After arriving in Kyoto by bullet train and checking in to Shiori-an Guesthouse, I began my sightseeing walk around Kyoto. Nishi and Higashi Honganji, two Shin Buddhism temples, were close to where I was staying, so I first went there.
Saw a lot of furry cats outside the templesThere was massive renovation work undergoing at sections of the Nishi Honganji complexYou cannot enter the temple with footwear. You have remove your shoes, carry them in these plastic bags and only then climb up the steps.This temple hall was built in 1895 and claims to be the largest structure made entirely of wood
Or so it claims. I don’t know if it still remains the largest wooden structure, especially after having seen The Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya which uses a heck lot of teak wood.
It was another early morning wake up for me. Yesterday was a pleasant first day of sightseeing in Akihabara and Ginza, but it was time to leave Tokyo already. My plan was to go to Kyoto and Himeji before returning to Tokyo in time (hopefully) for the sakura bloom across the city. I planned to go to Kyoto by the Nozomi shinkansen — the fastest bullet train in Japan. The Nozomi (N700 series) travels at a top speed of 300km/hr, whereas the Hikari trains run slightly slower and stop at a lot more stations. This being my first time in a bullet train, I figured I might as well experience the best.
I bought my ticket at the counter at Tokyo station. It cost ¥13080 (₹7100/$109/€96) — a lot of money for a one way trip. But I really wanted to get on the fastest train in Japan. For those who are wondering why I didn’t buy a JR Pass, the minimum cost of a JR Rail Pass is ¥29,110 (₹15810/$243/€215) and that’s valid for 7 days. Now, as per my itinerary, I would be taking at the most 3 train trips and after calculating the cost of each journey (you can do that on this website), I realized I would be spending slightly less than that. Also, the Nozomi trains are not included in the JR Passes, which is stupid because the fares for some routes are the same whether you ride the Nozomi or the Hikari.
Tokyo station is so huge that it can often be a bit confusing at firstFortunately Tokyo station has English-speaking staff to help confused-looking first time tourists like me
I had to board my train quickly as I only had a few minutes before its scheduled departure. For routes on the Tōkaidō line, there are trains leaving every 10 minutes or so. The bullet trains don’t stay too long on one platform — and if you haven’t heard, the trains in Japan are extremely punctual! I couldn’t even take a photo of the train before it departed because I was rushing to get in before the doors closed.
I quickly got into the car/coach which was nearest to me as soon as I entered the right platform. I knew this wasn’t my seat but I figured I would move to my seat after the car doors closed and the train began to move.The regular cars have a 3 by 3 seating arrangement. The premium Green cars have 2 seats on either side of the aisle. You have reserved (pre-reserved) and un-reserved seat cars too.The bullet train does not travel very fast while cruising through Tokyo
Ahh, wide footpathsYup, that’s a Gundam Cafe and next to it the official AKB48 Cafe & Shop 🙂 For the uninitiated, Gundam is a popular mecha manga/anime/videogame franchise and AKB48 is the biggest (literally) girl group (literally) in Japan. And both cafes had long lines outside.Akihabara maybe the home to otaku/nerd/geek culture, but there are plenty of offices aroundWhen I reached the main road, I just stood there with a smile 🙂 An area with so many videogames, anime, gadgets… couldn’t believe such a place exists, but hey, I’m finally in Akihabara!I was tempted to enter Club Sega, but I turned around insteadThis was a complex of stores selling spare parts, electrical components and retro gadgetsDefinitely a place for electronics hobbyistsI just wonder how many still build stuff from scratch in the days of easy consumptionI crossed over to the main hub of Akihabara districtThere were so many enticing buildings, but I had to get around quicklyI knew it was time for lunch, but I somehow thought I’d finish walking around Akihabara firstLot’s of girls trying to entice men (mostly) to enter maid cafesA few stores had street sales but I didn’t find all the prices as low as they were claiming it to be
