Kyoto – The Stupid American Tourist

Postcards From the JBPP Edge, How to Read Japanese Food Labels

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Nov 282011

Today was the final exam for my N1 grammar class. I think I did okay. Not great, but good enough. JBPP takes up a lot of time, as do my regular classes, and daily life eats up another chunk. I’m taking this more as an introduction to N1 level grammar, because I know that there’s still a lot I have to learn, so I’m not worrying too much about it right now.

We’re starting to do a lot of reviewing for the upcoming big tests in the main classes on Wednesday. Fun.

I’m a little tired after all the traveling this weekend, but it was fun, and I feel recharged.

In JBPP, we started working on how to mail letters. Snail mail is still important every now and then, so I have to know how to send letters properly. And it’s the sort of skill that transfers over to email as well.

Souvenirs!

Here are a few photos of the souvenirs I bought for everyone in Kyoto. I’m actually posting this from the future, but it fits with my “Kyoto Arc” here.

The cookie/wafer things came in two varieties:

A fall leaf motif:

Some kind of grass motif?

Anyway, they were a big hit with everyone. People like getting stuff.

How to Read Nutritional Info on Japanese Food!

Since I’m just tacking stuff onto this post, I might as well tack this on, too. It’s a really important survival skill in Japan if you have any dietary needs. That skill is how to decipher those labels!

Let’s start with the nutrition info from my cheese slices:

So the æ „é¤Š bit above the box is saying “Nutritional Information.” 1æžš means one slice, 18g å½“ãŸã‚Š means approx. 18 grams. (Well, it means exactly 18 grams, but realistically, it’s approximately.)

Now, let’s analyze the stuff in the box:

ã‚¨ãƒãƒ«ã‚®ãƒ¼ this is “energy,” measured in calories. (They use the more accurate kcal, for kilocalorie, but we just call them calories in the US.)
ãŸã‚“ã±ãè³ª this is protein.
è„‚è³ª this is fat.
ç‚æ°´åŒ–ç‰© these are carbohydrates.
ãƒŠãƒˆãƒªã‚¦ãƒ this is sodium.
ã‚«ãƒ«ã‚·ã‚¦ãƒ this is calcium.

The last bit, the é£Ÿå¡©ç›¸å½“é‡ bit, is just telling you the table salt equivalent of the sodium in the product. So each slice has roughly half a gram of salt in it.

Let’s apply this to convenience store food, because I eat a lot of it. (It’s probably bad for me!)

I bought some butajiru udon the other day. (It’s pork soup with udon noodles in it.)

Okay, the 11.11.23 bit is the “best by” date. 2011, November 23 is how you read it. The ãƒ—ãƒ© bit means that the whole thing is recycled with the plastic trash.

Below that, you see 1600w and 500w? Those are cooking times depending on your microwave’s wattage. One minute and twenty seconds for a 1600 watt, and four minutes for a 500 watt. (Useful!)

Now, under that is the actual nutritional information.

1é£Ÿå½“ãŸã‚Š we saw something similar before, but basically it means “one serving.”
ç†±é‡ is our calories again, just using a different way to say it.
è›‹ç™½è³ª is just another way to write ãŸã‚“ã±ãè³ª, except they used kanji. It’s still protein!
è„‚è³ª is back again. It’s still fat.
ç‚æ°´åŒ–ç‰© is also back again, still carbohydrates.
ï¼®ï½ refers to sodium by its periodic table name.

Everything else is the list of ingredients, and the address of the maker.

Hope this helps you figure out what’s on your plate!

Kinkakuji, Gion, LL Bean, and Going Home (Sunday, part 2)

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Nov 272011

It was an interesting bus ride to Kinkakuji, since I had to stand the whole trip. It was kind of like surfing on a whale in choppy seas. A very crowded whale.

I saw a group of American guys on bicycles doing some kind of tour of Kyoto while I was waiting for the bus. It looked like something that would be fun in the off-peak season, whenever that is.

By the time I got to Kinkakuji by bus, I stopped off at a place full of benches outside of the temple to take a short rest break, because I had been on my feet for most of the day so far, and I saw the guys on bicycles come riding in. So the bus was faster this time, but I’m sure bicycling in Kyoto has its own charms.

Right outside of the temple grounds, there’s a good view of one of the big characters they light on fire on the top of one of the nearby mountains.

It’s Still Made of Gold, and Tourists!

Visiting Kinkakuji is always a bit of a stuggle. It’s a struggle to get there, and when I get there, it’s a struggle for a good spot with a good view for a good shot. Sometimes it feels like too much work.

Coming in, even though the sky was gray, the leaves added some nice color. And there were some big crowds there, too!

Getting closer to the entrance:

The map of the temple grounds:

Entering the main gate:

For 200 yen, you can ring the bell!

I got there, and it was gold, pretty, and full of pretty red leaves. So naturally the crowds were amazingly packed in. (I think it was also in one of those popular magazines, but it’s Kinkakuji anyway. It’s one of the most famous buildings in Japan.)

But it was beautiful, in the only way a golden building sitting in the middle of lake can be.

Don’t believe me? Have a look!

I like this shot with extra Japanese Maple leaves in it:

Detail of the phoenix on the roof:

A close-up shot of the side of the pavilion.

And everyone is lined up to take a è¨˜å¿µå†™çœŸ (ããã‚“ã—ã‚ƒã—ã‚“ kinenshashin) or souvenir photograph.

On the way out, I got an omikuji, which is a slip of paper with a fortune on it you can buy at temples and shrines in Japan. I got a å‰ ãã¡ kichi, which means “good luck” fortune. This was a good omen.

Kyoto is sometimes a mess, and it’s often a battle with frustration, but it can be an incredible experience if you’re willing to put up with the little annoyances. Just understand that that’s the nature of the city. It’s the traditional cultural center of Japan, so you’re not just going up against foreign tourists, who were pretty thin on the ground here this time, but you’re really going up against large crowds of mostly Japanese tourists.

I Don’t Think We’re in Freeport Anymore

Done with Kinkakuji, I grabbed a cab to Kita Oji station, figuring that a cab all the way to Kiyomizu temple would be insanely expensive.

I got to the station (cost: 1,050 yen for ~ 1 mile), and what do I see?

An L.L. Bean store! YES! Score! Thanks å‰! I owe you one!

Why am I excited about seeing an L.L. Bean store when I could instead be looking at some more temples and shrines and getting more cultured?

I’ll tell you.

I’ve been freezing my tail off for the last 4 weeks or so, mainly because I can’t find clothes that fit me. I wear an XL in US sizes. An XL in Japanese sizes is closer to a skinny L or a fat M in US sizes. A US XL is more like a fat XXL or a skinny XXXL. Good luck with finding that at 99% of clothing stores here. I can’t find any clothes that fit me in the Japanese stores around Okazaki. Even the North Face store in Nagoya was a bust.

And it’s not like I’m particularly big for an American guy. I’m pretty average, but I have a big chest and big shoulders, so I’m kind of screwed.

I decided to check out the L.L. Bean store, and they still had about half of their men’s clothes in US sizes. (Oh, thank GOD!)

Sadly, they were converting a lot of their wardrobe to Japanese sizes. Don’t even bother to try to buy shoes there if your shoe size is over 10 (US) — you’re out of luck. Not that I needed shoes, but it’s a useful thing to know.

I found a plaid polartec button-down shirt, a sweatshirt, and a polartec hat. Woot! But now I had another problem. I had a bag full of bulky clothes to carry around with me, and that simply would not do.

Omiage Means “Thinking of You, and How to Fulfill My Societal Obligations to You”

I headed back to Kyoto Station, in search of another locker.

When I got there, I remembered something important: I needed to buy ãŠåœŸç”£ã€€ãŠã¿ã‚„ã’ã€€omiyage (souvenirs) for my fellow classmates and teachers. It’s just what you do here, and the students at Yamasa, even though they are from all over the world, have all picked up on this tradition.

So what should I buy for classmates and teachers? Well, it turns out that there are whole shops in the train stations devoted to providing the best omiyage to meet every conceivable social obligation.

