Our first big train journey was upon us, our first journey on the Shinkansen (the bullet train). This experience far surpasses that of any Virgin pendolino, with oodles of leg room, huge comfy reclining seats and a delicious buffet car, our train journeys have been something we actually look forward to. The speed is incredible, a little nauseating at first but you get used to it, along with the ear popping.

We were only on the train for two hours before arriving in Kyoto where we checked into our pod hostel. We had single ones this time and they weren't quite as luxurious as the pods in Singapore but still cosy. We set out on foot to explore Kyoto and found it to have a far more relaxed atmosphere than Tokyo. We strolled to an area of the city called Gion which is where all the Geishas hang out. There were loads just strolling around the shops in full kimono and platform sandals. Some had even gone for the matte white make up. We found a bar for an afternoon drink where they offered an all you can drink service; one hour for only 1800 yen (roughly £10). Unfortunately, as it was early in the afternoon, common sense prevailed and we decided this would not be the best move if we were going to make the most of our time in Kyoto. We ate dinner on the fifth floor of a building where everything on the menu was only 280 yen (£1.50), and it was all good. Dinner and a few drinks later we found ourselves wandering back to the hostel through a covered shopping area. Walking past an arcade Greg spotted a game similar to guitar hero but with one big drum each. Obviously he persuaded Claire to have a game. Unfortunately the payment and playing instructions were unclear. Greg put in the equivalent of about £2 which is roughly what it should be for a quick two-player game in the UK. Six games later they were still going and Greg got the feeling that he may have put too much money in. He had blisters emerging from the relentless drumming. Claire had whacked herself in the face with the drumstick several times and was now sporting a rather fat lip. The match ended six-nil to Greg but he did have the wounds on his hands to show the effort he had put in.

The following day we hired bikes and cycled along the river that runs through the centre of town. It is a very picturesque river, with clear water, multiple weirs, sunny hills in the background and to make it even more impressive there were a large number of Cranes in the water. To top all this off there were Eagles, we saw three or four of them, just swooping overhead in the middle of the city. We cycled for about 40 minutes to reach the Golden Pavilion which is, as the name suggests, gold. It's actually a temple called Kinkaku-ji covered in gold leaf but that doesn't make it any less impressive. Set in a tranquil garden on a small lake it felt like a look into old Japan.

We spent the afternoon looking to take part in a tea ceremony. When we finally found somewhere it was late afternoon and we had been cycling all day. The ceremony took place in a traditional home (paper walls, matting, kimonos etc) and we were talked through the ceremony by two ladies. It turns out to be a very formal tea party where it takes about half an hour to make one cup of tea due to all the faff. Only the host and the first guest are allowed to talk...and then the subject should be limited to the tea and the paraphernalia of the tea ceremony. The rest of the guests should sit quietly drinking tea. After all the cycling in the heat Greg struggled to keep his eyes open, so sitting quietly with a cup of bitter powdered green tea was just about manageable. At the end the ladies suggested that the next time we have people round for tea at home we should do a Japanese tea ceremony. We decided we would consider this if we have any friends we are trying to cut ties with, as this could be the final nail in the coffin.

We left the pod hostel the following day for one night in a ryokan - a traditional Japanese guesthouse. We managed to waste a morning wandering around Kyoto with our luggage on our back trying to obtain British pounds from various banks and exchanges (for our Cuba trip) much to Greg's frustration. In the end we threw in the towel and decided to grab a taxi the five minutes down the road to our guesthouse. Twenty minutes later the taxi driver had driven us out into the countryside and Claire decided it was time to correct his course. Using Google maps and the address of the guesthouse (which was written in Japanese) Claire managed to convince the driver that at some point he had taken a wrong turn and we were in fact further from our central Kyoto guesthouse than when we had flagged him down. Another twenty minutes and we were outside our hotel with an extremely apologetic taxi driver and a thoroughly confused elderly Japanese lady offering to take our luggage (which was ridiculous as both our backpacks were taller than her and probably weigh three times as much). The adventure had not, as Claire had thought, increased Greg's frustration from the morning but had instead cheered him up. We had a little dance with the taxi driver while trying to force some money into his hand, he kept trying to put it back in Greg's pocket. Eventually we won and he left, bowing profusely.

Check-in time in Japan is a very strict 4pm and so we were only able to drop our bags off at the hotel before heading back out. We decided to catch the train a little out of town to visit a sake museum and take part in some tasting. Unfortunately our instructions were a little unclear and we ended up wandering around an industrial estate for about an hour only finding the sake factories themselves. Eventually a security guard took pity on us and pointed us in the right direction. There seem to be very distinct sake flavours, some delicious and some foul. The dryness has a huge amount to do with it. We decided we preferred semi-dry sake, not too dry as to have an anaseed flavour.

We then headed for the bamboo forest, literally a forest of huge towering bamboo with a path right through the middle. A really quite impressive sight with beams of sunlight sneaking in between the pillars of bamboo. By this point though we both had aching feet given our two wild goose chases that day. We weren't done with the confusion yet though as we struggled in vain to work out how we were meant to get back to Kyoto from the bamboo forest. After about 20 minutes Greg realised we had been looking for a tube station from the transport map we had been given and it turned out to be a bus map and we had been standing across the road from the bus stop all along. Claire was relieved of map reading duties for the day and we got the bus back.

We arrived at our very serene ryokan where they took a photo of us and directed us to our room where our bags already were. Keen to get into the swing of things, we donned our kimonos and sat on the floor drinking green tea, initially kneeling, then cross legged, then on the side, it really wasn't that comfortable. The room had no on-suite like most hotels, just a communal toilet and sinks nearby and we had been told that the bathroom was in the basement. We had dinner in a very rustic sushi shop that the gentleman on reception had recommended, tiny with only one other patron, we felt like this was the real deal. Aware of our impending bath time, we knew we needed instructions on communal bathing etiquette, luckily the sake we consumed with dinner gave us the confidence to ask on our return to the hotel. Greg seemed unphased as he was used to this kind of thing from rugby, Claire however was very English about showing others her lady business. We took a deep breath and headed downstairs and into our respective communal bathrooms. Depositing our kimonos in the dressing room, we entered the bathing room, first rinsing, then getting in the large, very hot bath, then getting out to wash (sitting on a stool) before getting back in to warm up. Luckily we were both the only ones in our bathrooms. Claire's dignity remained in tact.

We had one of the best nights sleep since we left the UK on our futons on the tatami mat floor with lovely fluffy duvets. We awoke refreshed and ready to embark on the day ahead, our journey into the mountains. Another quick bath before breakfast. Breakfast consisted of 12 dishes of unidentifiable foods. Some savoury, some sweet, some previously alive, some pickled, not what we would call divine. We loved our ryokan experience and were glad we had splashed out on another one later in our trip.