So Xiomara had almost three good hours to get her worry worked up about jumping into a trip to Kyoto. A friend of hers who had been there told her some things to do, she'd read a few more in the travel book we have. Information is golden, so if you ever do get to Kyoto, let me give you the Cliff's notes: visitor's guide; Citybus day pass; bus schedule.
We got off the train at Kyoto Station and headed straight for the Kyoto visitors' welcome center which is actually in the station as opposed to across the street as a certain piece of journalistic work instructed. I know, things change, places move, but this was not enhancing Xiomara's calm at all. The lady in the Visitor's Information Center said that the Visitor's Welcome Center (the two should not be confused) was on the second floor. The Lonely Planet book said that it was across the road, Xiom was not having it any other way than by-the-book. I'm going with the lady who works there and speaks English.
We found a bit of nostalgia and I knew I was going to like this city when we found Cafe du Monde on the way to the Welcome Center (on floor #2 ftw). Yes, Cafe du Monde, as in Frech Quarter, as in New Orleans, as in beignets and cafe au lait.
(Pic: BEIGNETS! Cafe du Monde! Toto, I know we're not in Kansas)
When we got to the welcome center, we found that most of the attendants in the welcome center speak English as well. Kyoto is a tourist trap, so this is not very surprising to find a higher percentage of people speaking foreign languages. What was surprising is that these dozen or so people working were volunteers. Back to my point: you have to ask for a visitor's guide. It has maps, bus routes, train routes, subway routes, and places of interest in English. It's also published monthly, so it will be more up to date than a book or travel blog and has information on current events. Get it.
(Pic: October 2013 Kyoto Visitor's Guide)
With your guide in hand, just walk out of the station's central exit heading north. Now, pull out your visitor's guide map and just look around. Every thing in this city will make sense even if your name doesn't begin with an X. Now, turn back around, go get some coffee and beignets while figuring out where you want to see.
Even if you've done your research and know exactly where you want to go, look through your guide for new things to do while you may already be in that area. We left on foot to see a couple of temples and the garden (see Xiomara's post) in the immediate area. We could have foregone buying tickets altogether and spent the whole day just in and around this area. We could've actually spent a day in the station. Kyoto station has plenty of shops and restaurants, but we came to experience old Japan.
Getting around in Kyoto
Compared to Tokyo, the subways here are easier than making ice, but the ticket machines are a bit dated. They have help in English which told us the basic steps, but the buttons are still in Japanese. Again, if you've been using the subways in Tokyo, they're not hard to figure out. There are only a few JR lines through Kyoto, so our passes were not much good in the city. The bus system was a bit confusing from looking at the guide. It probably wouldn't be hard if we lived in s city with decent public transportation, but buses seemed to be the best way to get around here. We bought a City Bus day pass for ¥500 and the bus station gave us a leaflet with every main stop cross-referencing which bus to take for which destination. You enter the bus at the back and give the driver your pass when you get off (or pay with exact change if you don't have a pass). Just follow the signs to the bus terminal from the train station. Easy peasy. If you use the pass twice, it will almost pay for itself.
That being said, I lost my bus pass after the first stop in central downtown. This was only a mild issue as I can only think of one other time we'd have used it: from the shopping arcade to the International Manga Museum. We walked that part and then took the subway line at the corner (which is a straight shot) back to Kyoto Station.
I'd have used the internet to find what's going on, but the sites are not in English. While the Chrome browser on my phone can translate, I found that it didn't help much for searching. Also, internet Wi-Fi spots are, well, spotty. I'm going to save that for another post though.
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