We’ll catch up as the shinkansens roll along.
July hotel prices in Japan sprang an unwelcome surprise.
We start in Kyoto.
In high season, Kyoto gives not only Tokyo but Geneva and London a run for their money.
I flew into Osaka from Seoul in the morning and headed straight for Kyoto.
Direct bus from the airport — 150 kilometres, an hour and a half, $15.
Marriott unexpectedly produced a Four Points Flex by Sheraton for $30.
A serve like that left even the Chinese pandas with their soup unfinished.
Accor tempted me with green Ibises at $30.
Hilton wanted $80 for a DoubleTree.
Hyatt Place, $80.
But then some reindeer herders from Nara knocked on the door and offered a Novotel with a lounge for $50.
What an interesting coincidence. In June I happened to spend a week driving around London.
Saw some very rare deer on the roads. (In Russian, “deer” is also what you call a truly hopeless driver. London was not short of them.)
And now here’s a splendid chance to see them in their natural habitat.
