　It was Monday morning. I packed the materials I had received from the exhibition and the heavy paper items such as art books and doujinshis I had bought yesterday into a cardboard box I had received from a grocery a short distance from the hotel. I sealed it with duct tape I borrowed from the front desk, took it to the counter at the nearby post office along with the postcard I had written yesterday and sent it via EMS. It seems that the shipping fee had just increased recently, so it ended up costing me 13,000 yen.

I returned to the hotel, packed all my luggage into a carry bag, and left the hotel just after 10 o'clock to get on the train from Chiba Station. After arriving at Tokyo Station, I showed my Japan Rail Pass to the ticket counter at the entrance to the Shinkansen platform and asked,

"Watashi, Kyoto made ikitai no desuga. (I want to go to Kyoto,)"

Unfortunately, that was the best I could do with my Japanese. I can only managed and said to ticket counter staff to imitate the contents of the Lonely Planet travel phrasebook on my smartphone, and was given a ticket written in English that read, "Tokyo to Kyoto, Hikari 641, departing at 11:33." And I went through the ticket gate, climbed up to the platform, and got on the train. On the way, when I saw Mt. Fuji, I couldn't help but take a selfie through the empty seat. On the train, I spent my time drinking bottled green tea and eating snacks that I had bought at a convenience store near the hotel.

I arrived at Kyoto Station just after 2pm. After leaving my suitcase at the front desk of a budget hotel in front of the station, I took a train to Nara, where there seemed to be more tourists from all over the world than locals. I got on a bus when I arrived at Nara Station around 3:20pm, and after getting off, I passed through a square where many deer were roaming and arrived at Todaiji Temple. I was simply overwhelmed by the huge Buddha statue and the even larger and more imposing Great Buddha Hall that was built to cover it. I'm sure that when it was built, it was more impressive than the high-rise condo complexes in Musashi-Kosugi that I saw yesterday. After leaving there, I got on the bus again and returned to Nara Station to take a local train to Kyoto.

I arrived at Inari Station just before 6pm. As soon as I left the station, I passed a large torii gate right in front of me and started climbing the mountain. Here too, the narrow passageway was crowded with people, but the countless torii gates standing in a row and the spectacular view from the top were amazing, something you won't see anywhere else. When descending the mountain, you pass through a different area than on the way up, but there were torii gates standing there as well. From Inari Station, I took the train to Kyoto Station and headed to the hotel to check in again.

On Tuesday morning, I woke up at six, changed trains to Kiyomizu-Gojo Station and headed to Kiyomizu-dera Temple. I left the underground station and walked along a road that would have been very crowded in the daytime. It was still early, so there were not many people inside. The view from the famous main hall on the cliff was amazing. I then took a bus to Ginkaku-ji Temple and enjoyed the view of the beautiful, carefully maintained garden. I thought that the rock garden in particular must have been very difficult to maintain, as it is so fragile. I got on the bus again and went to Kinkaku-ji Temple. By this time, it was quite crowded. There were a lot of people so it was hard to relax, but the combination of the shining gold leaf-covered buildings, the green gardens and the blue sky across the pond was beautiful.

I got back on the bus and headed to Arashiyama. I got off the bus just after 3pm and looked at the trolley platform, which happened to be empty, so I decided to take a ride. As the train started moving, a nice breeze came in, and combined with the view of the river, it felt cool. After arriving at the last stop, I walked to Umahori Station and took the train back to Arashiyama. It was crowded with people, but I saw the famous bamboo forest. After that, I took a look around the shopping street lined with souvenir shops full of tourists, then took the train back to Kyoto Station and arrived at the hotel around 5pm. At the hotel, I wrote some postcards of the places I had visited that day for my sister and friends, and sent them off at the central post office in front of the station.

After checking out of the hotel at 7:30am on Wednesday morning, I had my luggage stored and headed to Uji by train from Kyoto Station. After leaving the station, I walked through the shopping district to Byodo-in Temple's Phoenix Hall. I went inside when the gates opened at 8:30. I was amazed that the building, made of wood, has survived for over a thousand years since it was built. I also visited the attached museum, and saw some admission tickets from about 200 years ago on display, which made me wonder what the tourist situation was like at the time. After leaving Byodo-in Temple, I strolled around the riverbank. After crossing the bridge and stopping at the tourist information center to buy some postcards, I took a short rest on a bench along the way, drinking a bottle of green tea. Then, around 11 o'clock, I had curry rice for lunch at a nearby restaurant. On the way to the station, I bought about ten packs of green tea bags as souvenirs in the shopping district.

Then I took a train from Uji Station, arrived at Tofuku-ji Temple around 3:00 p.m., and crossed Tsutenkyo Bridge. It is one of the few covered bridges in Japan, built over a maple forest, and the area below the bridge is covered in green. I'm sure if I came in November or December, everything would be bright red.

I returned to the hotel around 5pm to collect my luggage, then took the special rapid train to Osaka Station. I then changed to the subway. I'm leaving Kyoto for just one night and staying at a capsule hotel in Namba. Ever since I read "Neuromancer", I've been interested in it and wanted to stay in a place like this at least once. It's the old type of capsule hotel that's made up of plastic units with a transparent lid at the entrance, which is rare these days. Places like this are often only available to men, so it was hard to find. My impression after actually staying there was that it was enough for a night's sleep, and I could do my hair at the sink, so if it was cheap, it might be fine.

After checking in, I walked around the area. First, I crossed the river and walked south to Nihonbashi Electric Town. There were computer parts shops and used computer stores here and there, and I thought it was a useful place for locals and a good place to be. As expected, there was an anime shop there, so I took a look and ended up buying an art book. After leaving the Electric Town, I headed north, passed through the underground mall, and took the northernmost exit. After a short walk, I arrived at Ebisubashi Bridge in Dotonbori, which is famous in travel guides. It was after sunset, so the flashy neon signs were shining. I returned to the hotel through the hustle and bustle of the area, which had an atmosphere similar to Shibuya or Ikebukuro in Tokyo.

On Thursday morning, I left the hotel around 8am and took the subway, which was crowded with commuters, to Umeda Station, and then took the special rapid train to Himeji. After getting off the train, I put my suitcase in a coin locker at the station and walked along the main street for about 20 minutes to reach Himeji Castle. I went inside and climbed the steep stairs to reach the castle tower, where I enjoyed the view. It is a symbol of the city that has been there for hundreds of years, and I imagined that it must have been visible from anywhere in the city in the past.

I left Himeji Station on the Shinkansen just after 2:00, arriving at Nagoya Station just after 3:40, where I changed to the Hida Limited Express and headed for Takayama. The Hida is run by diesel cars rather than electric trains, so the engine roared loudly. The train was still brand new and shiny, with almost no soot on it. I arrived at Takayama Station just before 7:00 and bought postcards at the station kiosk before heading to the hotel. After arriving and checking in, I bought some breakfast at a supermarket on the west side of the station. I then returned to the hotel and wrote a postcard to send to my sister.