Japan

Last stop of our adventure - Japan - before our destination. We flew into Tokyo and stayed at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. It might have been the tiniest room I have ever stayed in - a twin room in the north tower. I mean, I have stayed in some small rooms in Europe but we are now 4 people. The twin beds are really twin-size beds (some hotels have slightly larger ones). It was clean enough though, and we were only staying a couple nights. The hotel complex was quite large, with multiple towers, an aquarium, cinemas, etc, and near the train station and a McDonald's (our dinner the first night - I know, I know, but we were tired). We did partake of the hotel breakfast - huge spread but nothing to eat. Ok, I'm a fan of rice but not for breakfast. And there was a big selection of pastries which were piled onto everyone's plates - how do these people stay thin?
I confess to being fascinated with Japan. The culture, old and new, the food, the goods. In 2007, we stopped over in Nagoya on a visit to Singapore. Nagoya was a nice intro to Japan, and we also took a train to Kyoto. I have very fond memories of Kyoto - it was pretty and I took some great pictures. Unfortunately our camera was stolen in Singapore. So I've always wanted to go back and recapture some of those shots. I finally got my wish. I was a little nervous about fallout from the nuclear incident earlier in the year, but we decided it was safe enough for a short trip.
The only place we checked out in Tokyo was Shinjuku, as we planned to spend most of our visit in Kyoto. We walked around, then found a nice park - the Shinjuku Gyoen. It was chrysanthemum season and they were everywhere.

Shinjuku

Shinjuku Gyoen - artists at work (play?)

We took the shinkansen - cool even the second time around (sticker shock from the ticket price though) - to Kyoto. Stayed at Hotel Sunroute Kyoto. The hotel was a bit difficult to find, but a very nice tour guide at the train station gave us instructions to the bus. Our room was much nicer than the one in Tokyo (bigger twin beds) and the hotel was within walking distance to a shopping area and Gion. The breakfast was a pretty good deal too.

Gion

Kodaiji? Near Maruyama Park

We visited the Nijo castle, which was neat. The palace had nightingale floors where visitors had to take off their shoes for the tour. Again there were chrysanthemums everywhere. We could not recognize many of the fish for sale at the Nishiki market but it was fun to check out the various foods on offer. And we went back to the Path of Philosophy. It felt different this time around, somehow. Not as tranquil (probably because I had one more kid to chase around). It was still pretty though, a nice walk and stopping at different temples.

Chrysanthemum display at the Nijo castle

Ninomaru palace

On the Path of Philosophy

It can be challenging to travel in Japan without knowing Japanese. Sometimes you have to look hard for the English signs (for hotels and restaurants, for example). We had trouble finding Shiruko, a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. It had no English sign - some nice locals finally called the restaurant and directed us. We were designated to a private room (foreigners with two rowdy children, I guess) which had a nice view into a little garden. The rikyu bento was indeed a work of art (and yummy).
And menus - it can be tiring to decipher menu after menu for something to eat. The food models in many restaurants do help. I know Chinese so can recognize the Kanji characters, but there was one restaurant where I thought we were getting beef, and the specialty turned out to be beef tongue. Thank goodness they had pork and chicken (not tongue) too. By the end of the trip, I had tired of rice and tofu, foods I normally enjoy. 

Rikyu bento at Shiruko

Garden by the Shiruko private room

One of the funny English signs we spied