Though I imagine it probably won't come up very often, if you're ever offered the opportunity to choose between an airplane and a train that can travel at 200 mph, take the train.

It's the future of travel, I tell you.

Yes, I am a convert to Japan's world-renowned Shinkansen, the sleek high-speed transport whose name means "New main line." Okay, so it's not a very impressive name. But after a lifetime of cross-country plane rides, I can safely say that everything else about it is mighty impressive indeed.

I know what you're thinking. "But a plane travels so much faster! A train would take twice as long."

Ah, but you forget the Japanese culture of efficiency. Your actual plane trip may take three hours, but you also have to add the time you spend parking, checking your bags, slogging through Security, waiting to board, sitting on the runway... need I go on?

Don't bother showing up half-an-hour early for your Shinkansen. It doesn't even arrive until about five minutes before you're scheduled to leave. There's no line because passengers can board through any of the 16 doors. Step on, stow your bag, and sit down. Or don't. Feel free to get up and wander around. I found a nice big window between cars and snapped some shots of the city as it sped by.

Wheee		eeeeee		eeeeeeeee!

Yeah, that's right. I finally got a real camera. It's Sony's latest fetish object, the DSC-T1, a 5-megapixel camera smaller than a pack of cigarettes. If they ever sell it in the U.S., I highly recommend picking one up. Now, I'm not exactly swimming in money over here, but a trip to Kyoto is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and, well, apparently some of you think I take decent photos, so...

Anyway, the 105-minute train ride flew by so fast it wasn't even funny. Maybe the sensation of watching the landscape whiz by gives one a fuller sense of traveling, I dunno. But it felt nothing like a 105-minute plane ride. The Shinkansen doesn't drone loudly like a plane, it has a futuristic hum I associate with sci-fi movies. The air was fresh, the bathrooms were roomy and I never want to fly on an airplane again.

No seatbelts, no turbulence, and the seats lean way back. WAY back.

I was greeted in Kyoto by Mr. Tanaka, a friend of my dad's. The Tanakas lived in Chapel Hill for almost as long as I did, and their daughter went to university in Connecticut, so there was no culture shock and no real language barrier. It was really an adventure for everyone, since my visit gave the family an excuse to visit all the historic places in Kyoto that they hadn't gotten around to visiting themselves. Though the Tanakas promised an elaborate Japanese-style New Year's celebration at Heian Jingu Shrine, followed by the traditional feast, they sheepishly admitted that they'd normally just be spending the New Year watching TV.

The Tanakas (clockwise from left): Maiko, Kazuo, daughter-in-law Uena, Toshiyuki, Sakiko.

My camera holds about 100 photos at max resolution, and I filled it up almost every day I was there. In the entries that follow, I'll share some of the highlights of my excursions, which took me to virtually every major sightseeing spot in Kyoto.