I went to the store near the escalators and found some lovely rice crackers with a fall leaf design painted on them with some kind of edible frosting, I think. So I bought a box of 20 individually wrapped rice crackers for about 2,000 yen, and I was done.

Yep, I was done. I’ll give everyone a cracker on Monday, and they’ll be pleased. It’s not the present, it’s the fact that you went to the trouble to get people a little something. Of course, with other kinds of gift-giving, you have to put a lot more thought into it, because gift-giving here can be a minefield. But that’s not an issue today.

Food makes the best omiyage, because people can eat it and not worry about it taking up space. Space here comes at a premium.

Then I dumped everything in a locker, and checked the Shinkansen departures board for trains to Nagoya. They were starting to fill up fast. I got in line at the ticket office, and got a ticket on the 8:52 pm Hikari bound for Nagoya (and Tokyo, but I don’t care about Tokyo now.)

My only mistake was getting a window seat. Otherwise, it was brilliant to get my ticket now.

Goin’ to Gion

I used Wikitravel on my Nexus One to find a place to eat. I found a yakitori chain popular in Kyoto, and went to their Gion branch. It took a while to find it, because it wasn’t at street level– it was on the 5th floor of a nondescript building. Dinner on a stick was great. I had yakitori, yakiniku, a salad, and onion rings all for 1400 yen. Not bad. That was really my first full meal of the day, because I had been running around so much before.

After that, I headed to Gion to do some sightseeing. Gion is famous for expensive restaurants and geisha, among other things. It’s also famous for tourists and the shops that cater to them. It’s a lively and fun area. I stopped at a few shops here and there.

As soon as I crossed the bridge, I spotted the Minami-za Kabuki Theater, so of course I took some photos:

A few closeups:

The main road (Shijo Dori) through Gion goes for about half a kilometer or so, then ends at a shrine, Yasaka Jinja. Here’s a shot of the road from the front steps of the shrine.

When I got to the shrine, all of the lanterns were lit up for the evening, so it looked really pretty. I took some photos, of course.

Entering the main gate:

Heading to the stage:

One of the many lanterns at the shrine:

Artsy shot as I get closer to the stage:

A few shots of the lanterns surrounding the stage:

I really like this shot:

The south gate of the shrine:

At this point, my Canon 60D’s battery crapped out, and I switched to the tiny little Canon IXY I kept in my pocket.

Another couple of shots of the stage, this time with the IXY:

A lantern with some tied up fortune slips (omikuji) to remove the bad luck from bad draws.

Cool looking vending machine area:

Heading out and back to JR Kyoto Station:

It got to around 7:30, so I decided it was time to head back to the station so I don’t miss my train. It took 45 minutes or so just to get to the station, with all of the changing trains.

At one point, the subway car I was in just stopped at Shiyakushoumae (the station in front of the Kyoto city hall), and said, “That’s it. End of the line.” I needed to go one more stop. Vexing.

But I did get a good shot of the calorie-counting stairs!

I got back to JR Kyoto at 8:20, and headed to the restroom to freshen up. When I was done, I was in for a rather nasty surprise– there was no TP in the stall! I had to go back to the front of the restroom and buy toilet paper for 100 yen.

The joy of travel. I learn all kinds of new things every time.

I picked up my luggage from the various lockers I had stuffed it in, and made my way to the Shinkansen platform. I had time to kill, so I got an ekiben, which is short of é§…å¼å½“ã€€ãˆãã¹ã‚“ã¨ã† eki bentou, which winds up as ãˆãã¹ã‚“ or ekiben. A bentou is a meal served in a box. Sometimes it’s in a flashy, expensive box, and sometimes it’s just in a plastic box you recycle when you’re done. Ekibens are specialty bentous only sold at certain train stations. Every station has its own specialty.

I got mine, and waited for the train. It showed up, we got on, and then we had to wait 10 minutes for something to get cleared up, because someone somewhere hit an emergency button.

We all got lectured on how we should never do that.

The window seat was a terrible idea. The person in the aisle seat had built a fortress of luggage and crap that made it impossible for me to get to my seat without her having to move it all.

So when we were getting close to Nagoya, I almost killed myself falling over her crap trying to get to mine and get off of the train on time. My jacket got caught on something and everything just tumbled all over the car.

I’m never ever getting a window seat again.

I usually get aisle seats, no matter how long the trip is. I like being able to get out of my seat without too much fuss.

I managed to get off the train in Nagoya without any further incidents, took a moment to get sorted out, headed to platform 2 to catch my train to Okazaki… and promptly missed it by 30 seconds.

I had already used up that å‰ at L.L. Bean, it seems.

Or did I?

I managed to get a good waiting spot (I could lean on a post), and when the train came in, I was first in line, so I got a seat all the way back to Okazaki. Yay.

Don’t put your shinkansen ticket in the local train wicket. When I got to Okazaki, I had to go to the ticket office to get my tickets all sorted out because I did that. Oops.

I grabbed a cab home, and had a nice chat with the cabbie about the four seasons. In Japan, they are firmly convinced that they invented the concept of four distinct seasons, each with its own unique flavor.

Well, it’s interesting to point out that we have four very distinct seasons in the US, even more so depending on where you live, because there’s so much climatological variation here. How we celebrate the various seasons really does depend on where one lives.

In North Carolina, for instance, we have our own leaf-peeper season in fall, too. Just try to get a hotel room in Asheville in mid-October. I dare you. Summer is crazy hot here, spring is wonderful, and winter… well, winter can vary a bit, but it’s generally cold. Not much snow, but we get it. (In 2000, we got over two feet of it where I live.)

I got home, started up the washing machine, and crashed. It was a successful trip in all sorts of ways.

I want to go back to Kyoto and spend some serious time there drinking it all in.

But next time, I think I’ll do it in spring.

Nijo Castle (Sunday, Part 1)

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Nov 272011

Wow. If yesterday was busy, today might just have been busier. It’s a tough call.

I got up at 6:30, took my time getting ready, and then got stuck thinking about where I wanted to go to first, so I didn’t check out until 9:00 a.m.

When I got on the train to Kyoto at Shin-Osaka, it was jammed, so I had to stand all the way to Kyoto.

This was the start of a trend.

I got to Kyoto, and had to find a locker. This was a problem. Yesterday, I got to the station nice and early, around 8:30, so there were plenty of lockers to choose from.

But today, I only got in at around 9:45, and by then, about all of the lockers were gone. It was a fight to find something to cram my bags into. I really recommend getting to the station as early as possible if you want to use the lockers on the weekends. They fill up fast, especially the big ones Americans like me like to use.

I managed to find a locker eventually. B1F of Kyoto Station is your friend, locker-seeking people.

No Leaves? No Worries!

After that, I decided to go to Nijo Castle. My logic went like this: it’s historic, a World Heritage Site, and should be relatively devoid of leaf gawkers. Nijo Castle was the Kyoto residence of the Shoguns for over 200 years, so it’s a good place to visit in Kyoto if you want to see some history, and you’ve already had your fill of shrines and temples.

It was perfect for what I wanted. The grounds were great. Very attractive, but not full of fall colors to attract huge crowds. Well, there were some trees to look at, but since it wasn’t in any of the magazines, there wasn’t a huge crush of people.

Entering the main east gate:

There was one guy who created a small stir around him– he was taking pictures of some kind of action figure around the castle. As long as it’s fun, keep on keepin’ on.

The main castle was interesting. The main attraction for me were the “Nightingale Floors,” which squeaked like crazy so that nobody could sneak up on you.

