Plane plane

We landed in Osaka just as it was getting dark. The tickets I’d booked with JetStar six months ago had been so cheap as to be mildly worrying, but the 11 hour flight was much more tolerable than I’d feared. It was no-frills flying, but a few extra dollars got us hand held ‘entertainment devices', which were like DVD players but with built-in, slightly random content. Unfortunately, our carry-on picnic ran out several hours into the flight. It’s surprising how much you can eat when there’s nothing else to distract you but the hilariously dated ‘Wonderwoman: The Motion Picture’ (1975).

Before we left Kansai airport we had to claim the JR rail passes I had organised months earlier in Auckland. These are a big deal in Japan, and allowed us almost unlimited access to the mighty Japanese rail system for the next week. It took nearly an hour and an extremely patient railway clerk, but we eventually emerged with our precious holographic passes. On the platform, waiting for the express train to Kyoto, it started snowing.

Hannah using every free amenity she can get her hands on at the ryokan.

We stayed at the Ryokan Shimizu in central Kyoto. It had the requisite futons, yukata and baths of a traditional Japanese inn. The staff were nice too - they gave us hand warmers when we went outside and brought warm lemon tea to our room when we returned.