On to Kyoto

We had a good trip to Kyoto. Local train to Shinagawa, shinkansen to Kyoto, local train for one stop, then a short walk.

The shinkansen was as comfortable as you would expect. Once again there was nowhere to put our luggage, but the conductor sorted that out for us. Mine was locked in her cabin. Fortunately she remembered to get it out when we got to Kyoto :-D

We got slightly lost (again!) trying to find our little house. The location is fabulous.  Close to two little temples. A very short walk to the main street where we found three little supermarkets in close proximity to each other. We are a half hour walk to the main Kyoto station but only a ten or so minute walk to the local station.

The house itself is fairly new. It's absolutely beautiful. And I would never stay here again!  The main problem is that there is nowhere to sit. There is a very small island bench in the kitchen with three stools but there are no lounge chairs, or small couch, or anything.  There is one bedroom downstairs which I am sleeping in and we are using that as somewhere to sit.  I am sleeping in that room because the stairs are so steep that I struggled to come back down them. The kitchen is remarkably badly equipped. No knives, so no buttering the bread. Glasses, yes; cups, no. Chopping knife, yes; vegetable peeler, no.  I keep looking at the house and thinking that it is very, very lovely - and completely impractical.  I was beginning to wonder if it was just me (the reviews are uniformly good). But Lindsey and Sandy also think that it is beautiful but impractical.

And all it would have taken, really, would be to have found some space for a couple of chairs or a sofa in some of the wasted space in the kitchen area and we probably wouldn't have paid much attention to the other inconveniences.  I can always buy a vegetable peeler.  (But I'm not going to buy an iron!  I shall have to live in crumpled clothes while I am here)

It looks lovely 

but it's ill-equipped and quite uncomfortable

On the upside - I have a bedroom with a view

Right.  Enough moaning about the accommodation. I'm off to sample the shower (in the courtyard!) which I'm told has good water pressure and plentiful hot water.  And then we might go and inspect the local temple.

In other news, look at the price of booze in the local supermarket

( about $AU15 )