Tokyo to Kyoto

After a few exciting days in Tokyo, we were heading to Kyoto for our next adventures. We started our day with breakfast at Musashino Mori Diner Shinjuku Central Park where I had a matcha (when in Rome!) and fluffy pancakes since I was craving them. We really enjoyed the breakfast and people-watching over the park.

Then, we headed back to the hotel and off to Tokyo station to catch our shinkansen to Kyoto. We made sure to head outside for a minute to check out the outside of the building - it's modeled after a train station in the Netherlands.

The train station was super overwhelming with people everywhere! But, we found where we needed to go, picked up bentos/snacks for the train, and made our way to the platform. We watched as the train pulled up, the cleaning staff went in and flipped the seats (all in about 7 minutes), and departed on time. On the train to Kyoto we were super lucky to get a really clear view of Mount Fuji! The train ride was comfortable, fast (about 2 hours), and quiet.

We arrived in Kyoto around lunchtime, checked into our hotel (Kabin Taka), grabbed a quick lunch, and a quick coffee at % ARABICA coffee before exploring the mall and walking through the Nishiki Market for a bit.

We went to dinner at Men-ya Inoichi close to our hotel as recommended by our friend. Since it's a smaller place, we went over there around 4:30 to pick up our ticket (reservation time) and popped in later. We tried the ramen with the white soy sauce and really enjoyed the citrusy flavor of the yuzu on the side. We also got an order of pork dumplings that were very good!

Overall, we had a successful first day in Kyoto!