Coming to the Kara-mon, which is the entry to the Ninomaru Palace (where the “Nightingale Floors” are.):

Entering the Kara-mon:

The old Carriage Receiving Area in front of the Ninomaru Palace:

After my tour of the interior of the Ninomaru Palace (no photography allowed), I saw these two bells outside of the entry/exit:

I turned down a path that led into the Ninomaru Palace Garden, and turned back to look at the palace building:

Looking down at the Kuroshoin:

The main pond at the Ninomaru Palace Gardens:

After that, I headed to the Honmaru portion of Nijo Castle. Here’s the bridge over the inner moat, leading to the main gate to the Honmaru:

Right after passing through the gate:

The Honmaru is actually a building from the Kyoto Imperial Palace. It replaces an older castle building here that burned down:

Another shot of the Honmaru, as I’m walking by:

After that, I climbed up the remains of the old donjon, where there’s a neat viewing platform, and took this photo of the Honmaru area:

Here’s a shot of the western gate leading out of the Honmaru, over the inner moat, from the top of the old Donjon:

When I finished up the main route through the castle and grounds, I wound up at the far corner of things, about 1 Km away from the entrance, so I had to hike all the way back to the entrance. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds.

On the way to the exit, I found the Koun-Tei. (I think it’s a place to have tea?):

It looked beautiful reflected in the pond:

The landscaping was nice. The ginkgo trees were especially pretty, because their leaves were a brilliant shade of yellow:

Some gnarled-looking trees:

After all of that, I headed to the bus stop outside of the Castle. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next until I saw a bus go by that said “Kinkakuji” on it, and figured, “What the heck. I haven’t been there in a few years.” Then I looked inside the bus, and it was jammed all the way to the entrance doors. There was no way to even get on the bus, unless you just pushed your way on.

The people ahead of me in line were apparently not familiar with the concept of just cramming yourself in the bus, which is as applicable as it is on subways. It’s not like the next bus is going to be any LESS crowded, so you’re going to have to suck it up eventually if you want to get anywhere. There is no magically empty bus waiting for you, my dear princes and princesses. This is the height of tourist season, and everyone is on that bus, and everyone else is going to be on the next bus.

I met a nice guy from India while standing in line for the bus who went to the University of Michigan, so we chatted while waiting for the next bus to show up. Then we gritted our teeth and shoved our way on.

I’ll continue this in a “part 2” post, too, because it’s getting long.

Arashiyama (Saturday, Part 2)

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Nov 262011

I was in Kyoto Station. I headed over to the platform to grab a train to Arashiyama, but first I grabbed some sandwiches at the shop there, and gobbled them down on the platform to save money on cafes. I almost missed my train.

I made it to Arashiyama, and headed out of the station there. The crowds were massive. As I headed out of the station, I saw a bicycle rental shop right there. I wasn’t interested this time (because it’s impossible to bike in these crowds), but it’s something to keep in mind for next time.

I headed towards the main street in Arashiyama, and it was jam-packed with people. That was almost more interesting than the shops and the few street performers I saw.

Arashiyama’s main street is full of restaurants and souvenir shops that are designed to separate you from your cash. If you like browsing and eating, it’s definintely worth a trip.

I decided to head on over towards the giant bamboo forest I saw in one of the brochures for Arashiyama, because it looked interesting. In reality, it looked okay, but didn’t quite match up to the level of the magazines and brochures. (Of course.)

I lowered my camera a bit, and you can see the crowds!

One amazing thing: I spotted trash cans in Arashiyama! I could toss out my sandwich box from Kyoto Station there. Awesome. (No I did not take a picture. I probably should have.)

In the middle of the bamboo forest, I walked past a beautiful Shinto shrine, Nonomiya Jinja. It had great fall colors around its front gates, so there was a huge crowd trying to take pictures.

Getting around was kind of difficult at times, because there was a rickshaw service whose rickshaws were pretty big, and they would force the pedestrians out of the way so one or two people could get by. One guy would run in front of the rickshaw to clear the mob of people out of the way so the rickshaw could go through (although usually it was 2 or 3 rickshaws), and then another guy would bring up the rear.

It was really annoying.

Train Spotting

After that, I came upon the main JR line, and had to wait for some trains to pass, so I took some train photos as they went by. I wasn’t the only person doing that. Trains are a bit of an obsession for some people here. It stands to reason: there’s a huge variety of models, and some of them look kind of cool. And there are enough varieties of trains and railway lines that fans can probably argue for days on end about which is the coolest.

I love this woman’s body language as the train approaches:

Yup, it’s a train all right!

Back into the bamboo forest for a bit more.

My walking had an objective, and that was Nision-in temple. But I saw a lot of pretty sights along the way, like this cottage:

And this really big field:

Looking back at the way I came (same really big field!):

Nision-In Temple

I did some more walking, and then I finally wound up at Nision-in temple, on the side of a mountain. The views were great, and the foliage was pretty, too. I climbed the steep stone stairs up the side of the mountain for some great views of Arashiyama and Kyoto in the distance.

Entering the temple grounds:

Going through the gate (I like this photo a lot):

Inside the temple grounds:

The Honden, if I remember correctly:

A big bell you could ring:

Then I climbed a bunch of stairs into the cemetery on the top of the hill, and saw this beautiful view of Arashiyama and Kyoto:

To give you an idea of how steep the stairs were– going down was a little scary:

All in all, it’s a beautiful temple, and the walk there from the main street was also gorgeous as well. There were lots of fall colors and great scenery along the way. Another nice part about it: it wasn’t as crowded as the main street, and it definitely wasn’t as crowded as Kyoto.

Then I headed back towards the main street in Arashiyama again (still busy!):

I took a short break on a bench by some vending machines. That was a lifesaver. I had a Coke. It was in one of those oil can style aluminum bottles I only see in Japan:

Revived, I headed down the main street, all the way towards the Togetsukyou bridge, another famous Arashiyama landmark.

The sun was starting to set, so the scenery around there was especially pretty. The sun goes behind the mountains pretty early in that part of Arashiyama.

After all of that, I decided to head back to Kyoto Station. I had some fun trying to find new ways to get to the JR station in Arashiyama, but I eventually got there.

Dinner Time

In Kyoto, I decided to have dinner at Kyoto Station, on the 11th floor in a place called The Cube, where you can find a bunch of different restaurants. Tonight I decided on an Italian restaurant that I had eaten at 4 years ago. The food was good then, and it was still good now.

500 yen got me 3 pieces of cheese, 3 slices of tomato, and some basil. Yikes. But I got a decent pizza for 1200 yen. I ordered a slice of cake for dessert that was only slightly more challenging than a Rubik’s Cube to open. It was bound in some kind of plastic that was apparently also used to seal away demons, but the cake was delicious.

Generally, food in Japan is expensive. Add to that the crappy dollar-yen conversion rate, and it’s even more expensive.

OMG Osaka!

Sated, I headed down to the lockers to get my bags out, and headed to Osaka for the night.

The train ride from Kyoto to Shin-Osaka only took about 23 minutes, then a 10 minute wander through the maze that is Shin-Osaka station to the subway, and 1 stop to Nishi-something-or-other to the hotel.

That’s an interesting neighborhood. I got a weird vibe as soon as I left the station, but I shrugged it off. I got to the hotel, settled in, cleaned up, and headed out to get some food: breakfast for tomorrow and a late evening snack.

As I was looking for the 7-11, I was propositioned by not 1, but 2 very eager “massage therapists.” Yeah, it turns out it was that kind of neighborhood. They were aggressive, too. But I just kept on walking, got my food, headed back (alone!), and passed out.

Long day, but lots of stuff done.

Tofukuji (Saturday, Part 1)

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Nov 262011

Today was a very busy day.

Before I headed out for sightseeing, I tried begging at the APA Hotel for another night. No luck.

So I grabbed my stuff, and raced to Kyoto Station and managed to grab one of the last lockers in the basement area. They were pretty much full by 8:30 a.m.

Soft-sided luggage is a godsend, because I can squish it into a smaller locker. The softer, the better. The less of it, the better, too.

Then I grabbed a local train to Tofukuji to see the temple there.

On the way to Tofukuji, I saw my first pretty red leaves:

As I was walking, I saw a place called Rikkyou-An, and it had a lovely garden inside.

The sign says, “Do not enter to take photos:”

In Japan, people tend to follow the rules:

Then I arrived at the entrance to Tofukuji. It was packed, and the line was huge.

Tofukuji

It seems as if all of Japan has descended on Kyoto to stare at red leaves. I started my day by going to Tofukuji Temple, which a number of magazines recommended as a top place to see the fall colors.

That was my first mistake: relying on popular Japanese travel magazines. Japan is a group-oriented society, and everyone reads the same things, including the same travel magazines, so everyone was at the same place.

It was insane. Scores of people cornering some random trees with red leaves, shooting photo after photo.

Yes, they’re pretty, but are they that pretty?

We’re surrounded by 1,400 years of culture, countless UNESCO World Heritage sites, and nobody cares. It’s all about the leaves.

It’s somewhat mystifying.

That said, I managed to get caught up in the leaf frenzy too. I found myself taking lots of pictures of red trees and their red, red, leaves.

Have a look:

This is the Tsutenkyo Bridge, from the entry to the temple:

A little closer in:

I finally got into the temple complex proper, and it was busy:

We had to line up for all sorts of things:

The crowd was crushingly heavy. Folks were pushing, elbows, shoulders, bodies, all straining to get the same perfect shot that everyone else has of the same red leaves.

Looking back at the entryway I came across from my vantage point on the Tsutenkyo Bridge:

I wandered over to the Kaisando Hall:

The Kaisando has a Wet Side:

And a Dry Side:

Then I started to head back. I saw this lovely gate. I forget which one it is, though:

One last trip across the Tsutenkyo Bridge, fighting the crowds:

And after an hour of that, I left. Tofukuji is a very nice place to visit just about any other time of the year. The do leaves make it really pretty. It’s just the crowds that make it unbearable. Pick a weekday or come some other time of year.

I ran into a couple from the U.S., and we engaged in that usual activity of foreigners in Japan, which is a bit of head-shaking at the things we don’t quite understand. I’m sure everyone does it a bit when they travel somewhere.

Goodbye Welcome Inn

I headed back to the station. It was 11 a.m., so I stopped by the Welcome Inn Reservation Center for the last time. They are closing it permanently after the 30th. Shoot. Anyway, I tried to see if I could scrounge up a western-style hotel room, in a 40-mile radius, but didn’t have any luck. The lady suggested that I try the travel agencies in the station.

I decided to give Nippon Travel a shot, and waited a bit to see an agent. He managed to find the last hotel room in Osaka, at the Business Hotel Consort. I took it for 5,000 yen. What the heck. It’s not the most exciting name for a hotel, but beggars can’t be choosers tonight. My only other option is sacking out at an internet cafe, and while I’d like to try that sometime, I’m fine with being in a regular hotel, too.

After reserving a room for the night, I went to the Kyoto City info center for ideas, because after dealing with the morning’s crowds, I was stumped for what to do next. I didn’t want to go to another temple or shrine that was as crowded as Tofukuji and fight leaf peepers all day.

I asked one of the consultants there if there was a way to avoid the crowds and still soak in some of the Kyoto atmosphere.

He laughed.

Then he recommended Arashiyama. It was actually a pretty good idea, because Arashiyama has enough room to spread out.

Sort of. Anyway, Arashiyama is pretty.

This post is already long because of the photos, so let’s continue it in part two.

First Night in Kyoto

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Nov 252011

Man, I’m tired. I raced back to the apartment after JBPP, frantically packed, tossed out anything I didn’t need, repacked, still had too much, but left anyway. Yuck. Too heavy. I tried to take the bike to the station, but realized instantly that that was a horrible idea. The walk to the station wasn’t much better.

I really want to be one of those dudes who can just travel with a toothbrush and a spare pair of underpants. Seriously, how do they do that?

I managed to get a seat on the train to Nagoya, then grabbed a Nozomi to Kyoto.

PINning Down My Tickets

Here’s a tip: if you want to use a credit card, and you don’t have or remember your PIN number, buy your shinkansen tickets at a smaller station and talk to a human, if you can speak Japanese.

If you can’t, then go to the bigger stations, like Nagoya or Tokyo, and stand in line. The people working the counters there speak excellent English, or can find someone who does. (I learned this in 2007.)

If I had gotten my ticket at Okazaki instead of Nagoya, I would have saved 20-30 minutes of standing in line.

If you have/know your PIN, just use the machines. It’s a LOT faster. But if you’re trying to do something complex, humans are more helpful.

Hello Kyoto

I got to Kyoto at around 6:30, then headed straight to the APA Hotel, which was right outside of JR Kyoto. Fortunately, I had my confirmation number with me, because nobody in either Japan or the US can spell my name to save their lives.

The room was okay, but pricey: 10,000 yen.

I checked in, crashed for a few minutes, then headed over to Bic Camera to finally get a circular polarizer. I’ve been putting off buying one for too long. I looked around a bit, and found one.

Then I headed up to the restaurants on the 11th floor of Isetan, because it was starting to get late.

The Christmas decorations are already up:

I found a good okonomiyaki shop, and had a good modern yaki with bacon. That’s good stuff!

After that, I headed down to the second floor of the station, and went to Cafe du Monde for a beignet… only to find out that the Cafe du Monde in Kyoto Station does not serve beignets. What the hell?? It’s Cafe freakin’ du Monde! They do sell hot dogs and coffee. But no beignets? There was a Mister Donut next to it, so I waited for 10 minutes and ordered some donut-looking things from them.

It Has a Hole in the Middle

As I headed out of the station, I took a couple of photos of the Kyoto Tower Hotel, which was very purple tonight:

Then I went to the Lawson outside of the station, and it was jammed full of people. It was a madhouse. I decided to go ahead and get breakfast as well as beverages, because I wanted to save a trip here in the morning. (Seriously, it was nuts.)

I headed back to the room.

My room if full of amenities. See?

Then I ate my donuts. The MisDo (as they call Mister Donut here) donuts were really mediocre, like not very good grocery store donuts that had all of the flavor chased out of them by the bland police. Frankly, Harris-Teeter’s chocolate donuts taste better, and they’re average at best.

Now I understand why the lines at Krispy Kreme are so long here; these people haven’t been eating proper doughnuts! (There’s a difference between donuts and doughnuts, but I don’t want to get into it right now.)

The MisDo chocolate donut just tasted like it was… brown flavored.

I called home to let them know I was still alive, then I sacked out early. Gotta get up early, too. Tomorrow will probably be chaotic on a level I haven’t seen yet.

My Manly Hat

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Nov 242011

Two of my classmates, N-san and the other N-san, mocked my 1000 yen gloves. They told me that I should have bought them at the Daiso, the local 100 yen shop. Of course, they pride themselves on getting the absolute best bargains, no matter what.

But I’m a little leery of buying 100 yen clothes, because I’m afraid I’m going to get some kind of awful rash or something. “It’s 100 yen for a reason,” is how I see it.

That said, tonight was extra cold, so on my way to ZigZag, when I stopped off at the Daiso to look for light bulbs (mine have been dying off at an alarming rate), I found a great 100 yen ç”·å‰ otokomae, or “manly” hat.

I couldn’t find any decent light bulbs, though.

The hat itches like hell, and looks like a 100 yen hat. But it keeps my head warm.

No rash, either. Not yet, anyway.

It’s black, so it makes me look like a burglar in one of those Hollywood “heist” movies.

In other news, D who runs ZigZag says he’ll take my excess supplies. That’s good news. It would be awful if I was forced to throw them away when I leave in a few weeks. I’m sure he can make something delicious out of them.

I managed to find a hotel for Kyoto… for Friday night. No luck at all for Saturday night. The whole town is booked solid. I’ll probably just stay at an Internet cafe. It’ll be an adventure!

Brief Update

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Nov 212011

I got my sakubun test results back: I did pretty well, so I’m pleased.

Today in JBPP, we practiced asking for favors. It appears that doing so requires a great deal of the proper cushioning.

This week looks like it’s going to be pretty quiet, so I’m going to try to go to Kyoto from Friday – Sunday if I can find a room.

That’s going to be hard, because the leaves are peaking, and all of Japan wants to go there.

From Kyoto to Nara

Japan, Photos, Travel 2 Responses »

Oct 292007

For my last night in Kyoto (which was last night), I went back to Isetan’s 11th floor. This time I went back to my chicken and pizza places for a second raid. Good stuff.

