Kei Fun

We have just arrived in Kyoto! We have been driving the last few days through the countryside, the mountainous areas of Japan are really quite spectacular, and the smaller towns have the more traditional houses.

We've been driving a "Kei Car" which visually is an absolutely miniature car, but inside it is actually rather spacious (more room than my Z). The challenge is more the high center of gravity, the tiny tires and engine (0.6L) which makes these mountain roads more, um, interesting.

Driving on the left was way easier than expected for both of us, its instantly intuitive, and I don't have to focus much at all to be sure to be on the correct side of the road. Which is odd because I normally confuse left & right rather easily. We did get stopped by the police (who giggled at my texas drivers license) for crossing a railroad without stopping first (oops).

We stayed in a traditional ryokan (japanese style hotel), which means sleeping on thin mats on the floor and communal baths.