So we have packed a ton into the last 24 hours. We got up at 5:30 on Thursday to catch the first train to Miyajima. Two transfers and a ferry ride later we were at the island and ready to explore... our exploring was blessed because it stopped raining right when we got to the island. We did a loop around the main attractions... sadly we didn't h...

I caught the Shinkansen (bullet train) down to Kyoto and the service was as good as its reputation. The trains are really fast, but they also manage to depart and arrive exactly on time. My first impressions of Kyoto were of just another asian city, with tower blocks and neon lights. But as you walk around you start to find hidden temples and st...

Es gab Ikumi-san´s selbstgebackenes Brot zum Frühstück bevor sie uns zum Bahnhof brachten. Der Abschied viel schwer und die äußerst sympatische Ikumi-san wollte uns noch ein paar Tage länger behalten, aber unsere Reise musste weitergehen nach Kyoto. Die angenehme Zugfahrt schlängelte sich entlang eines Flusses, der oft von Wasserkraftwerken unte...

We woke up very early because of jet lag, and even though we were still dirty from the trip from San Francisco (the woman in charge had not shown us where the shower was) we decided to have a little walk around the city. Since we were starving, we decided to stop at a convenience store for some pre-breakfast snackies. We got a couple pastries fr...

So, we set off an a trip from school to go tour Kyoto. It was just going to be a quick afternoon tour, which is what it was. After switching trains a few times, we finally arrive at Gojo station on the outskirts of Kyoto. From there it was a short walk along a souvenir crowded main street toward the smaller, pedestrian-only winding roads to the ...

The bus had defeated Xiaomei, Mark and I on our first trip to Kyoto together, preventing us from getting to Nijo-jo, the Second Street Castle. We vowed to return though, and return we did less than a week later. Again, we purchased all-day bus passes. It was Golden Week, a week of national holidays in which many people have off from work and sch...

I had just gotten back from a late morning jog around campus when Mark knocked on my door and asked if I was up for an adventure. I couldn't turn this down, so I grabbed a quick shower and we were off. Although unsure of exactly where we were going, the late start made us decide on nearby Kyoto. For the second weekend in a row we road the Keihan...