Having completed our three day hike on the Nakasendo Route we were afforded a leisurely morning featuring a delicious Japanese style breakfast complete with miso soup, seared salmon, local vegetables and much more. Most tourists visit Narai as a day trip from a larger city like Nagano so in the morning we had the town largely to ourselves. We enjoyed wandering the quiet main street before the trains began to arrive.

We designed this day as reprieve from the three very active days that came before it. To reach our accommodations in Kyoto we would need to take four trains and a subway over the span of about 7 hours. Our planned route would take us north and then along the coast of the Sea of Japan. Three of our four connections were at least 30 minutes in length which is plenty of time to navigate large train stations and stop to grab a snack for the next leg of the journey. However, our first transfer was only four minutes in length!

With little margin for error we spent a considerable amount of time assessing the station’s configuration and typical arrival platforms. Missing this first connection would have meant forfeiting all of our other train tickets so we wanted to be prepared! While on the first commuter train we were quietly urging the conductor to quickly move along through the many sleepy towns we encountered. As we pulled into Shiojiri station we prepared ourselves to run for the train. We first positioned ourselves in front of the door closest to the stairs up and over to the next platform. As the door opened we quickly ascended the steps crossed over the tracks and dropped down onto the platform below. As we got to the bottom of the stairs we realized that our next train hadn’t even arrived yet. All of that preparation and we could have just walked slowly between trains…

The rest of our journey was largely uneventful as we cruised along coastlines and mountain ranges. We enjoyed watching the countryside fly by as we got up to top speed on the Shinkansen.

As a reminder we dropped off our rolling suitcases back in Tokyo so that they would be dropped off at our rental the same day we arrived. Due to the language barrier between us and the luggage forwarding staff we were not one hundred percent confident our bags would make it to the right place. Upon arriving at our temporary home in Kyoto the first thing we saw were our bags waiting for us right inside the door! The anxiety was relieved earlier in the day when our air tags showed them in the right spot but seeing is believing. This is such a helpful service and we are very impressed that it went off without a hitch.

After dropping off our backpacks we picked out a nearby dinner spot to enjoy some noodles! After dinner we ate our first Taiyaki (a traditional Japanese fish-shaped dessert filled with sweet red bean paste, custard or chocolate) of the trip.

After dinner and dessert we crossed town to visit Fushimi Inari Taisha – a famous Shinto shrine. This is the head shrine of Inari, the god of rice, sake and prosperity and patron of business, merchants and manufacturers. Clearly a god that you want to keep happy! The shrine is known for the Senbon Torii (thousands of torii gates), each of which was donated by a individual or business in an attempt to gain favor with Inari. This is one of the preeminent tourist attractions in Kyoto so we wanted to first see it at night when the crowds would be thinner. Since night time offers a different perspective from daylight hours we plan to revisit the shrine early tomorrow morning before the crowds arrive.

While on the return train from Fushimi Inari Taisha the skies opened up into a downpour. We speedily made our way back to our apartment rental to get out of the storm. Along the way a local Japanese family that drove by offered us their umbrella as protection from the onslaught of rain. Since we were only a block away we politely declined but we greatly appreciated the generosity. We are continuously amazed at the politeness and hospitality of the Japanese people.

Tomorrow we continue our exploration of Kyoto. Don’t forget to check out our Gallery if you want to see more pictures from our trip!