If you have never taken the Shinkansen in Japan, it is a technological marvel. As a traveler, the train is comfortable, quiet, and among the most pleasant ways to go from place to place in Japan. As I said when I first traveled on one of these trains, it’s like you’re living in the future. Of course, that’s not hard to imagine coming from the United States, where rail travel is stuck in the 1930s. The rail infrastructure in the U.S. pales by comparison.

Today, you can grab tickets for these trains at a kiosk; for our group, I had to go to the JR East office at Shinagawa station to purchase the group tickets… It’s much easier to manage a group of 16 through the office rather than the ticket machine. Then navigating the process of getting to the train is a bit of a chore as you scan an IC card pass or phone pass AND then put the ticket into the machine…Then, retrieve it from the machine at the end. A few members of our group lost their tickets in the machine, and an attendant had to retrieve them from the bowels of the beast. Fun!

Once on the platform, we waiting for the train. Once it arrives you’ve got 3 minutes to board and then is goes…that may sound like plenty of time, AND it’s a little stressful making sure everyone gets on before the bells start ringing! Of course, we all made it and headed south for the 2 hour ride to Kyoto Station.

After arrival, we grabbed some food and then made our way to the houses in Higashiyama. I cannot say strongly enough how wonderful these places are….four houses surrounding a small courtyard. The space alone was worth the price of adventure, and many of us made food in the kitchens.

On the following day, we faced constant rain as a tropical storm descended on Kyoto. We made the best of it, heading to Nijo Castle and the home of the Shoguns. We walked the halls of the building. The grounds are impressive, and because of the rain, we just stayed inside. We then headed into the city to the Nishiki Market for some street food. We fanned out across the city after that and ended up eating together at Sushiro, a conveyor belt sushi place in Gion. Some of us did a night hike, some walked through a series of temples, and others made their way back to the houses. By late evening, we were all ensconced in our beds, ready for the Path of Philosophy tomorrow!

This trip has been a whirlwind that is working as designed; a structured morning activity and an afternoon choose your own adventure approach. So far, things are going very well!

May you be happy, may you be well!