Japan 2018: Kyoto to Tokyo

Well, we've had so much fun in Kyoto it's hard to leave (even though it's still raining :)! But we have people to see and places to be in Tokyo, so we're off on the shinkansen back to Tokyo today.

We decided to have breakfast a bit farther away, at a chain shop called San Mark Cafe that has the best chocolate croissants. Charlie discovered this all on his own on a previous trip to Japan when Brendan & I refused to accompany him on a visit to the parasite museum (yes, this is a thing, and, can you blame us?) in the Meguro section of Tokyo. He came back raving about the cafe where he'd had chocolate croissant (he liked the museum, too :) but it took us a while to find another one. I had a soy latte with my croissant and Charlie had cocoa (chocolate overload!!!).

On the way back to our hotel we wandered through the Teramachidori (translates as "temple town street") one last time. In the morning, they allow cars and trucks in, so the shops can resupply, and the shops are mostly closed. But it was fun to take in the atmosphere and some of the interesting sights.

No idea what they sell here...

Charlie's comment on this poster: "This is Lisa in Kyoto" :)

A little side corridor leading to...?

Then back to the hotel to close our bags and wait for the taxi to Kyoto Station. Our taxi driver heard us speaking English in the car and told us (in Japanese) that he's been studying English conversation, so we said "let's practice!" He was such a lovely guy & we had a great time chatting with him in both languages (when the conversation stretched beyond any of our linguistic capabilities). Charlie gave him a postcard from Rochester, which he carries with him for just such occasions (they happen fairly frequently). Then into the station to look for ekiben (lunch!) and some omiyage yummies for friends in Tokyo, and some yummies for us, too.

The shinkansen arrived around 1:00 pm and we boarded with no trouble, and soon we had our lunches out & ready. Charlie went for a sandwich and tuna salad rice ball (which, apparently, he had already eaten in the photo :).

This is the part of the trip where I get really snoozy, so I dozed most of the 2 1/2 hours to Tokyo. I did get a few photos of the rainy countryside, though. I love seeing the rice fields surrounding the towns, the foggy mountains on rainy days, and even the occasional solar farm as well (more are springing up since the 2011 earthquake).

The taxi wait & ride to our hotel in Shinjuku took nearly as long as the train ride to Tokyo! Note to selves- get to Tokyo earlier in the day!! It was raining in Tokyo too, which added to the "fun". But, we checked-in and got settled, rested a bit, then went out to find dinner in a nearby department store. Thanks to my snooziness, there are no photos of the delicious dinner, because it was half eaten before I remembered! I will leave off with a photo of the yummy Kyoto treats we had back in our hotel room (along with tea, of course). Tomorrow, we see our dear friend Marian & play Pokemon go together on Chikorita Day!!