We LOVED biking around Kyoto for three days!! We loved biking as a family. We loved being able to see more of the city and the everyday way of life in Japan instead of just the tourist spots we were going to. We loved the freedom and independence that it gave us. We loved not needing to know about bus stops and metro routes. We loved being able to go where we wanted to go WHEN we wanted to go there.
We were really sad to turn the bikes back in. We wanted to bring them back to Tokyo with us. They make getting around so much easier. They make getting Audra and Kirstin around so much easier. Some of us cried when we had to turn them back in. Audra hugged her bike that she shared with Mom good-bye.
These bikes really made our time in Kyoto so much better. The Kyoto metro is not as easy to use as the Tokyo metro. We noticed a difference right away. The Tokyo metro has been explained to us like this: throw a handful of spaghetti noodles onto a map of Tokyo, and there's the metro. That's not far removed from how it really is. It's a mess of lines and stations, but you can get to just about anywhere you want to go because of it. If you miss a train, just wait 1-3 minutes and another one will be along.
The Kyoto metro is not like Tokyo's at all. It is much simpler to navigate, and makes much more sense, but it doesn't take you everywhere you want to go. Also, if you miss a train, instead of waiting for a couple of minutes, you will wait 10-20 minutes for the next one. That time adds up when you are trying to see as much as you can in a day. And, that's why biking around Kyoto was a necessity for us. It made all the difference in our trip.
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