Category
G
The train does more of the work than you expect.
Tokyo, the Alps, Kanazawa and Kyoto in fourteen nights, with one ryokan night and no internal flights.
The opening scene
It is about half past six in the morning at Fushimi Inari and there is nobody here. The gates go up the hill in a tunnel of vermilion and the only sound is a crow somewhere above the trees and my own footsteps on the stone. Three hours from now this will be a queue. I have been awake since four because of the time difference and for once that is an advantage – in Japan the jet lag works in your favour for the first four days, and the best hours of the whole trip are the ones you get for free at six in the morning.
The ask
First time in Japan, two weeks, and they want Tokyo and Kyoto but have been told – correctly – not to do only Tokyo and Kyoto. They want one proper ryokan night, good food without spending every evening in a starred restaurant, and not to be standing in a station every other day. This is the route I build for that, and it has barely changed in years because it works beautifully.
You’ve reached the quiet door.
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