After a speedy 2+ hour ride on the shinkansen, we arrived in Kyoto Station. It was packed on a Sunday at noon. We had hoped to have a leisurely lunch at the station before taking our next train up to the onsen, but our plans changed. After seeing huge lines at all of the restaurants on the 10th floor of the department store attached to the station (it is customary in Japan for the large department stores in Japan to have a floor of restaurants on one of the upper floors - but I digress), we called an audible and headed for the basement, which is a grocery store and prepared food section. We bought a bunch of prepared foods to eat on the train. It worked out OK and we took a 25 minute train ride to Kameoka, where the microbus from the onsen was waiting to pick us up.
An onsen is a hot spring, where there are various resort hotels. The focus in on the baths: there are large bathing areas (single sex) where there are indoor baths, outdoor baths, steam rooms, etc. The Japanese bath is quite a ritual involving cleaning and soaking. The temperature of the baths is pretty hot - about 40 degrees C, or 104 F. It is very relaxing.
So we had our baths and then it was dinner time. Did I say the focus is on the baths. Well, it in also about the eating as well. We sat down to a multi-course kaiseki meal in the traditional Japanese style, with various courses like the vinegared course, the grilled fish course, the rice course, etc. It was Mark and Lisa's first such experience and we all enjoyed it. With sake as well.
Spa services are also a part of the deal. Andrea and I had massages before dinner, Mark and Lisa afterwards. If you are reading this Brenda they did not compare to yours, but they were good!
Monday morning came and it was clear skies. Hallelujah. We got dropped at train station from which a scenic, narrow gauge train rides through the mountains down to Arashiyama on the western outskirts of Kyoto. It is like being in New Hampshire except no one looks like you do our speaks English. But we actually met a retired engineer who chatted us up at the station. He loved practicing his English. He was by himself, but with a tour group who had come up to see the leaves. He was from Nagoya and had retired some years ago from Misubishi Motors, during which tenure he did some stints in NY. Mark liked practicing his Japanese on Mr Nagasaki-san.
The train ride was pretty - as I said like the leaf trains in New Hampshire. We arrived in Arashiyama and visited Tenryuji Temple, a beautiful complex that is a World Heritage site. I will post some pictures at some point, but the gardens are beautiful.
We checked into our ryokan late in the afternoon. It is tucked away in a busy part of Gion Corner in Kyoto, but you would never know it. Very quiet and peaceful. And small - only about 8 rooms. We had dinner out at an izakaya restaurant close by where they served small plates and drinks. A great assortment of various things that were very tasty. And then Monday was over.
I have had difficulty with my Wifi access device, but the ryokan has Wifi so I can now get on a more regular posting schedule. And we have the cameras up and running so I'll try to post some pictures.
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