and “CLOSED, we have run out of the noodles for the day.”  What!?!?!  That struck me as so funny and I was sure it meant we missed a great meal!

We took the train back to downtown Kyoto where her hotel was located and found…surprise…a mall!  Eleanor is much more adventurous with food than me, not that it’s hard to be!  I told her I would go anywhere she wanted as long as she could figure it out.  She found a restaurant that did Shabu-shabu, or hot pot.  She had always wanted to try it, and although I was not confident at all, I stuck by my promise.  They put a big pot of broth on your table and turn on a burner to bring it to a boil. You select veggies from like a salad bar; cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, noodles.  Then they bring you 2 types of very thinly sliced meat.  You put portions in the pot and they cook for a few minutes and then you eat them while starting another batch.  The broth becomes richer and richer as your “soup” cooks.  It was delicious!

Being a big scaredy cat, Eleanor helped me find my train at 5 PM.  I had taken so many pictures my phone battery was low, but these kids……..just like Katie, Eleanor had a battery pack she let me use to recharge during dinner.  (Note to self, buy battery pack!)  I confirmed with the station agent that I was getting on the right train again.  This time I took a picture of the map on my phone, which showed each train stop, so I could be sure where to get off.

But, I made a mistake Katie had told me about weeks ago.  Instead of taking the Limited Express, I took the local.  So we stopped at every single stop, which got me worried I was on the wrong train until I realized what was happening.  Instead of 10 stops it was more like 20.  Since this was a train and not a subway, the trip was above ground, so I again enjoyed the scenery while trying to focus on the train stops.  This little sweetie sat there like such a big girl looking around.  After several minutes, she spotted me and stared and stared.  She reached up with her tiny hands and started playing with her black hair.  I reached up and twirled my hair too, and this went on for several minutes.

But duh, this time the train did go to the end of the line, Umeda.  Everyone exited.  With my new found Umeda confidence, I got my subway home.

Now that I know how to do it, I may return to Kyoto.  But I may not.  It was like all the “courage” I had for being here was used up.  Maybe I’ll feel differently in a couple days.

While Katie was out of town, I got to use her wifi with abandon.  I’m really trying to embrace the coffee shop, but I’m facing 3 more weeks of no wifi.  I just can’t believe I made such a mistake.  My apartment is fine, but not homey.  There is no good place to just relax and when you’re here such a long time, you really need that.  So once I post this I’m going to research other options.  This apartment is a “moderate” cancellation fee which means I can get half my money back.  But that’s a big hit, so I probably won’t do it.  It’s all something I will think about in the future, but right now it’s my present so I will see how I feel after my research.  Thankfully I found the one coffee shop with lots of seats in it, really the only one I’ve seen in the city so far that isn’t packed all the time!  But a bright spot about that is the day before yesterday I made another acquaintance at a crowded Starbucks.  She was from Romania and her English was perfect!  In fact, she says everyone in Romania speaks English because they learn it at school.  I also learned from Eleanor that people are required to vote in Australia.  If you don’t you are fined.

Turns out Katie called yesterday to tell me there had been an earthquake near there–really glad she didn’t tell me yesterday morning during my train anxiety moment!  Good weather for a couple days here, so that definitely helps all the way around.  Love from here to there <3

Photo:  Fishimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Kyoto