It took a little over two hours to reach Kyoto from Tokyo on the Shinkansen bullet train which departs from Tokyo Station. We took the first train out at 6:00 am which meant no breakfast and met up with Kenji Matsuyama, a Government Licensed Tour Guide Interpreter (km_rugger@yahoo.co.jp) at the Kyoto Main Station. We asked a security official where a clock tower was that we were looking for as the place to…
We attended a Geisha performance arranged through Japan Awaits (www.japanawaits.com). We were served a full meal including sake, which will become important when we discuss the performance. We learned that Geisha translates into ‘performing artist’. The first Geishas were men, who performed at formal occasions starting in the 1700s. They were soon replaced by women who were better at the range of performance skills which includes dancing to music played by traditional…
We arrived at Narita airport and went straight to the bright red bannered JR East Travel Service Center to purchase tickets on the Narita Express (N’EX) train to Tokyo Station. The staff at JR (which I believe stands for Japan Rail) was fluent in English and provided excellent service, answering our questions and ensuring we had the right tickets to reserve seats, be on a train we could next make and knew…
Tallinn was not on my bucket list, but it should have been. The old city is a designated UNESCO site and well preserved, with towers, walls and medieval traditions intact. Delivery trucks scurried to be off the streets by 10 am when most of the shops opened and the tourists flock in from the cruise ships. As you enter the old city through the Viru Gate a long row of flower stalls…
It was interesting to learn that the Nobel prizes for all categories except the Peace prize are awarded in Stockholm while the Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo. The only explanation given by our guide for this separation was the fact that the prizes were first awarded in 1901 and Norway independence did not occur until 1905. To my curious mind that was not a good explanation. But then the guide said…