Today the goal was to travel to Kyoto. We slept in and took our time packing up since our hotel checkout time wasn’t until 11:00. We ended up leaving around 10:30, with the addition of a large shopping bag that I needed to carry since they were not lying about the shopping temptation in Japan. Even for quasi-minimalists like us.
It was raining so we splurged on a cab to Tokyo Station. The ride was about a mile (maybe less) and cost $7.61. Kind of a silly expense but it was pissing so it is what it is.
At Tokyo Station the plan was to go to a counter and buy our shinkansen tickets from a real person because some of the online advice said the machines were confusing. But online advice also said you needed cash everywhere and that it can be difficult as an English-speaker in Japan – both WRONG. The line for a real person was long so we gave the machine a try and guess what? It worked out. You can toggle to English instructions, and I’ve used computers my whole life. Why do some people try to make travel seem harder than it is?
We ended up buying tickets for a later 12:24 pm train that still had seats together on the right side (increased chance of seeing Mt. Fuji and only 2 seats in the row). It was no problem wasting the time in the station looking for a bakery and buying our ekiben. The ride to Kyoto was smooth and easy as expected. A very pleasant way to eat unagi, journal, and knit. Alas, Mt. Fuji continued to elude me thanks to overcast weather.
The walk from Kyoto Station to the Tune Stay hotel was less than 10 minutes and the initial impression was fantastic. The room was small of course (kind of like a college dorm room), but clean and efficient. In addition to a vanity area with sink just outside the bathroom, there was one of those very cool handwashing sinks built into the top of the toilet. Brilliant for water conservation! (Kind of like this. Not my photo.)
The hotel common areas as pictured online were what sold me on this hotel to begin with and they did not disappoint in person. There’s a bookstore with primarily Japanese language books but also some in English. The bookstore area has amphitheater type seating that is great for the international short films they play every night. The hotel also has a large communal kitchen with table/chair seating, and there’s a gin bar with tables and chairs as well. The craft gin cocktails were great and were only around $6 USD each. Large coin-operated laundry machines are available for a fair price that automatically dispensed the detergent. Each floor of rooms had shelving with spare towels at the elevators to grab as needed. We paid $852.20 for our 9 nights here booking through Expedia. I failed at taking photos of the hotel, but their website has a lot of good, accurate images.
Scott found us a great spot nearby for an early dinner: 100K Craft Beer & Pizza. I had a nice, fresh salad and realized I hadn’t had much fresh produce on this trip. The camembert cheese fries were like upgraded mozzarella sticks.
Afterwards we went in search of the JINS store so I could get my own pair of eyeglasses. I selected a pair with thickish black frames and got in immediately for an exam. A couple of quick steps and the salesperson recommended +2.25s. Geez perimenopause has decimated my eyesight. They didn’t have the right lens size in stock and asked cautiously if it would possibly be OK if I waited for a few days for them to come in. Otherwise I could pick another frame and could have them in an hour. I was OK waiting a few days since we weren’t leaving Kyoto until the 21st!
The mall with the JINS store – Yodobashi – also had a Uniqlo, so of course we had to buy more things. Scott got another color of his new favorite shorts and I grabbed three colors of a “new release” simple crewneck sweater. I’m going to need to purge some stuff from our tiny closet when we get home. Oh, and I also felt compelled to buy these pajama pants covered in a print of a melancholy kitten in a shark costume. WHY?
Also in this mall was a store called Ishii Sports. OMG, so good. Since I literally couldn’t stop buying all of the things every day in Japan I knew I would need to buy a suitcase to get it home. But when we came across this store it occurred to me that I could go ahead and just buy the new pack I’ll need for our July 2025 trip. I picked the Lowe Alpine Airzone ND28. I love her.
We spent so much money today. Mr. Budget said we’re doing fine. We ended the day back at our hotel in the gin bar.
Kjar-ied Away 