{"id":8723,"date":"2025-05-22T17:02:20","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T17:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traveltales.ahot.online\/?p=8723"},"modified":"2025-05-26T18:52:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T18:52:59","slug":"sea-osaka-kioto-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traveltales.ahot.online\/index.php\/2025\/05\/22\/sea-osaka-kioto-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Osaka and Kioto, Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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24.4.-29.4.2023<\/p>

The train from Tokyo to Osaka left at 12:03. We had booked seats on the Hikari bullet train, which took us to Osaka in just under three hours. The Hikari has a top speed of 285km\/h, so it was a bit faster than the Pendolino trains back at home. This speed is just the beginning, though, because in Japan they have already started a project for a 500km\/h train line. We had pre-booked seats, as we were travelling with a lot of luggage. The train had separate carriages for those who had not booked in advance. There was no restaurant car on the train, but a woman pushing a coffee trolley went back and forth several times. There were also other workers on the train, whose job description was a little unclear to us. One guy with \u201ctotal security\u201d written on his chest walked around the train pointing his finger at doors and ceiling lights. He was apparently counting whether they all were still there. Another dude was just wandering around the train, bowing every time he left the compartment. But so did all the other workers.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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A streamlined bullet train ready to go.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Passengers are also ready for their train journey in Japan.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Schoolwork has been done at airports, on planes, at the ferry terminal, on the ship, at the train station, on the train, in the caravan and sometimes even at home.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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We passed Mount Fuji along the way.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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At Osaka station, our first task was to buy new metro cards. There were no 72h metro cards available for tourists like in Tokyo. Marko had figured out during the train ride that the cheapest option would be to get a rechargeable IC card like the locals have. We first tried to buy one at the information desk, as in Tokyo, but were directed to the ticket machines. Unfortunately, they had cards for adults only, so Marko went to the Japan Railways office to queue for metro cards for children. When Marko got to the ticket booth, he was told that it was cash only. So he went to queue up at the ATM, and again back at the ticket office. The queue was really long and to make it even longer some of the employees closed their own ticket windows. Apparently, the working day was over for them. Marko did not stay in the queue any longer, but went back to Jaana and the children. We just bought one day metro cards for the kids from the vending machine and went to look for our flat.<\/p>

The flat in Osaka was a little further away from the station than the one in Tokyo. It was only a one kilometre walk, but with backpacks it seemed quite long to the kids. The apartment was much bigger than our studio in Tokyo. We had two separate bedrooms upstairs, and a kitchen and Japanese-style dining room downstairs. The soundproofing is not very good, so we have to hope that we live on a relatively quiet street.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Our apartment is on the street on the right, just before the crossroads.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Meals were enjoyed Japanese style sitting on the floor.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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