A travel day from Osaka to Kyoto that turned out to be a little more complicated than expected, followed by a much-needed quiet afternoon to settle in and recharge.
Japan Day 5: A Short Train Ride… That Didn’t Feel So Short
One lesson I’ve learned from planning previous trips—especially Italy and our Niagara Falls road trip—is to never schedule activities on travel days.
Changing cities always takes longer and uses more energy than you expect. You have to pack everything, check out, figure out transportation, find your new accommodation, unpack, and get familiar with a new neighborhood. I’d much rather leave the day open than feel rushed trying to squeeze in sightseeing.
Today, we moved from Osaka to Kyoto.
On paper, it’s a simple trip. In reality… it didn’t go quite as smoothly.
We somehow ended up taking a semi-express train instead of the express, and navigating the train and metro system was more confusing than we expected. Looking back, I wonder if the Saturday schedule made things a little trickier.
It definitely wasn’t our first navigation challenge in Japan!
Thankfully, nothing disastrous happened. We eventually made it to Kyoto, checked into our Airbnb, unpacked, and spent the rest of the day exploring the neighborhood at a relaxed pace.
After several busy days in Osaka, it was nice to slow down for a bit before starting our Kyoto adventures.
Coming Next
Our original plan was to visit Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, but the weather had other ideas. Instead, we discovered one of Kyoto’s most enjoyable surprises… and kid 2 ended up becoming our family’s ninja champion!
