I hope you enjoy the family trip; the area around Kyôto and Ôsaka is apparently really safe, which is why the nervous western embassies and companies have been shifting their branch offices there. And you get much more really interesting old stuff to see there than in Tôkyô, as the big Kantô earthquake and WW II: flattened a lot there.
You'll probably be going to Kyôto, too, and to Nara (which is one of my favourite places ever)? If you go to Kyôto, you'll have to tell me afterwards whether the buses (that one needs to use to get around as a tourist) still make you pay to let you *off*, not when you get on, which you can do quite unchallenged? They did when I was there. Rather unique principle, but worked very well. Which can be said about much of Kyôto.-
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I hope you enjoy the family trip; the area around Kyôto and Ôsaka is apparently really safe, which is why the nervous western embassies and companies have been shifting their branch offices there. And you get much more really interesting old stuff to see there than in Tôkyô, as the big Kantô earthquake and WW II: flattened a lot there.
You'll probably be going to Kyôto, too, and to Nara (which is one of my favourite places ever)? If you go to Kyôto, you'll have to tell me afterwards whether the buses (that one needs to use to get around as a tourist) still make you pay to let you *off*, not when you get on, which you can do quite unchallenged? They did when I was there. Rather unique principle, but worked very well. Which can be said about much of Kyôto.-