I've been in Kyoto since yesterday on a trip.
This is my first trip to Kyoto this year, partly because I can't take a long vacation since my wife started working.
I have been to Kyoto many times, but this is the first time I am here as a tourist.
The good thing about Japanese railroads is that they run on time, but the Joban Line has been closed for two days in a row due to a series of accidents, and there have been major delays.
I was worried that I might miss the Shinkansen from Tokyo, but to my surprise, the train between Nagoya and Maibara was running at a reduced speed due to the heavy snowfall, so the departure from Tokyo station was delayed by 25 minutes.
It is not uncommon to see heavy snowfall around Sekigahara during the winter snowfall season.
The Tohoku Shinkansen and Nagano Shinkansen have never been delayed by snow, but the Tokaido Shinkansen has always been vulnerable to snow.
This time, the snow was so heavy that the Meishin Expressway was closed and there was a huge traffic jam on Route 8 from Hikone to Ogaki.
In Nagoya, there was only a little snow on the roofs, but as we passed Gifu-Hashima, the scenery became completely snowy.
Near Sekigahara, the roofs of houses were covered with more than 70 centimeters of snow, which made me think that it was no wonder the Shinkansen was running at a reduced speed.
According to this morning's Kyoto Shimbun, JR's conventional lines were suspended.
My wife is not a fan of the cold in winter, but she loves snow, so she was delighted to see the snowy scenery from the car window.
It was more than 30 years ago, but I was working at the Hikone office. As I was developing sales in Ogaki, I rented an apartment near Ogaki station and lived there. I was once hit by a heavy snowfall like this one.
There was a time when I drove back to Ogaki from Hikone, crossing Sekigahara with chains on in the snow. I don't remember how long it took, but I remember driving slowly along the national highway, which was lined with large trucks, because the highway was closed at that time.
There was quite a bit of snow until Hikone, but when we reached Omihachiman, it was as if there was no snow at all. It's only about 10 km away from here. Even though it has been snowing in Hikone for a long time, there is no snow at all west of Omi Hachiman. I feel it's not fair at all.
We ended up arriving at Kyoto station 85 minutes late.
I had planned to go to Byodoin Temple in Uji that day, but since it was getting late, I decided to just visit Yasaka Shrine, which was not far from the hotel.
For dinner, we had a French dinner at the hotel's restaurant, Amber Court, which we had reserved.
Since it was a course meal, it took a while for each dish to come out, and we ended up having a two-hour course.
It took a while, but the food was delicious.
I used a JAL travel voucher that I hadn't had a chance to use for the Corona disaster. There was also a 10% discount for One Harmony members, so it was quite inexpensive.