Later that night my stomach paid me back in spades. That’s why I bring the Pink Stuff with me on a trip. (In pill form so I don’t have to taste it.)

I don’t think I’m going to be eating any weird sushi anytime soon.

I Ship and Ship, and Nothing Changes!

Today was a travel and sightseeing day. But first, I shipped another 20 lbs. of stuff I don’t need back home.

I keep sending these giant boxes home, yet my suitcase doesn’t get smaller. I don’t understand it at all. I’ve sent 40 pounds of junk home. 3.5 cubic feet. Where did I carry it all?!? It’s a mystery that bugs me, and it also frightens me a little.

Getting to the post office was fun. The hotel let me borrow a bicycle for 30 minutes for free, and I put the giant box in the basket. I had to hold on to the box while I tried to steer.

Good times.

Checking Out

I checked out and went to the tourism office in Kyoto Station to reserve a hotel in Osaka on the nights of the 2nd and the 3rd of November. I found a nice and cheap hotel, which makes me all warm and fuzzy. Thank you, Welcome Inn Reservation Center! The only downside is that the only Internet is in a “Business Room” I have to go to to use. I don’t know how much I’m going to use that, so I’ll probably be incommunicado.

I think I’m going to go to Beppu after all. I know, I’m cutting it way too close, but I think I should be able to swing a room somewhere.

Off to Nara

It took about 45 minutes by train to get to Nara from Kyoto. I met some nice Americans on the train. They were a couple who live in Kyoto traveling with their twins, and the husband’s parents. They were nice people, and the screaming toddlers kept me from sleeping and missing my stop.

Right now JR Nara Station is pretty basic. There are no escalators, and no elevators. I think they’re in the middle of renovations or something.

Either way, it was a pain to lug the big case up those stairs. Down is easy… that’s just a controlled crash down the stairs. Since I got there 2 hours before I could check in, it was time to scope out some coin lockers. (ã‚³ã‚¤ãƒ³ãƒãƒƒã‚«ãƒ¼ in Japanese, by the way. Just say “Coin Rocka,” and you’re close enough.)

I lucked out as a couple of Australian guys were unloading their big locker, and snagged it. One of them even gave me 100 yen because all I had was 300 yen and a 500 yen coin, and I needed 5x 100 yen coins.

But I was still 100 yen short.

Let me go back to Japanese money for a second. Should you choose to go to Japan, hold on to as many 100 yen coins as you can. They are THE most useful coins. Everything else will betray you at one point. Take my 500 yen coin. Even though the locker costs 500 yen, it doesn’t accept 500 yen coins. Nor will it accept anything other than 100 yen coins. And getting change can be troublesome. Some places won’t give you change for even small things like a 500 yen coin. Very annoying. So hoard those 100 yen coins.

After a few tries, I finally found someone who would give me change, so I got a locker. Then I realized my other bag wouldn’t fit, so I decided to try the electronic lockers, but I couldn’t get the machine to read my plastic. I went back to the other lockers for an old-fashioned one that took coins.

Why all the talk about lockers? Because if you travel a lot in Japan, you’ll probably need them at some point. They’re very, very handy.

My luggage secured, I went in search of the main thing I came to Nara for: some NICE calligraphy brushes. Nara is a traditional home for good calligraphy brushes in Japan. I found 2 nice medium-sized horsehair brushes for about 6,300 yen total, and a nice big one for 5,000 yen. I’m set for a while now.

I strolled some more, then when it was time to check in, I went to my hotel, the Nara Royal Hotel. This is a very nice place, with a low price for the luxury you get. 8,500-9,500 yen a night for a single, and it’s big for a Japanese single hotel room. There’s even an onsen/spa in the basement, which I’m going to try out very soon.

It also has HDTV in the room. It’s not a crummy one either; it’s a Sharp Aquos.

Then it was off to see some sights.

Sightseeing in Nara

Someone decided centuries ago that the deer here were a sign of good fortune, and they became sacred. Sacred animals lead a charmed life, and can merrily poop and act out wherever they want to. This is a Bad Thing, in my opinion. It’s bad because the animals become pampered and spoiled, and act really obnoxious.

And did I mention the poop? It’s everywhere. I had to dodge it constantly, so instead of looking at the sights, I was watching my feet.

From now on, whenever I think of Nara, I will always think of deer poop, and the smell of lots and lots of deer poop. It’s kind of hard not to.

Anyway.

I took a train to Kintetsu Nara Station, and started taking pictures and walking towards Kasuga Taisha Shrine.

The platform:

A fountain with a statue of a Buddhist priest whose name escapes me:

A shopping arcade along the way:

Deer warning signs, two varieties:
This one warns of deer jumping into the street:

This is just telling you not to mess with them. Period.

And finally, some deer!

Chillin’

Fightin’

A shrine entrance that looked interesting, but I had to skip it for time reasons. Himuro Jinja:

And a really pretty lantern with some fall colors:

Kasuga Taisha Shrine

I made it to the Kasuga Taisha Shrine, another World Heritage Site, just in time. It closes at 4:30 p.m., so I had to hustle to get there. I made it in time to see most of it. It was gorgeous.

Pictures!

The entrance:

Rows of lanterns:

A deer-shaped washing area:

The entrance to the Honsha, where you go pray:

Lantern Detail:

A tiny bridge nearby:

Another lantern-lined path:

This path takes you to Wakamiya Shrine. I didn’t follow it:

Heading out:

Moss!

A Komainu, one of the stone shrine guardians:

Heading to Todaiji temple:

Todaiji Temple, or The Reason Why I Travel

I walked to Todaiji Temple, home of the Daibutsuden Hall, where there is an enormous wooden statue of Buddha. This place was awe-inspiring. This is the reason I travel, and put up with things like insanely-heavy luggage, deer poop, and weird food making me sick. It’s hard to put into words. It’s just… wow. This is a definite must-see. I lingered there until they kicked me out at 5 p.m. sharp. I was the last one out of the temple as they closed the doors.

And now, pictures!

Approaching Todaiji, there’s another row of shops. Busy doing business. You can already see the outer gate (the Dainanmon). It’s massive.

Getting closer (lots of deer around here):

The Dainanmon up close and personal:

Inside the Dainanmon, there are two giant wooden statues. Here’s one of them:

Past the Dainanmon is an area around the central gate, or Chuumon. You can see the Daibutsuden behind it. It’s the bigger building.

And here’s the Chuumon. Can’t go through it. Have to pay admission.

And here’s the Daibutsuden, where the giant wooden statue of Buddha is located:

Sexier angle:

Roof detail:

Almost there:

Incense burner outside:

The Daibutsu. This photo just doesn’t do it justice.

Neither does this one. But it was the best I could do. The light was wretched, and I’m using a point-and-shoot camera.

Change the angle? Not really helping. Losing the light in a dark place. Go and see it yourself! It’s massive and incredible!

Time to go. They’re shutting the gates behind me. No, really, they’re shutting the gates!

Last shot:

Lots of good pictures again. I’m up to well over 1,700 total.

Then it was back to the hotel for dinner. I’m not sure what I’m going to do next. Maybe I’ll hit the spa.

One not-so-good part–there’s zero cell reception in the hotel for either network. Not much I can do about that. I’d say of the hotels I’ve stayed in so far in Japan, this is the nicest one so far, although the Comfort Inn and the other business hotels all had coin laundries, this one doesn’t, and I need to do some washing again. Temps are still in the mid-70s, and I’m sweating like a pig. (In case you needed to know that.)

Last photo, because I love this cup:

Be relieved, and use it!

Tomorrow is a big travel day to Hiroshima. I’ll be there two nights, then if I’m lucky, I’ll go to Beppu. (Fingers crossed on that reservation…)

Another Big Day in Kyoto

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Oct 282007

Another busy day. Not as good as yesterday, but yesterday was hard to beat.

I started off my day by doing laundry at 7:30 a.m. Doing laundry in Japan is kind of handy. I say “kind of” because it has its limits. I’ve noticed that all of the coin-operated washers that I have come across have the detergent built-in, so I don’t have to add any. But they do a really lousy job of cleaning my clothes. So while it’s handy, it’s only handy if I don’t get my clothes dirty.

After that, more free breakfast, then the lady at the desk hooked me up with a big box to send my stuff home in for 300 yen.

I set off for Kamigamo Shrine, in the far Northern part of Kyoto. It’s a kind of a pain in the butt to get to. First, I took the subway all the way to Kitaoji, then I went to the bus station there, then waited 40 minutes for a bus.

When I finally got on the bus, it didn’t stop where the map says it does, and I wound up someplace entirely different.

But the driver helped me and let me know when to get off.

Pro Tip: Ask the bus driver if you don’t know where your stop is. They’re usually great about helping you out, even if you know a bare minimum of Japanese.

I left the hotel at 10:45 a.m., and only got to the shrine at 12:20 p.m., so that was a bit of a bummer.

Kyoto is a pretty cool city, but it can be a pain to get around. Taxis would probably be faster, and after switching train lines so much, the price doesn’t look so bad in comparison. It’s a time vs. money balancing act.

Another thing to keep in mind about visiting shrines on a Sunday– they’re usually packed with people doing stuff like getting married. It’s another double-edged sword, because I don’t want to interfere, but it’s cool to watch, and it also sometimes means parts of the shrines are closed.

This time, there was a wedding and a huge craft fair taking place at the shrine. Both were interesting to check out. The craft fair was cool because people were selling actual things they made with their own hands and skill, and not just stuff in a box from China like you might see at a lot of flea markets. There was also more shichi-go-san visiting taking place, too.

Anyway, pictures!

The entrance to the grounds:

As I walked towards the shrine, I saw part of the craft fair going on:

Here’s the entrance to the shrine proper:

Detail Shot:

Neat bridge in front of the gate in front of the shrine:

More ema:

Inside the honden:

One last shot of the craft fair. It was pretty big:

On to Shimogamo Shine

After some browsing, I left Kamigamo Shrine and went to Shimogamo Shrine.

I picked the two shrines based on the fact that they both looked pretty in the guidebook I picked up in Nagoya.

Powerful logic there, but it’s one way to narrow down the choices of places to visit.

Another bus ride, another long walk, and a shrine. It was also very visually appealing, very historical, and very crowded.

A torii, so we know we’re entering a shrine:

A close-up of the lantern:

Some of the buildings on the grounds:

The honden entrance:

Some props for taking pictures of kids doing their shichi-go-san visits:

The Sakura Gate, or Sakuramon is stunning:

Coming out the other side:

Detail shot:

I came across the stump of a sacred tree on the way out:

And another craft fair:

Then I headed out:

Weddings, shichi-go-san, and another craft festival. I’m beginning to see a pattern here. Both shrines feel more like parks than shrines. Shimogamo has better shade trees.

I hopped a train and rode to Ponto-cho for a little stroll there. It has a very nice atmosphere, but it’s also very crowded with tourists.

Arashiyama

I went back to the hotel for a snack, and set out again for Arashiyama, but I had to hustle, because it was already 4 p.m., and the sun sets here right at 5 p.m.

Walking along the Ohi river:

Souvenir shops:

I got to the Ohi River bridge just in time… for the sun to already have gone behind the mountain. It was still nice, though.

A view of the Ohi River Bridge:

Some people kayaking in the river, taken from the Ohi River Bridge:

Crossing over to the other side:

Some food stalls set up on the other side:

I took a few shots from the other bank.

Here’s a shot of the bridge:

Another shot of the boaters:

More scenery:

Close up of the other bank:

See, it really is the Ohi River!

Some of the scenery on the other side:

A place to crash before crossing the bridge back to the station:

I strolled around for a bit, then hurried back home because my stomach was cramping. Probably something I ate, or maybe dehydration.

The pink stuff fixed me up. Don’t leave home without it, because you can’t get it here.

Tonight I’m probably going to take it easy. I might saunter to Isetan for a meal there, but I may just sit in my very hot room and sleep, too.

It turns out that they turned off the A/C yesterday. Dunno why, it’s still hot here. But I guess the calendar said, “Turn the heater on,” so now the heater is on. So I had to open the window so I don’t suffocate.

I’m wiped out now.

Nasty Crunchy Yellow Things; Wait Your Turn; Keep Left

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Oct 272007

Here’s my nightcap report.

After I got back and recharged for a couple of hours, I headed back to Kyoto Station and Isetan’s 11th floor.

FYI– The mall stores and the stores in Isetan in Kyoto Station close at 8PM, and the restaurants all close at 9PM. I made it in time to go to another sushi restaurant.

This time, I went for the 2,600 yen chef’s omakase plate. The chef decides what you should eat, and puts it on a plate for you. The first few were great. Shrimp, some eel, a little squid, some tuna, salmon. Then he decided to put some weird stuff on there. And by weird, I mean weird I don’t like.

But a dare is a dare.

Next was some sort of brown thing with little spikes on it, with sauce on it. No idea, but it was fragrant. Not one of my favorites.

Then came the sea urchin. It didn’t taste bad, but the meat just sort of melts in your mouth, and the texture just turned my stomach. I don’t usually have texture issues with food, but sea urchin got me in an unexpected way.

There was also fish roe. I’m not sure which kind, but it was another one that texture-wise didn’t work for me, because the little eggs all just sort of burst into juice in your mouth, kind of like the sea urchin.

Finally there was this crunchy yellow thing. I have no idea what it was, but it had the texture of cauliflower, smelled fishy, and was hard to choke down.

I had saved a couple of pickled plum rolled sushi to clear my palate, then one last piece of tuna and some pickled ginger.

Oh, and beer.

Lots of beer.

It was a good meal. Kind of a mixed bag, but Japan isn’t fun without trying some of the weirder stuff. And the normal stuff was awesome.

OMG Beignets!

Then after that, it was a trip to Cafe du Monde (yes, they have one in Kyoto) for beignets and iced chocolate milk. (Which is the BEST DRINK EVER.) It did wonders to cleanse my palate, although my stomach is a little upset from the yellow crunchy fishy thing, I think.

I went up to Shijo-Dori, which translates to 4th avenue, except that it runs East->West. Shijo-Dori is a fun place to stroll, because that’s where all the action is. I’m staying on Gojo-Dori, which is relatively dull. (Or quiet, if you like dull places.)

Shijo-Dori is definitely a place to visit if you like to shop and people-watch. I saw my first clump of gothic lolitas tonight, waiting for a club to open. It’s an interesting look. Hey, whatever floats your boat. (Gothic Lolita is a fashion trend in Japan. It’s often just called goth loli. Google it.)

Then I stopped by a convenience store for some food, since my room has a fridge in it.

The Comfort Inn here rocks. It’s cheap, they have a decent free breakfast, the rooms are nice, and they have a “Drink Service” from 3PM-midnight with free drinks. Who doesn’t love free drinks?

The people working the front desk speak pretty good English, if your Japanese is lacking. The location isn’t ideal, because it’s a bit of a hike to the nearest subway station, but it’s good enough for saving a few thousand yen a day. AAA discounts, work here, too!Â (Use the website to get those AAA deals.)

Random Observations

A few general Japan observations: everyone keeps to the left.

(Visual aid from my later trip to Tokyo.)

The same way that Americans all keep to the right when driving, walking, etc., in Japan, you keep left. That’s how you can spot the Americans and Canadians. They keep bumping into people because they all keep right. Generally. There are times when everyone keeps right, but it’s not as common.

One thing I had a lot of problems with were the raised bumpy areas and channels in the pavement for the visually impaired. I do not begrudge them the help, and I think it’s great that they’re all over the place, but my wheeled luggage got caught in them all the time. My suggestion: get a backpack. Or get wheeled luggage with giant honkin’ wheels.

(Another visual aid from the future. This time, Hiroshima.)

In Japan, you line up for everything and wait your turn. It sounds silly to Americans, but I think it’s great. It means that when you’re at an attraction, say, Kinkakuji, and you want to take some pictures, you stand behind the people in front of you, and wait patiently. Then you do your stuff, and the people behind you wait for you to do your stuff. It’s very nice, actually.

Here, a visual aid from Kinkakuji. Everyone lines up to take photos, and waits for their turn patiently.

Same goes for trains. There are marks on the platform where the doors are going to be, and everyone lines up at the marks and waits for the people to get off, then they get on in an orderly fashion.

Tomorrow is a laundry day, then I’ll try to go to Arashiyama and Eiga Mura, then maybe go to Ponto-cho for some more shopping, then I’ll hunt down the cardboard box I need to send a bunch of stuff back in, so I don’t die lugging my stuff to Nara.

TV here is still pretty meh.

Oh, one last thing– they have an interesting way to deal with porn–err, “Pay Per View.” Instead of embarrassing charges on your hotel bill, you go to the vending machines, and buy a 1,000 yen “TV Card” that will dole out 150 minutes’ worth of “Pay Per View” TV. At least that’s what the hotel directory says.

One last weird moment– I flipped on the TV on to see if anything was on, and I stumbled on to old Star Trek in English on BS-2, one of the NHK networks. We learn Japanese from Doraemon, they learn English from Star Trek?

Set phasers on educate!

A Philosophical Journey Through Kyoto

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Oct 272007

Wow. I’m totally wiped out. I saw a bunch of stuff after all, in spite of a persistent light rain that wasn’t more than slightly annoying.

Ginkakuji

For starters, I took the subway and then grabbed a bus to Ginkakuji (the Silver Pavilion). On the bus ride there, I saw a great sight I wish I could have photographed. A large group of guys wearingÂ fundoshi (traditional Japanese underwear that kind of looks like a loincloth) were moving a portable shine across a river. It looked cold. The couple next to me were chuckling, and I asked (in Japanese) if those people were college students, and they replied “Yes,” so I laughed along with them. Ah, college.

I got off the bus at Ginkakuji-Mae (Mae is Japanese for “In front of.” This is a handy word to know.) I was looking at an area map, and it hit me– in Japan, North on maps isn’t always up. North is sometimes anywhere but up. This is very confusing when you’re trying to go somewhere, and it explains why it took me so long to find that martial arts exhibition in Nagoya. The map was upside down to me. Let that be a lesson! Find the “N” first, just in case.

Here’s an example map, just for Kyoto tourists on Gojo Dori. It looks innocent enough:

But if we look closer, we can see that the “N” for North isn’t pointing up!

After struggling with the map a little, I found the famous “Path of Philosophy,” which I’m sure is even prettier when the cherry trees are in bloom, and walked to Ginkakuji temple. The “Path of Philosophy” was famous with Heian Era thinkers who liked to walk along it while thinking about Philosophical Issues.

As I got closer to Ginkakuji, I started to see a large clump of souvenir shops:

Hello Kitty is working hard to sell souvenirs here!

Ginkakuji is not really silver, but the grounds are pretty. Apparently at one point, the guy who built it wanted to cover it in silver leaf, but died before he could get started on the project. Lots of stairs to climb to get to scenic views of Kyoto, and lots of pictures to take.

As I entered the grounds, it just sort of jumped around a corner and surprised me.

It’s still not silver:

There was a beautiful pattern in the sand next to it:

The grounds are beautiful, and I quickly didn’t care that the building wasn’t silver. It’s a beautiful old building in its own right, and it mixes in with the scenery really well:

The lake in front isn’t as big as Kinkakuji, but it’s charming:

Some of the other buildings on the grounds are very attractive:

And the grounds themselves are a feast for the eyes:

I finally found some fall color! It’s late October, but everything is still pretty green. I was hoping to catch Kyoto in fall colors, but I’m a few weeks too early:

Here’s the million-dollar view from the hill behind Ginkakuji. Incredible.

A little tighter in shot of the pavilion itself from the hill. Gardeners are hard at work to keep everything looking gorgeous:

And here’s the sand garden from high up:

I really liked this shot:

Here’s a side view of the pavilion:

And then I left. Here’s the view as you leave and head back to the shopping area:

The shopping street on the way out:

Honen-In

After an hour or so at Ginkakuji, I walked back to the Path of Philosophy, and on to Honen-in Temple.

Honen-in is very pretty, but very small. There wasn’t a whole lot to do there, but I took a few photos before moving on:

Another sand design:

There wasn’t much I could see, but I liked this building detail:

And this stone had some nice calligraphy on it:

And then I left:

The Path of Philosophy to Nanzen-ji

Back on the Path of Philosophy, and here’s a helpful map!

Okay, maybe not so helpful if you don’t speak Japanese. North still isn’t up! Now it’s off to the right.

The Path of Philosophy itself is a beautiful walk through residential neighborhoods:

And there are all kinds of interesting buildings along the way:

It really is beautiful!

As I was getting close to Nanzen-ji, I saw this stream or drainage ditch coming straight down a mountain. I think it looks pretty cool:

Nanzen-ji

I arrived at Nanzen-ji, which has a great big massive gate, and a lot of pretty painted screens. I sat and rested for about 10-20 minutes. My feet were killing me.

The gate is really massive:

And since it was raining, everyone was taking shelter:

It’s hard to get a sense of scale with this: (this is on the way out, but it’s the gate still.)

From the other side:

The brick structure is an old aqueduct that runs through the temple grounds.

Nanzen-ji has its own Zen rock garden, like Ryoan-ji:

And there’s another rock garden over here:

No shoes while you walk around the main buildings on the covered wooden walkways:

The grounds are very pretty:

And here’s a giant bell:

Heian Shrine and Rainbows

Onward to the Heian Shrine. On the way, I saw an awesome rainbow over a fountain.

It arched back into the hills:

And wound up “over there.”

There are some canals in Kyoto. This is one that’s close to the Heian Shrine. It’s beautiful at this time of day:

And now I’m entering the area of the Heian Shrine:

Later, I saw another rainbow over the shrine. Heian Shrine is pretty cool, actually. It’s big, but not “waste an hour here” big. It’s a place you can spend 15-20 minutes, savor, and move on. I drew an omikuji, which I have just translated as “end luck.” I knew it. Too late to tie it to something today. I’ll have to do it tomorrow. (In Japan, if you draw a bad omikuji, you’re supposed to tie it to a branch to keep the bad luck away. Instead there are poles provide to tie them on so you don’t kill the trees.)

Here’s the main gate:

Close-up:

And a place to wash your hands and mouth before entering, because it’s a Shinto shrine.

The buildings are beautiful, but I couldn’t go in most of them:

Look, the rainbow is back!

Ah, the rainbow is heading to the main shrine area:

Ema full of wishes:

Bad fortunes go here:

With my luck ending, I went to the Kyoto Handicrafts Center, where I learned how to spend a lot of money really fast.

I bought some prints, some postcards, and a cute wooden ichimatsu-style wooden doll because I liked her expression. Then, since I spent enough, I got to try the raffle. It’s a Japanese-style raffle, where you spin a big box full of little colored balls, and if you get one that isn’t white, you win something. I got yellow, which means I won a pair of chopsticks.

I will treasure them forever.

I took a cab back to the hotel, and I’m in my room again. I need to rest a bit, and then I will head out and find someplace to eat. Probably Kyoto Station again.

If I had this trip to do over, I’d spend about 10 days in Kyoto, minimum. So I’ll just have to come back to Japan again and spend more time here.

Tomorrow is probably going to be Arashiyama, Eiga Mura (where they film the samurai dramas), and Gion/Ponto-cho.

It’s Raining Again…

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Oct 272007

It’s raining in Kyoto today, and it’s supposed to rain all day.Â

I guess I’ll head to the station and ask the information desk people for some ideas for things to do that won’t get me soaked. I’ll try to visit some temples/castles tomorrow, and just do city stuff today. Monday I travel to Nara, so I only have 2 full days here. (And of course it has to rain on one of them.) So far, I’m only 1/3 on nice weather in Kyoto.

Dangit, I thought that typhoon was only supposed to be a problem around Tokyo…

Sayonara, Okazaki; Konbanwa, Kyoto!

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Oct 262007

I’m back in Kyoto, safely out of Okazaki now, although I kind of miss Okazaki.

