Kyoto. Part 1.

Mr and Ms X have an unofficial travel consultant who is always at the end of a text, WhatsApp or email to answer any questions or sort any potential dramas. She even does FaceTime! We can highly recommend her service and she is cheap! Just a wine, coffee, babysitting or seeing the enjoyment her clients get from travelling, pays her fee. Her name is Ms C.

When planning the travel leg from Hiroshima to Kyoto on the bullet train-, Ms C had a simple instruction: get off halfway, at Himiji Station, store your bags, go visit the Himiji Castle then come back and resume your journey.

Simple.

Try telling the guy at the Japan Rail office that, that was the plan when endeavouring to reserve seats. No using charades for communication this time. This guy kept passing the iPad to the travellers after speaking and translating his messages. And what was his message? ‘Get off the train if you really have to, don’t leave the platform, ask the station manager to point to the castle, snap your photo and then jump on the next train.‘ This manoeuvre he said was doable in the 8 minutes between trains. So Ms C, Mr and Ms X complied with your instructions to a point and here is the photo of the castle. Apologies for the quality or lack of! Wish the JR officer knew we complied with his orders too! And thanks to the train manager.

It is a bit like Mt Fuji-, only Ms X saw the tourist spot this time as Mr X was on bag minding duties. This time however, Ms X provided evidence unlike her partner!!!!

Mr and Ms X decided to stay in more traditional accommodation than their previous hotels in Japan. This one had its own onsen and traditional matted floor coverings which meant shoes were to be taken off at the door and stored in individual lockers downstairs. Conditions had to be perfect for these two to venture into the onsen, knowing that no bathers were permitted. The TV kept each room abreast of the conditions.

Hooray, the time had come! If you want to know the details then you know where to find Mr X.