Nara and the journey home

23 June

Nara · Kyoto

We took the train to Nara and spent the middle of the day in the park among the deer. By the early evening we were back at Kyoto Station.

My son was very excited about the deer. We bought plenty of food for them, and he kept bowing to them. Some of the deer bowed back.

The author’s son, in dark clothes, bowing his head towards a young deer on a paved path in a park, with trees and more deer in the distance. — My son bowing to a deer in Nara, 23 June.

A lacquered red tray with a round wooden box of sliced beef over rice, a lidded bowl, a small jug of sauce and small dishes of pickles and condiments, with a forearm at the right edge. — Nara, 23 June.

The front of a large station building with the sign Kyoto Station in Japanese and English above a covered taxi and bus area, with a bus at the left. — Kyoto Station, 23 June.

24 June

Kyoto · Chiba

We took the train from Kyoto back towards Narita and spent the last night at a hotel near the airport.

Flat green rice fields divided by a straight concrete path, with farm buildings, power pylons and a mountain range in the distance, and a utility pole at the left edge. — Shiga Prefecture, seen from the train, 24 June.

A large airport terminal building with a curved canopy over a bus and taxi area, an empty road crossing and barriers in the foreground, under a cloudy sky. — Shiga Prefecture, seen from the train, 24 June.

25 June

Chiba

We took the hotel shuttle to the airport and flew home.

I came home pleased with the trip. Before going, I had wondered whether Japan’s cleanliness and the relative lack of public rubbish bins would make everyday travel difficult. Coming from Singapore, where bins are easier to find, I expected it to be inconvenient. It turned out not to be much of a problem.