Day 1 – SIN to KIX

9,899 steps taken – 4,935km travelled.

4:30 am is really early. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! It turns out that getting cabs in Singapore is really, really easy when you have the right app. By 5:15 we had checked out and were well on our way to Singapore airport. It was a really quick and easy trip (and it cost us half of what it cost us getting to the hotel) and by 6:00 am we were having a breakfast of chicken meatball soup and Krispy Kreme. Before heading through security, I was distracted by a large koi pond just by where we were eating. These creatures are so graceful, and huge!

Flying is the easy part because you get to just sit there and contemplate the many worries of the world, or watch anime movies like Drew did for most of the flight. Or a cheeky nap, like I managed to do on and off, miraculously! The highlights of the flight included when we had to fly through a thunderstorm and the plane bounced around like crazy (I’m an okay flyer, and it managed to freak me out), and the delicious beef and cold udon noodle soup I had for lunch.

When we arrived in Osaka, it was a case of getting through customs and immigration, getting some cash (because we forgot how much Japan was still a cash country) and jumping on the Haruka Limited Express towards Kyoto. About an hour and a half later we arrived and checked-in at the hotel.

This place is a little serviced apartment a just few minutes walk from Takeda station and it is absolutely gorgeous. Having room to move around and spread out for a few days will be amazing. We messaged Sue and Jed when we got here and met them out the front. Four train stops later we were back at Kyoto station where we had some Ippudo Ramen and some Mister Donuts for dinner. We parted ways after this and made our way back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Time to get some washing done and call it a night! Tomorrow is a bit of a slow start and then the rest of the Australians (and we are pretty sure an American as well) will be arriving!