Ken had made reservations for us to stay in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. It wasn't until we arrived at the Kyoto train station that I had some sense into what he had planned. We rode the shinkansen from Osaka to Kyoto (a short ride when your riding a bullet).
When we arrived at the train station, we must have looked lost, because a Yoda-sized man in a robe asked if we needed help. We explained we were looking for the information center. He said to us, "I am walking information." Ken showed him the name of the hotel from the guide book; his response was, "Very expensive!" He explained any taxi driver would recognize the name of the hotel and we wouldn't have any trouble getting there. He gave us some maps, we thanked him, and after taking another look at the map, we looked up, and he was gone (it was like he had disappeared). After getting our bearings and gathering-up our luggage, we saw the Yoda-guide had found some other obviously lost foreigners, lol.
Ken booked a room at the Hiiragiya Ryokan. This two story wooden ryokan was founded in 1818 and is one of the finest ryokans in Kyoto. He also had reserved some private time in the public bath at the inn. To top everything off, we even had our own personal room attendant; she spoke little to no English, which made the experience even more interesting and authentic feeling. Enjoy the photographs.
We were in room 34.
After arriving, we were served green tea, cold tea, and a small snack. In addition, the owner personally thanked us for staying at the inn. She taught us the word for "thank-you" used in Kyoto, which is "ōkini". People in Kyoto were happily surprised when we used the word ōkini.
The flowers in our room were real and smelled wonderful.
We had our own mini garden!
What does this door go to...
ah ha, the toilet! We also were given bathroom slippers! The toilet was high tech (i.e., it would open and close on its own, had a light, seat warmer included, etc.).
Toilet control panel...
and more buttons!
Toilet instruction sheet.
Screen near our door.
The calligraphy (above) reads, "See the winter sky through the pine trees."
Nicely folded yukatas were waiting for Ken and me.
Our en suite Japanese wood bath of aromatic fir.
The bath had already been prepared and was full of hot water.
