Seven minutes late !

 

November 28 2024

Train Kyoto - Hiroshima

Thanksgiving

Last night was indeed hotel dinner. I was tired and didn’t feel like walking a block and a half to get food. Lights out at 9pm, expecting to get an early start to see the last two items on my Kyoto list. How 6am scheduled time became 8am is beyond me.

Quick cup of Starbuck’s best instant in the room and out on the streets. I am not anything, if not optimistic. Let’s see where Apple Maps opts to send me today.

There is a temple that sits on a hill and is the essence of a Kyoto picture postcard. Golden surrounded by trees overlooking the city proper. This was the goal the first failed walk on arriving in Kyoto. Apple Maps see, bus 202 seven stops.

There was an orderly line at the bus stop of about 10 people. In (I guess) the appropriate time the bus arrived and we all squeeze in. Standing room only and not a lot of that. No toes stepped on, either theirs or mine.

Well a stop of the bus is not a bus stop, so 1 - 2 - 3 ….. 6, time to worm my way to the front and 7!. Apple Watch please work, I fed you this morning . Click, ‘Beep!’, concrete under my feet, and no honk from the bus driver. Success.

I am pretty much where I ended my walk the last time. come to find out I was not where I wanted to be. There was still another 1/2 mile trudge uphill to the temple. The place I was at that I thought was closed was something else.

Uphill myself and a pile of others started walking. The street is narrow and the tour buses are large, so are the delivery trucks. Of course the majority of people are going against me, unless I change sides of the street, then they are going against me. I am so glad I left my luggage at the hotel.

The temple is as spectacular as the photos suggest. The crowds (including me) are tolerable, though in summer it would be hard to breathe. Got my temple autograph, and finally told how to say Thank you properly. I used to say ‘Arigato GoSeeMa”, seems it is “Arigato Hoz’eye’ma”. Really happy she set e straight, alas it is about 10 days late.

Past the ‘Easy Childbirth’, temple. Seems maybe there should be more of those. Then off to the Temple of Pee. Of course there was a line. That seems universal. No matter where you go, there are always men hanging around, with purses that do not match their shoes, and a line of women close by trying to look like they aren’t waiting to relive themselves.

After, cold water hand wash, no soap and no hand towels or jet engine blower thing. As the girl who’s dating the football player says “Shake it off”.

Apple Maps says again bus 202, four stops this time. I de-bus and have .9 miles of streets ahead to get where I think I want to go. We have all seen that winding street, with the temple at the end, and the geishas walking under a paper umbrella in the foreground. Well where ever I was going it wasn’t that. I did arrive after an hour. It was less that a mile away and could have been made in 2/3 that time, if it wasn’t for the stop lights. You don’t have a Green Walk man on the light at an intersection, you wait. Doesn’t matter if any vehicles are coming or not, you wait. I can see the lone Japanese man after the apocalypse walking the streets of Japan, stopping and waiting at each intersection for the light to change.

The marked location was a castle. Well frankly a castle is a castle at this point of my trip and current interest, besides my feet are pleading for mercy. Ten bucks to see a castle I couldn’t care less about, no thank you.

Apple Maps, tell me how to get back to the area around the train station. There are busses passing, maps says go across the street and catch the subway .. what the heck? you make me walk a mile and there are busses and subways near the destination? Apple Maps you are a bitch. You couldn’t get me to a place to transfer buses to .. oh forget it.

TAXI !! Kyoto station please.

OMG !! We left the last station 7 minutes late !! (On Shinkansen at the moment) an announcement was just made with a big apology.

All moving vehicles so far, be they taxi or bus. The driver shifts into PARK each and every time they must stop at a traffic light. I wonder what the thinking behind that is.

Back at the hotel, get my luggage and head back to the train station. The Shinkansen ticket kiosk still intimidates me, so I go into the JR ticket office. There is the laziest, most unhelpful full counter agent in Japan. If he doesn’t care this much at this stage in his career he’s going to be a peach in 20 years. I’m buying a Green car ticket, first class and it makes me wonder how the little people are handled by this guy.

We are really screaming down the line, to make up those lost minutes., the train feels different like it’s straining to go that fast.

I had a scone at Starbucks, so I got a quick bite at the station. One of those rice triangles. This one had English subtitles. Almost grabbed the Cod Roe one, got salmon on. The tuna mayo was better.

Choo choo for Hiroshima arrived for on time. Found my seat and all is right in the world. Next to a ferry and then a hotel on an island. Leaving Kyoto with 2 of three required sights seen. I still wonder where that crooked street is.