I wake up and check my bank accounts and call the front desk. The damage is a lot, but not as bad as I thought. How did I mistake that? In my head I was paying 10,900 yen a night per person, or about $330 which I thought was a good deal for a three person room. In actuality it was 109,000 per night for the room. Doh. Don’t mess with zero. It’s my biggest travel-money mistake ever, but it will be recoverable eventually, I suppose.
Minutes later, in sympathy (or mocking?) Japan rumbles with a 4.7 earthquake that lasted about 30 seconds. Sigh.
Fortunately, the rest of the trip has been pretty damn cheap. We got frequent flyer tickets, have stayed in relatively cheap airbnbs, have eaten modestly, taken no taxis and paid only regular admission fees for museums and such. Aside from Disneyland it’s one of our cheapest weeks ever.
And the truth is, if the only way I could have seen Lily’s exuberant face yesterday was to pay the extra money, I would have done it in a heartbeat. Just last night Lily was asking ‘why do old people go to Disneyland?’ and I explained it was because they like to see kids have so much fun. It brings them joy. Child-like excitement is precious. (And I added briefly that’s one of the reasons I like Amanda so much, she is so excitable. Emma agreed that is a great trait.)
Ugh, I can’t get away from it.
We grab all the Mickey themed toiletries as gifts. If we paid that much we’re taking everything. We pack our bags and go. Incoming are the new people going to Disneyland for the day, all excited and stuff. Suckers.
We’re taking the Nozomi, one of the fastest trains on earth, to Kyoto. It tops out at 186mph, and gets there in a little over two hours. Lily passes right out, still crazy tired from the attack on Disneyland. If she slept through a 4.7, she can sleep through 186mph train rides.
Kyoto is obviously less busy than Tokyo. We’re staying in the center of town and it’s pretty quiet on Friday afternoon. Nonetheless, the tourist information center at Kyoto station says no hotels available at all. I’m super glad we found our little AirBnB just a week ago. It’s still cherry blossom season, although late, and the city was indeed booked up.
Down a cute little side street, with a funky store on the corner is the apartment. It’s a palace compared to our Tokyo place, and it even has a refrigerator. (Note to self: check that the listing confirms a refrigerator before you rent it.)
I had hopes of getting in earlier to see some temples, but it’s overcast and a little cold. And we need a rest day, so instead we go a few stops to the International Manga museum, which a friend of Lily’s (Ben) wanted her to see. It turns out to be nothing – just a library of manga books which are Japanese comics.
Our day ends without glamour. Seven-Eleven chains have the only ATMs that work on western banks, so I get more cash. The girls pick up some Haagen Dazs ice creams, marvel at the steam table full of weird food at the register, and we go home to play on the computer and rest.