Day 4-14/12 Off to Kyoto

There is a special train, the Kyo-Train Garaku, between Osaka and Kyoto which runs only on weekends and holidays.  The carriages are decorated in different themes, some even having an indoor zen garden.  Since we happened to be going to Kyoto on a Saturday, we HAD to take this train!  These run every 2 hours.... we let 3 or 4 normal trains pass - the trains run like clockwork and are very frequent.  Bought sushi sets for lunch - good stuff, one piece was even a sea urchin one (I grabbed that piece hehe). 

Here's one sushi set

Our designer train arrived.  Yep, pretty.  

Taking our pretty train

JE's doggy and SE's piglet enjoying the view

It was only a half-hour ride to Kyoto station.  From there we walked to our next hotel, Hotel Kyoto Traveltine Kawaramachi.  This was the most expensive hotel in our trip and I had my fingers crossed it would live up to expectations.  Ended up, it was lovely. :)  There were 3 staff who bowed to us as we were going up to our room (by comparison, the previous hotel in Osaka had only 1 person at the front desk and you had to ring the bell for him to appear).  There was a 24-hour lounge with coffee/tea/juice machines and snacks.  Light breakfast was provided - 3 types of pastries, assorted types of cheese and jam.

The room was large and well designed.  There were cabinets and drawers.  The toilet automatically made chirping noises whenever you stepped in.  I should have recorded the chirping for memory sake!

SE stretching on the bed

The other end of the room