The Next Morning

Talking about timing. Even the weather turned dull this morning, as planned. I was heading to the Conference Centre after breakfast. A quick coffee there before setting off again. This time for a morning of indoor shopping!

The thing was, the afternoon program looked really good on paper. I was just bringing my camera, minus the conference bag today. Looking forward for some proper shopping. Hmmm! What to do first ....

More on my Kyoto trip.

Day Full of Walking

I was just back from visiting not one, not two, but three attractions in town, all in one morning. I went with my current and previous boss, and we managed to squeeze all this in one tiring morning. We got back to the conference centre in time for lunch, and as expected, I was dozing away right after despite picking up a cup of latte coming into the hall.

I will blog a bit more about the places individually as I would have to refer to some notes as I was not familiar with their names. None the less, I took tons of photos, and those would keep me busy on the coming weeks.

I was still struggling to get hold of the local currency. I had to rely on my credit cards to make purchase and paying for taxi. But not all the shops accepted credit cards. My USD were also staying put as there were no place able to use it.

I would probably do a bit of shopping later tonight. I managed to get some titbits and souvenir, but would be looking for some clothes for the boys and something nice for Anita. That would take some time. I would likely go to one of the main shopping centres for that, maybe tomorrow. I have probably done enough walking for today .....

More entries from my Kyoto trip here.

Teppanyaki Disappointment

We had a nice dinner last night, although I would still have to wait ton have a fast of a proper sushi in Japan. It was a teppanyaki affair we had last night, and I opted for the seafood variety, which the chef was struggling to provide.

We ended up having some garden salad being cooked on a stone stove. In the end, even the chef came around and asked us what else we would like. But the opening gambit of fresh prawns, grilled in front of our very eyes was a successful one. The prawn was fresh, sweet and succulent. But everyone ended up with only one piece.

The miso was rather too salty. And although the meal as a whole was fine, I was expecting that bit extra. This being at the heart of Japan and all.

I was told that we as a group would be heading to a sushi bat tonight. Let's see what Japan dining is all about .... more entries from this trip here.

Toiling Aroud

Japanese has an almost fetish-like fascination when it comes to sitting on the throne. The toilets were always very clean and in concert with everything Japanese, very high tech. And will leave you ..... well-cleansed after you do your business.

They even have background noise installed. The one at the conference centre was of chirping birds, making the awkward silence while standing to do your number one.

Then came the dazzling array of the buttons to push on the side of the toilet. And the cleaning effect. Thorough. That was the take home message.

The toilet I tries this morning has a built-in heating elements on the seat. No more of those shocking few seconds when you rest your bare bottoms when the cold snap hit you. Not really needed in Malaysia, but they could do with some in the UK.

Then the hand-washing part. The soap dispenser was always unique. Better read the instructions clearly, as not to embarrass yourself .... Truly fascinating.

Lets the Conference Begin

Lush green scenery. That was what greeted me when I was driven from Kansai Airport to Kyoto, about an hour away. It was a crisp spring morning, temperature of 10 degrees outside. In the comfort of the car, the journey took me through the hills upon leaving Osaka. Nice and tranquil.

The journey in was also painless. A nice comfortable flight, and I managed to sleep for about 4 hours. The flight was only 6 hours long with a little helping hand from the tailwind. Not much turbulence, but the flight was full, with screaming children for good measure.

The immigrations and customs were fairly straight forward, possibly due to the time of the day - it was just before 7 when we rolled in.

Need to refresh when I check-in. Next would be the taxi ride to the Conference Centre. Hmm! I only have USD with me. Need to get hold of some Yen.

More on my Kyoto trip here.