How is getting there half the fun?

It's 6:49 AM Kyoto time (2:50 PM California time) and I think I managed to get some sleep.

As is typical these days to prevent stupid people from being stupid, United had the seats locked so you could NOT recline them for an 11 hour flight over the Pacific where they still turn off the lights expecting you to try to sleep with their shitty pillows and blankets that just slide off the vinyl under your head. Said seats were less hideous than on a domestic flight, but when you have frequent and repeated bouts of turbulence, it's still like being stuffed in a bag and beaten with sticks. The vegetarian fried rice lunch was not awful, but the "Lorraine Skillet" of weird tasting eggs and turkey bacon served right before landing made my guts a bit unhappy.

Haneda Airport was a sweatbox. Picked up my wifi hotspot (which is cheerfully humming on the charger as I type this) with no problems. Stuck in an endless hellish line of tourists waiting to trade vouchers for actual train passes and when I finally got to the head of the line, we discovered that JapanRail had mailed me a voucher that had expired two days ago, which boggles the mind since I had to furnish use dates to order it in the first place. So, it being a Sunday, I could not get it fixed there and had to plunk down the equivalent of $140 for a bullet train ticket to Kyoto and I will have to try to straighten it out at the JR station in Kyoto later today.

Train ride was uneventful but it was WELL after dark when I arrived at Kyoto Station - and I came out the wrong side and Google Maps took me for an urban hike with rolly suitcase before I finally found the hostel. Fortunately Kotaro, the young man on the desk, speaks excellent English and got me settled in. Dinner was a bottle of lemon soda from the vending machine out front simply because I just wasn't hungry - and no point in eating if I'm not.  I got a well enjoyed shower, and managed to sleep reasonably well in my curtained off top bunk.

Other hostel guests have been polite but keeping to themselves and not sure if that's just the mix of who's here or not, but it's what it is and frankly, I was exhausted.

It's a little too early to go out, so I will do a little reading and check email, then off to the temple for my calligraphy thing. I figure I'll hit the JR office and fight with them afterward. I really hope they can just trade me a new voucher - that was a lot of money for something I can't use otherwise.

More tomorrow.