SHIMOSUWA TO KYOTO

Such a pretty view from our window...

.....love the mountains too...

On our way down to breakfast one of the delightful staff saw me taking photos and offered to take one of Pete and me....

...the ground floor of our hotel...

....calming Japanese gardens..

Japanese interior decoration ....

A very old music box in the hotel foyer....The Lake Suwa area was and still is known for its manufacturing of music boxes. 

Also on display ...samurai swords...

Today we caught four trains to Kyoto. It was just six degrees when we left Shimosuwa. Our first train took us to Shiojiri where the  sky turned a brilliant blue. Inside the warm carriage, I sat next to the window , enjoying the view of the mountains and the little towns passing by.

Going past Kiso-Fukushima on our second train....which was taking us to Nagoya..

In Nagoya we caught a bullet train, the correct name is Shinkansen and the one we travelled on was a N700. These trains can travel at speeds of up to 320 km/hour.

Pete booked our tickets so we had reserved seats ...in carriage 13 (each train has 14 carriages.

We were very comfortable inside our carriage. Pete was very pleased with the large amount of leg room. It was an interesting experience. 

After arriving in Kyoto Station we headed to the subway and caught our final ride to our air B and B. The trip took three and a half hours and every train was on time (thankfully)...

We found our accomodation easily, only 20 metres from the subway. Once we had unpacked we set off to find a supermarket but found this beautiful shrine around the corner....it is the Goryo Shrine and was founded in 863.

The Shrine contains many statues...

We also walked past the Doshisha University.