As luck would have it, today was the Grand Opening of the new Kyoto Railway Museum.We were there early and had a good look through. It was the first day of Golden Week and the Railway Museum was very popular with the locals. By the time we were ready to leave, and ready to have a quick look through the Souvenir Shop, a huge line-up had formed and we had to queue for ages before we could get into the shop.Afterwards, we found a nice cafeteria for lunch and had a ...

Today we took a one day tour of Kyoto. We joined the bus at the Hotel Okura which was only half a block's walk from our hotel.We visited Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion) and the Imperial Palace before a Japanese Style lunch at the Kyoto Handicraft Centre.After lunch, we visited Heian Jingu Shrine, Sanjusangendo Temple and Kiyomizu dera Temple for a panoramic view of Kyoto and the surrounding hills.

This morning we disembarked at Yokohama and caught a taxi to Shin Yokohama Station. From here, we took a Shinkansen to Kyoto Station and then a taxi to our hotel, the Kyoto Royal Hotel and Spa. We were able to leave our bags, but it was too early to check in to the room, so we killed a few hours walking the local area.We found the river, the City Hall and a couple of long narrow market streets before it was time to check in. The room was a little disappointing...