In no hurray to check out of our hotel, we spend a leisurely morning taking a brisk walk around the airport complex. There are few people out and about around 8:30AM. And, there is almost no one at the Train ticket office that we spotted last night on our walk to the hotel.
The ticket agent spoke English very well and recommended that we take the Express Train, rather than the Bullet Train (Shinkansen), since we would not need to transfer at Osaka Station, and we would arrive at Kyoto Station only 20 minutes later. Thinking that this might be a good plan until we get our bearings, we purchased tickets for the 1PM train — figuring we could ride the bullet train on our return to Osaka.
While on our walk, we discovered that Kansai International Airport is situated on an man-made island in Osaka Bay, and some distance from the city. It is accessible by road, railway and a high-speed ferry service. We also discovered a cute, red robotic floor cleaner that keeps the airport complex spotless!
The ticket agent spoke English very well and recommended that we take the Express Train, rather than the Bullet Train (Shinkansen), since we would not need to transfer at Osaka Station, and we would arrive at Kyoto Station only 20 minutes later. Thinking that this might be a good plan until we get our bearings, we purchased tickets for the 1PM train — figuring we could ride the bullet train on our return to Osaka.
While on our walk, we discovered that Kansai International Airport is situated on an man-made island in Osaka Bay, and some distance from the city. It is accessible by road, railway and a high-speed ferry service. We also discovered a cute, red robotic floor cleaner that keeps the airport complex spotless!
Having worked up an appetite, we headed to the hotel restaurant that serves a breakfast buffet. For $30US, we were introduced to Japanese-style breakfasts, as well as western options. Figuring this would be also serve as our lunch, we ate salad, miso soup, salmon, pickled veggies, baked goods, fruit, yogurt, and yummy looking and tasting things, I'd no idea what they were. My apologies for not taking photographs ... I was too hungry and in awe of all this new and exotic (to me) food ... I know I went back and forth to the buffet tables five times!
Breakfast, too, was a good opportunity to watch the table ettiquete of Japanese people. Also, what they were selecting to eat, how little (compared to Americans) they put on their plates at any one time, and how quietly they ate.
After breakfast, we packed our bags, keeping a change of underwear and toiletries with us in our carry-on bags, and took them to the lobby. Gypsy had read before starting our trip that many hotels offer a service to transport your bags to your next destination for a fee so that you don't need to carry them with you on trains. We learned when checking in that we could arrange for this third-party service in the morning. So, after filling out the necessary paperwork and paying our fee, we sent our suitcases (with AirTags to track their progress) off to the Hotel Rings in Kyoto with the understanding they would be delivered sometime tomorrow.
With time yet before our train was due to depart, a visit to a convenience store across from the train station provided us with some snacks and water.
Breakfast, too, was a good opportunity to watch the table ettiquete of Japanese people. Also, what they were selecting to eat, how little (compared to Americans) they put on their plates at any one time, and how quietly they ate.
After breakfast, we packed our bags, keeping a change of underwear and toiletries with us in our carry-on bags, and took them to the lobby. Gypsy had read before starting our trip that many hotels offer a service to transport your bags to your next destination for a fee so that you don't need to carry them with you on trains. We learned when checking in that we could arrange for this third-party service in the morning. So, after filling out the necessary paperwork and paying our fee, we sent our suitcases (with AirTags to track their progress) off to the Hotel Rings in Kyoto with the understanding they would be delivered sometime tomorrow.
With time yet before our train was due to depart, a visit to a convenience store across from the train station provided us with some snacks and water.