Kyoto in the Rain

This morning we finally got breakfast sorted - we ate in the hotel. I hadn't managed to book breakfast when booking the rooms and we misread the menu on the first day and thought it wouldn't be suitable. There was the usual combination of egg and bread, but there was also a set with croissants and pain au chocolat, instead of the toast and a choice of coffee, tea AND orange juice. The set included a salad, which even for me is a breakfast no-no.

It is raining this morning so we made a plan for Jackie and me to return to yesterday's shopping streets and for Ben to join us later for lunch and a wander through Gion, after investing in some me-time in the hotel. It all went to plan and we were able to meet easily using WhatsApp's live location sharing feature. As a bonus, our deeper dive into the shopping streets uncovered a Burger King, which is Ben's preferred fast food outlet at home, so that took care of lunch.

Dodging the rain all day doesn't make for interesting reading, so here are a few thoughts about the locals. Japanese culture emphasises subtlety, discipline and respect for others, both in the way people communicate and in their daily habits. Other than teenage children on a school trip, and the incessant announcements on the transport network, there is a quietness here and it is considered rude to talk loudly, especially on a mobile phone. On trains and lifts there are warnings not to do so and also to beware of sound leaking from your headphones. Amongst the other announcements on the metro is a suggestion that you wear a backpack at the front for the convenience of your fellow travellers.

Wearing a mask when feeling unwell or during allergy seasons is seen as a polite gesture to avoid spreading germs or allergens and blowing your nose in public is the height of bad manners, while sniffing is acceptable..

It is also almost impossible to out-polite a Japanese person. Approaching an escalator this morning at the same time as 2 elderly Japanese ladies, my thinking was "here are 2 elderly ladies, they should go onto the escalator before me", whilst they were most likely thinking "here are 2 (elderly?) tourists, we will show deference". And so, after exchanging 2 or 3 international gestures of "after you", we had no option but to go ahead.

Forget the temples, for me the Kyoto main station building is the most breathtaking site in the whole of the city. It is one of the country's largest buildings, incorporating a shopping mall, hotel, movie theater, a department store and several local government facilities under one 15-story roof. It is massive, some 70 metres high and 470 metres wide. There is a scale model of the station building made from 310,584 pieces of Lego in a covered area adjacent to one of the roof terraces and even that is massive (for something built of Lego). https://youtu.be/zgK9FCxVABo?si=yofAJGEyuFM3pBpR

Although we have passed through the station a few times this week, we had not taken any time out to explore until tonight. At night the station takes on a new persona, brightly lit in multiple colours and with stunning views across the city. Right up in the roof space is a suspended walkway linking the east and west roof terraces, and stretching from the 3rd to 10th floors is a spectacular Daikaidan (Grand Stairs), comprising of 171 steps and thousands of multicoloured Led lights. The Daikaidan displays a series of colourful images which, depending on the time of the year, can be anything from Santa on his sleigh to springtime cherry blossom or autumn leaves. It it's hard to imagine that the primary function of this building is to receive trains and distribute passengers.Read more