Japan part 2

Here are some pictures from around Kyoto:

These vending machines were everywhere. Apparently people could rent out space at the front of their houses to the vending machine companies.

We used these buses loads to get around Kyoto. Public transport in Japan was such a contrast to in England - buses and trains were punctual, spacious and clean, with no grafitti. Oh, and we discovered that taxis had automatic doors.

Couldn't believe the traffic drove on the same side of the road as it does in England! Notice also on the second picture that the sequence of lights on the traffic lights appears to be backwards.I've not got any photos of the pedestrian crossings in Japan, but they were interesting. Japanese people always waited for the green man at pedestrian crossings, even if there was no traffic in sight. While we were there we didn't see one person cross the road when the red man was showing, but we didn't always have the patience to wait! However the traffic didn't neccessarily stop at crossings. The musicality of Japan was also a surprise. Shops often had English pop music blaring out - I heard Coldplay a couple of times. And every single music shop we went into had Abba playing on repeat! Even the pedestrian crossings were musical - each one had a different jingle that signaled when it was safe to cross.

And of course, there were some familiar sights too, even on the other side of the world!

Kyoto Tower is a famous landmark in the city. There is a department store beneath it and near the top of the tower is a viewing floor.
One night we went up Kyoto Tower
And these were the views across the city: