Kyoto bound, we boarded the Shinkansen bullet train with eager anticipation
Our train, the Nozomi (のぞみ; ‘Wish’ or ‘Hope’), is the fastest service on the Tokaido Shinkansen line. The Nozomi’s top speed is 300 km/h (186 mph).
John, Paul, George and Ringo boarded this one…
They kindly gave us a wave
Jolly decent chaps!
Kyoto (京都, Kyōto) served as Japan’s capital and the emperor’s residence from 794 until 1868. It is one of the country’s ten largest cities with 1.5 million inhabitants.
Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but due to its exceptional historic value, the city was dropped from the list of target cities for the atomic bomb and escaped destruction during World War II.
Well, we were not expecting this in downtown Kyoto
The large indoor arcade area is not unlike the Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) in Istanbul, if a more modern version.
Oh and another Zara flagship to be negotiated. Those who know, know!
Just down the road, we came across Pontocho (先斗町, Pontochō), one of Kyoto’s dining areas. Very atmospheric, a narrow alley running from Shijo-dori to Sanjo-dori, parallel to Kamogawa River.
Ready to eat, we settled on a lively bar – Freddie Mercury and his team banging out their big tunes – and gyoza (Japanese dumplings) + wagyu skewers + a couple of flagons each of Kirin beer. All enthusiastically served up by our friend here.
Heading back to the hotel we came across something else that was quite unexpected
Our Saturday night out, sorted!
We came here under the illusion that Kyoto is Japan’s ‘cultural capital’. We will go in search of that tomorrow. All the while, comforted that we have a fallback option in the Belgian Beer extravaganza site that we actually managed to pass on by. It just goes to show how tired we are after yet another full on day.
Yes, tomorrow we will get focused.
Oddity of the day? Remember the artificial 3-d meal exhibits signalled in Day 1’s post? Well…
😳
Time for bed
Sailing off to Sparta 
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