Part 1: A Lap Around the World with Anita | Kyoto
As promised in my previous blog about our working holiday, In some following blog posts, I will go into more detail about the various parts of our programme. I will therefore write successively about:
First, more about Kyoto!
After a fantastic business-class flight with KLM, we arrived in Osaka. In my opinion, KLM has a fantastic business-class service. The seats, for example, are fantastic. The seats are “full-flat beds” and very comfortable. The food is also excellent.
Amsterdam – Osaka
Directly after landing in Osaka, you experience the structured nature of the Japanese people. You don't have to search for anything; everything you're looking for is so well-signposted, and even indicated with arrows on the floor. You really can't miss what you're looking for. Without taking a single wrong turn at this enormous airport, we were able to easily find the counter to book the high-speed train to Kyoto. They work so efficiently that there are hardly any queues. This also has to do with the fact that there is “hidden” unemployment. In other words, there are actually “too many” people working. Perhaps not in these types of roles. But take the airport, for example; there's someone on practically every corner who will kindly point you in the right direction, even if it's clearly indicated by signs. The advantage is that you immediately feel very welcome, as everyone is kind and helpful.
With the high-speed train from Osaka to Kyoto
We were soon on the Shinkansen to Kyoto, with reserved seats (after the train had been carefully cleaned and the seats turned to face the direction of travel). We bought individual tickets as we were only going to be in Japan for 5 days. If you stay for longer and plan to travel extensively by train, it's much more cost-effective to purchase a Railway Pass.
After approximately 1.5 hours, we arrived at Kyoto station, and here too, everything was running in an orderly fashion. We joined the short queue for a taxi. There was no jostling, and everyone was incredibly polite.
We soon arrived at our hotel. For our stay, we had chosen the Celestine Kyoto hotel. An authentic Japanese hotel and recommended if you don't wish to stay in a more standard hotel. This hotel is located right in the middle of the beautiful Gion and Higashiyama districts and within walking distance of the (in my opinion) most beautiful temple in Kyoto, Kyomizu-dera.
A packed itinerary in Kyoto
We had a packed schedule for the coming days. Some activities were planned, but we also visited various hotels. Our boys dutifully tag along when we visit business-related places. For example, we visited various temples, went on a cycle tour, which had to include a visit to the Golden Pavilion, Kinkaku-ji (a group of us will be going to Japan soon and will be doing this cycle tour, among other things), and we visited various restaurants.
Also, be sure to watch the video below for an impression of how orders are often placed and served in restaurants! We have also reviewed several other restaurants suitable for (large) groups. For hotels, we have visited the Hyatt Regency and the Four Seasons hotel, among others.
Off to Tokyo
After two nights, it was time to pack our bags again and travel on to Tokyo, a city I really love visiting. In a future blog, I'll be happy to tell you more about this fantastic city!