The first day (or two) of our trip to Japan started and ended, despite our best efforts, with Western fast food. To explain: We met at Leeds Bradford Airport as planned. Checking in and getting through security was all fine, and then of course thoughts turn to breakfast. And this is where we had the Burger King breakfast.
Before long we boarded the aircraft, waited a few moments (it was busy in Scottish airspace) and then took off, heading for Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. A 50 minute journey flew by (pardon the pun), just enough time for an onboard snack.
Schiphol is big, very big, so we decided to first find our departure gate and then find somewhere to have a drink. Needless to say we found both the gate and a suitable bar and the first drinks of the adventure were consumed. Feels like we’ve started on our way when we’ve got the group together having a first drink and a first group photo. After that it was off to board the aircraft. We pushed back from the gate bang on time and then spent 15 minutes taxiing to the end of the runway (it took 50 minutes to fly from Leeds, shows how big Schiphol is!). The flight was long and uneventful. Some people slept, some didn’t, some ate, some didn’t, some enjoyed the turbulence we had over Korea, most didn’t. Somewhere along the way Wednesday became Thursday, it was hard to tell where or when.
We arrived in Osaka to bright and sunny weather, what a glorious welcome to the Land of the Rising Sun. Passport control and baggage reclaim was quick and easy and then we started to meet up in the arrivals hall. Taxis were due and expected to arrive on time (they did) and we were expected to meet on time and be ready – just about. The journey by taxi took about an hour and twenty minutes and it seemed we never left the city. We drove for miles through a never-ending suburban sprawl. It was hard to see where Osaka ended and Kyoto began, there wasn’t really a dividing line you could see.
Our group arrived at the hotel and secured the two rooms we’d requested to store the bags. Relieved of our luggage the next priority was food, and possibly beer, so we set off in search of somewhere suitable. After a walk and a moan about how chilly it had become we found a small bar. We ordered lunch and a drink, but found what was to become an recurring problem; the Japanese don’t consider fish to be a meat, so for those in our party who required a vegetarian option it was a problem, the choice was limited (to say the least).
With most of us suitably refreshed we set off for a wander, through smaller streets with more character, a real flavour of Japan, we ended up at the entrance to Nijo Castle, Tokugawa’s Kyoto stronghold. There was a queue and a fee to enter but by now most of us needed to rest before the evening’s activities. Gabor joined the queue to tour the castle and the rest of us headed in various directions back to the hotels. Rooms were ready and waiting for us each to unpack, switch off and rest.
We were told it was a 20 minute walk to the pub where we would meet John and Jane and have drinks. It seemed like a 20 minute drive, so taxis turned out to be a good move. We met at The Hub, the Great British Pub, a fitting place to start our Japanese celebrations. Drink was ordered and consumed, food was ordered and consumed, Jane arrived and finally John arrived. Once the folks from the other hotels had joined us we were all together in Japan. Finally a group of us returned to the area of our hotel and decided we needed a final bite to eat, and not knowing anything different we went for the familiar option of a McDonald’s, and so our first day-or-two in Japan ended as it had started, with a Western fast food meal but this time in a very Japanese setting.
