Thursday, April 7th: Rented Phone Pays for Itself
Even warmer today. Breakfast at the Kanazawa Excel Hotel Tokyu again (which is really good), then to the post office to mail another package of stuff... this postal clerk was the most detailed-oriented by far and it took a full hour to get the paperwork to her liking. Stayed calm and friendly though, and I am sure glad I did - because 10 minutes later, after we had walked down the street, she called me my on my rented mobile to inform me I had left my PDA on the counter! I ran back to get it and thanked her profusely. BTW: Kanazawa's local dialect has it's own version of thank you: "Anyatoo!"
Two taxi's from the hotel to the station were cheaper than one taxi van the other direction. Grabbed lunch to go at the station and rode the limited express "Thunderbird" back to Kyoto, which is also unseasonably hot and humid. Cherry blossoms in full bloom now, and quite striking on the dark green hills around Kyoto. Ran into our first encounter with a rude person in Japan today, in the elevator in Kyoto station's subway arm - little old lady who shoved and muttered and was generally pushy even to Jonathan, who at two (almost three) is charming most of the people here.
Kyoto Royal Hotel is a shocking disappointment after all the nice places we have lucked into so far. No broadband, no air conditioning (and it is really already needed, even this early in April), tiny bathroom with no clothesline at all, useless fridge (it is ONLY a minibar with no room for our own Sake and auto debit sensors so you can't even unload it of their junk). Lucky for them it is the only place in Kyoto with rooms available, or we'd simply go elsewhere.
Walked around the arcade near the hotel a bit and stumbled into a fabulous Korean grill food at the table place with extraordinary beef. The setting was very traditional Japanese, and though they had no English menu, they assigned us a translator who carefully explained everything. It was tremendous.
Two taxi's from the hotel to the station were cheaper than one taxi van the other direction. Grabbed lunch to go at the station and rode the limited express "Thunderbird" back to Kyoto, which is also unseasonably hot and humid. Cherry blossoms in full bloom now, and quite striking on the dark green hills around Kyoto. Ran into our first encounter with a rude person in Japan today, in the elevator in Kyoto station's subway arm - little old lady who shoved and muttered and was generally pushy even to Jonathan, who at two (almost three) is charming most of the people here.
Kyoto Royal Hotel is a shocking disappointment after all the nice places we have lucked into so far. No broadband, no air conditioning (and it is really already needed, even this early in April), tiny bathroom with no clothesline at all, useless fridge (it is ONLY a minibar with no room for our own Sake and auto debit sensors so you can't even unload it of their junk). Lucky for them it is the only place in Kyoto with rooms available, or we'd simply go elsewhere.
Walked around the arcade near the hotel a bit and stumbled into a fabulous Korean grill food at the table place with extraordinary beef. The setting was very traditional Japanese, and though they had no English menu, they assigned us a translator who carefully explained everything. It was tremendous.
by Scott Nolan | Permalink 
