Melba and I were in Kyoto, Japan one year ago today. We rose at 3 o'clock that morning and by 4:30 a.m., without any breakfast in our bellies, we were standing on the platform in Fussa with tickets in hand for the train to Tokyo. It was dark, cold, and raining. Our sleepiness was exceeded only by the excitement of what lay before us; the Shinkansen, Japan's famous bullet train. I was anxious to experience the feeling of zipping along the rails at 188 miles per hour on the way to Kyoto, 350 rail miles to the west through the Japanese countryside.
I "borrowed" the picture above.
At Tokyo the train station was remarkably busy even at 6:50 in the morning when we pulled out. The interior of the Shinkansen was spacious -- lots of leg room, the seating great. If only the airlines would duplicate those conditions flying would again be a pleasant experience.
And what efficiency! The train was staffed with the most professional and congenial people; from the conductor to the gal that gathers the trash. As each entered or exited the coach he or she would face the passengers and bow. What wonderful etiquette. I missed this formality when we got back to the rough and tumble U.S.A.
We pulled out of Tokyo at 6:50 a.m. and arrived in Kyoto at 9:11 a.m. The stop in Kyoto to get off the Shinkansen was two minutes long. As quickly as that, the train was gone.
Melba and I posed in front of the Golden Pavilion Temple in Kyoto. That real gold on the temple walls.
This young lady was one of many uniformed bellhops in the Kyoto Hotel Okura. I did not let an opportunity to pose alongside her slip by.






