Day 6: Thursday

Here are Tom, Megan, Ben and I on the Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) to Kyoto. Most of day 6 was travel, as we made our way to the cultural capital of Japan. While on the train we were able to see the top of Mt. Fuji and some of the Japanese countryside. The rice paddies are amazing in Japan and many of the housing structures are beautiful. Of course a lot of the areas we passed looked very congested as well.

After the two hour train ride we stopped at the Toyota plant in Toyota City, Osaka. The tour of Toyota was incredibly interesting and it is amazing how efficient they are at building quality cars. After the tour we saw this sign in their showroom area welcoming us.

Since we couldn't take pictures on the tour, this is a model they have in the showroom which does look similar to how the work was actually done. Everything is on conveyor belts, including all the tools and parts the employees need for their step in the process. People and machines load these carts based on specifications and the wire running across the top of the picture is what an employee pulls on if they find a problem. We were on walkways above the employees and got to see them in action. We also got to see the welding area where they put together the stamped-out frames of the vehicles. This part is all done by machines, and is amazing to watch. Sparks fly everywhere. What is really interesting is that they make three different cars at that Toyota plant but they all run on the same assembly line and are mixed in together.

This is Concerto, the trumpet-playing robot. Nothing much to stay about it but it was pretty cool.

After the Toyota plant we had a two hour-ish bus ride to Kyoto. This was a beautiful bride we saw on the way.

This picture of a road sign I just found highly amusing. The Japanese are HIGHLY visual people, but this just made it look like their was disaster at the end of this road. We did however make it to our destination safely.

The gateway to the area of Kyoto we stayed in. I'm sure their is a story behind it but I honestly can't say what it is, I just liked the gate. I took this picture from the bus :)


Our hotel, The Three Sisters Inn Annex is beautiful. This entryway is practically hidden and the walkway to get to the entrance is long and winding and lined with beautiful plants and places to sit. When you get to the door you have to leave your shoes in the entry. All the room floors have tatami mats, and we sleep on thin mattresses laid directly on the mats. It is a little firm but fairly comfortable. Fortunately the toilets are all western style.

Megan, Sarah and I's room (106) is on the first floor and has two screen doors the open into a Japanese garden. This was the only picture I took on the first day. Where I'm sitting is my bed, then their is a separate room where Megan and Sarah slept. Our bathroom is the door on the right and the dark area on the left is one of the screen doors. The bathroom has its own slippers that you wear while in it.

For Friday we went to a traditional tea ceremony then saw some temples and shopped, and for today (Saturday), we visited a sake brewery and did a lot more walking around historical sites. I did take a ton of pictures and will finish updating when I return from the trip. Since we fly out tomorrow morning and it is currently 9:50pm JST, I won't have time to wrap it all up tonight. Hope you have enjoyed the blog thus far and continue to read in the next few days! Kyoto is absolutely wonderful!