First Shinkansen Trip

After teaching a full day of classes I caught the bullet train for Kyoto. I have to say that that was really cool! I felt very cosmopolitan. I had been so worried about the logistics of it all that I forgot to think about food. If I had been smart I would have grabbed a sandwich to take on the train with me. Luckily I had a hard boiled egg left over from lunch, so I was able to snack on that. I arrived at the Kyoto station an hour a forty minutes after leaving Hamamatsu and had to walk to the "Tour Club". It was a little trickier than I hoped, but I found it alright. I quite fit in with the demographics of the place. I'm certainly not the oldest person here. It seems to me the place is filled to the brim with non-spring chickens (does that makes us summer chickens?). When I set up in my room, I went out to the communal area and sat with a bunch of other women and drank saki. One is from Britain, one from Australia and one the Netherlands. This hostel is considered a quiet hostel, and there is a curfew time and a lights out time. The bed is harder than my mats and tatami floors at the aparto, and the woman in the top bunk's phone went off 5 times overnight. But all in all it ain't bad. Well, I'm off to rent a bicycle and find some breakfast. Oh, I might do a little sightseeing and shopping as well today. See ya.