The Shinkansen opened its doors and I was so glad to be outside as it pulled into Kyoto Station.

For all the novelty of the experience of riding on a bullet train that runs at 300 km/hr, looking out the windows was starting to give me a headache. A motion-related issue that makes me avoid reading inside moving vehicles although strangely enough, I didn’t have any problems journaling during that 3-hour ride so I don’t know if I’m merely being psychosomatic.

Of course there was a lot of walking.

A looottt of walking.

Walking while dragging luggages.

Walking while following Dennis who was following the GPS directions that would lead us to our machiya, the estimated 11-minute walk from the station turning into what felt like 11 years because we mistakenly went around from the other end of the confusingly vast station and unwittingly took the longer route towards an involuntary cardio exercise.

Walking while simultaneously taking in the urban scenery while fighting fatigue and simply soldiering on because who asked you to go to Japan in the first place?

Suck it up, princess.

I was tired.

We were all tired.

But we managed. Spectacularly well, if I must say so. The kids were very patient and cooperative. Little travelers in the making — resting when needed, moving along when asked, and never once complained.

Except for Mommy.

But she’s old and she has venous insufficiency with a lot of unresolved childhood trauma so… fair enough. At least she was always still game to pose for the camera as a valuable lesson to her granddaughters to never look like their problems.

Watch and learn, kids.

Kyoto was where we officially started our Japan trip. Our home base for the five days that saw us exploring well-kept shrines, beautiful ancient temples, curious alleyways, and the glorious wonders of the aisles inside our local FamilyMart, a 5-minute walk away from Irori Hotel (properly called Irori Kyoto Station Higashi-Honganji) where we were staying at.

Kyoto was where Jeff and Dennis got addicted to 7-Eleven’s corn dog — hotdog on a stick thickly coated with cornmeal batter and deep-fried to golden perfection. They were eating it pretty much wherever and whenever they see a 7-Eleven.

Then again, they were always eating so it was either corn dog or something else.

Apart from stocking up on cup noodles from FamilyMart, our first day at Kyoto was spent resting from our flight (and all the walking). Like I said before, and as proven during our Siargao trip, we’re a chill bunch. We don’t chase schedules like maniacs because, I don’t know. Maybe that’s just how we roll.

Later that night, we walked around our block looking for a place to eat. We found an outdoor restaurant to disappoint us with their sorry menu I can’t even remember what I ordered as it was probably entirely insignificant.

Either that, or I just have a lousy memory.

*Raven at 7 years old