Kansai-bound!

After a wonderful week in Nagano and one day divided between Yokohama and Tokyo, I'm now off for Kyoto! For the next seven days I will travel in the Kansai region of Japan mostly to Kyoto, but with a day in Nara, an evening in Osaka, and a day/night in Hiroshima (which is in Chūgoku rather than Kansai). Right now I'm writing from a Shinkansen, or bullet train, which takes only 140 minutes to travel more than 300 miles from Tokyo to Kyoto. Though it's a smooth ride, I can definitely feel the speed. Something about traveling by train really appeals to me, so I was excited to ride the Shinkansen. It's very clean with lots of leg room and with chairs that recline a good amount. There's also a snack cart that rolls through every hour or so full of Japanese treats so on the whole it's been a very pleasant train ride.

If you ever travel to Japan, definitely invest in the Japanese Rail Pass. It gives you virtually unlimited access to all JR (Japan Rail) lines which includes the Shinkansen but also JR buses, subway, trolleys, and ferries. There are one and two week passes and they are definitely a good deal. Tokyo-Kyoto roundtrip on the Shinkansen costs more than my one week pass and I'm tacking on a few other cities. Now I'm off to explore Kyoto!