This morning we caught the 10.00am bullet train (Shinkansen) from Tokyo to Kyoto. Quite an experience! Not so much because of the speed (the tracks are so smooth that you hardly realise you are exceeding 200mph) but because of the way the Japanese staff run the show. While we were waiting for the train to arrive (we were about 15 minutes early) we noticed the cleaning staff lining up. There are 16 coaches on the train, and the platforms are clearly marked to show where the doors will be when the train stops. A lady in a pink uniform was ready by each marker about five minutes before the train arrived, and they bowed to their supervisor before starting work. Passengers waiting to board didn't rush forward as soon as the train doors opened. It is clearly understood that you first let the passengers off, then you wait for the cleaning ladies to do their work and then you board when the train staff signal that all is ready. SO civilised!
Once the train starts, the ticket inspector walks through your carriage until he reaches the electric sliding door at the end. He steps through the door, which closes behind him. You can still see him through the glass panel, and he then removes his cap, comes back through the door and bows to the carriage before checking tickets. Once he's finished with your carriage, he bows again before moving on! The same goes for the other staff, including the girls who wheel the refreshment trolley through the carriage. A lovely smile and a bow - you can't beat it!
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| Our bullet train noses into Tokyo station. |
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| The cleaning ladies get ready. |
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| The ticket collector for our carriage. |
Our hotel in Kyoto is incorporated into the astonishing, futuristic main railway station, so we didn't have far to go. Thankfully, this is a proper hotel, unlike the stylish but oh so tiny Remm hotel in Tokyo, and we have enough room to unpack and move about. After settling in for an hour or so, we chose the Shogunate Nijo Castle for our first bit of sightseeing. It's not really a castle as we understand the term, but a complex of buildings erected in the sixteenth century by the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. They are mostly built of wood and have "nightingale" floors, which are wooden floors constructed in such a way as to squeak when anyone walks on them, thus warning of intruders. The buildings are lovely, as are the gardens which surround them, with the whole complex set within a moated and walled perimeter.
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| Part of the Shogunate complex at Nijo. |
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| Part of the beautiful gardens at Nijo. |
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| A bridge across the moat at Nijo Castle. |
We got back to the hotel in plenty of time to rest up before visiting the "Sky Lounge" on the 15th floor of our hotel for a pre-dinner drink. Dinner was in one of the hotel's three Japanese restaurants, and was really lovely, served by friendly, smiley, helpful staff.
Oh, I nearly forgot. Unlike Tokyo, Kyoto is clearly a place where people, especially but not exclusively ladies, still wear traditional clothes. We spotted these ladies having a natter in the station beneath our hotel...
Jen's bit: I'm getting very used to smiling and bowing slightly at everyone in shops and restaurants, and even just people passing in the street. Wonder how that will go down in Seattle? Jx
Memories of the war die hard (understandably to some extent)and older folks in the UK often have little time for talk about Japan. Either that or they just think of the entire nation as cruel whale-eaters. As you're finding, though, Japanese people are generally unfailingly polite and this serves for a very pleasant experience for visitors. The railway station really is something else, eh?
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