PG Tips, Anyone?

Day 2 was a trip in the morning to the local Women's Institute where we were taken though a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, with another two western couples. This was very interesting, with a detailed explanation from a knowledgeable member of the WI who spoke very good English. We had a chance to drink the tea made in the traditional manner, and also to attempt to make the tea ourselves - not too difficult as it consisted of tea powder and water, whisked up a bit. The hard part was to remember the various ritual things to say, and whether to pick up the cup with your left hand, right hand, both hands etc, etc. The tea was bitter and not all that nice. The ceremony interesting but not something we'll be adopting for our morning coffee.

After the tea ceremony we wandered to the station to catch a train to Nara, a nearby park with temples and deer. The trains were clean and efficient, the temples were.... well, temples, and the deer were very tame and friendly. Too friendly when you have some of their ‘deer crackers' to feed them as they then decide that your trousers, your shirt, your hands and pretty much every part of you is fair game to nibble, in an attempt to get some food. A pleasant afternoon on another hot day (the weather has been glorious so far). Lots of schoolchildren in their neat uniforms, each school with a different colour for their hats. The deer were cute and seemed happy and healthy.

The following day we left Kyoto, a shame in a way as the city seemed to have a lot more to offer. A few more days could easily be filled here without getting bored. The journey to our next destination, Hiroshima, was primarily by shinsansen, aka Bullet train. These trains are very impressive looking very comfortable and very clean. Oh, and very fast too, but it doesn't feel all that fast when you are on them, as they are so comfortable. We were prevented from getting on the train until it had been fully cleaned (not that it looked particularly dirty to begin with!) and, since the train was at the end of the line and going back the other way, the seats had all turned round automatically to face the front. After being surprised the previous day on the local train when a kind Japanese gentleman showed us how to simply swap the seats round to face the other direction (the back of the seat can be swapped round), we were not so surprised that the seats were able to swap direction, but were impressed at the whole process at getting the train ready for the next journey.

Arriving at Hiroshima in bright sunshine again, a taxi to the hotel was quick and easy. It is really nice to be in a taxi where you are confident that the taxi driver will take you via an efficient route, won't try to rip you off, doesn't need a tip and is very polite to you. It makes travelling in Thailand or India seem quite stressful in comparison!