The Sky Is Crying Way Too Much

I’m so happy to finally be dry. Why is it whenever I go to Kyoto, it rains? (Does two trips count enough for a “whenever?”)

It started this morning, during “The TP incident,” and stopped right before class. Thinking that the rain had ended for good today, I rode my bike for the last time to class, made it through class, and when it was over, I was greeted by a total downpour.

I went to the school office to pay my boarding fees– 40,000 yen for two weeks lodging is awesome in my opinion. But for some reason, it wouldn’t take my BofA card again.Â Luckily, it took one of my other cards, but I was irked.

Then it was off to Nonoyama Bicycles to return the rental bike with the somewhat embarrassing helmet, in what had become a driving rainstorm.

Here’s a shot of the helmet from earlier in the trip:

I learned something else important today: it’s next to impossible to ride a bicycle and use an umbrella at the same time. For me, anyway. I wound up walking the bike there. Either way it didn’t matter, because I got soaked.

Fun.

After I turned the bike in, I went back to the dorm by taxi. It took some explaining to get the driver to understand where the Student Village was. Don’t assume that cabdrivers will somehow “know” where everything is.

While my pants dried, I wasted 30-minutes in a pointless attempt to get some useful info out of BofA.That was 30 Euros down the toilet, by the way. Ouch.

Really, be careful what you use to dial out.

Anyway, the time to get out was fast approaching.

One strange thing about the clothes dryers in the dorm: there was a lint tube leading up from the dryer, but then it stopped short, and just sort of aimed at a vent in the ceiling. I guess the last few inches were covered by hope, faith, and good intentions? I’m not sure how the engineering behind that works.

Leaving Okazaki

I spent 30 minutes in the rain waiting for the bus, gave up and wound up lugging the suitcase and backpack to the station. By the way, lugging 8,000 lbs. of crap around in the driving rain is an excellent argument for traveling as light as humanly possible.

And one day, I might actually do that.

When I got to Nagoya, I had my last meal at the Mermaid Cafe. Then I grabbed a shinkansen to Kyoto.

I’m now in the Comfort Inn Kyoto. Yes, there are Comfort Inns in Japan. The rooms are pretty nice, too. Tiny as hell, but still a lot nicer than the last hotel I stayed in, and cheaper, too. I even get the BBC in English. (Yay! English!) But it is the BBC, so it’s all very depressing.

Overall, I have to say my Japanese has improved quite a bit. So far just about everyone has forced me to speak Japanese. I keep hearing stories about people coming up to foreigners and talking English to them, but I’ve only had that happen once so far.

I’m no Yan-san yet, but I’m trying.Â In case you’re not familiar, Yan-san is a chunky foreign guy who teaches us foreigners how to speak Japanese properly in a very cheesy and sappy set of Educational Videos from the mid-1980s, when everyone was trying to teach their kids Japanese.

Now everyone is desperately cramming Chinese down their kids’ throats.

I’m actually a big fan of the Yan-san videos. I always thought they were great, because it was like watching a drama series.

But I digress.

Kyoto Plans

There’s a typhoon offshore, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to do much here. It’s going to rain a bit on Tokyo, but that doesn’t matter to me here in Kyoto.

Unless the weather does something rude tomorrow, I’ll visit some shrines/temples or Arashiyama. Sunday I’d like to try to see the Heavenly Bridge, but I’m not sure how long it would take, and I don’t want to spend a whole day on it.

Monday I head to Nara to my spa hotel. I can’t wait. Tuesday & Wednesday nights are in Hiroshima. Maybe Thursday in Beppu. If I can get my suitcase weight reduced significantly, then I’ll do it. Otherwise, I’ll spend three days in Osaka.

Not much else to report. I get to watch Japanese TV again, so I get to see just how weird it is. (And it is weird.)

It’s Made of Gooold!

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Oct 202007

I just got back to Okazaki from Kyoto, and today was great.

Sun! Beautiful sun!

I dumped my luggage in a locker at the station, and talked to the very helpful ladies on the 9th floor of Kyoto Station in the tourist office: by all means, go there.

Try to get to Kyoto well before 6 p.m. and use that office. They’ll tell you how to get around, they’ll give you maps and all kinds of useful information. They’ll even hook you up with a cheap hotel, if you need one. It would have saved me so much headache if I had gone there first on Thursday night, but it was closed.

The best thing they taught me was how to ride the buses in Kyoto. Generally, it’s cheaper to get an all-day ticket if you’re going to ride more than one bus. The fare covers the route, not the distance traveled, so the fares are all the same.

Kinkakuji

I took a crowded bus to Kinkakuji, which was incredible (it’s also called the Golden Pavilion, if you’re scoring at home), then I walked to Ryoanji to see the impressive Zen rock gardens there.

Kinkakuji is a gorgeous temple. First, the golden pavilion itself is stunning:

Asking people to take your picture is kind of risky. Not that they’ll steal your camera, but that they won’t be able to figure out how to get you in focus:

Not that I was looking all that dapper, anyway.

The crowd waiting to take pictures:

This one came out really nice:

Here’s where I would put the rocking chairs and wave back at the crowds:

And here’s a shot of the back:

I figured out what everyone does with their 1 and 5 yen coins. They throw them here:

And here is where you pray:

At Kinkakuji, I bought some souvenirs, then spied a Haagen-Dazs vending machine, and purchased an almond-vanilla bar.

Refreshing.

I finally sucked up my courage and got an omikuji (it’s a fortune they sell at shrines.)– I drew a shoukichi— which means I’ll have a little luck. That’s fine for me. Friday I would have pulled a daikyou— big bad luck. No thanks.

The Road to Ryoan-ji

Ryoan-ji is pretty close to Kinkakuji. It’s about a 15 minute walk away, and definitely worth it.

I started by going down this road:

I saw these flowers by a utility pole. I guess they do roadside memorials in Japan as well.

I passed a place that had a lot of those stone (or maybe concrete?) statues that I’ve seen a lot:

Lots of moss on the walls. It was really pretty:

I thought this garage door was cool.

Ryoan-ji

Ryoan-ji is gorgeous in a different way from Kinkakuji. It’s a wonderful contrast between the two temples. Kinkakuji is hectic and crowded, while Ryoan-ji feels more tranquil.

There’s a large pond, or a small lake on the temple grounds, and it’s very nice to look at.

There’s a small island on the lake, and a small shrine on the island:

Here is the place where you wash your hands and mouth to purify yourself:

As you enter the main building where the rock garden is, you have to take off your shoes. Then as you enter, there are two really stunning pieces of calligraphy:

And then you come to the famous Zen rock garden:

Wide shot:

Some closeups:

Of course it’s crowded. It’s pretty famous:

I went around the back of the main building, looked at some of the other scenery. I really liked this water feature:

Here’s a shot of the rooms around the rock garden. There were a lot of really pretty screens on the walls:

On the way out, you walk around a lot of the grounds again, about a 15 minute walk. I thought this Japanese maple tree was especially pretty:

Persimmons and ducks on the way out:

Back to the Station (More Kyoto Station Photos!)

Back at Kyoto Station, I took some more photos. The Kyoto Tower, reflected on the side of the station:

One of the main facades of the station:

Inside the station, things are hectic on a Sunday!

Going up to the roof.

Roof detail. I love detail shots.

Here’s a panorama I took of the roof area.

Look! Another band! I’m a old band nerd, so I’m always happy to see kids learning to perform music:

While I was at the station, I made some hotel reservations with the help of the Welcome Inn people at the tourist office on the 9th floor. I got a room for 6,300 yen a night for the 26th, 27th, and 28th. That’s a weekend in October. Amazing. I couldn’t find anything available on my own.

October is leaf-viewing season, so it gets booked up here pretty fast.

Next weekend, I’m going back to visit all the places I couldn’t get to, like Gion, Arashiyama, Eiga Mura (it’s the cinema village they use to shoot samurai dramas… I want to see it if time permits), plus I want to look at some handicraft stuff.

After that I’ll go to Nara, Hiroshima, Beppu, Osaka,Â and then we’ll see.

I’m up to over 1,050 photos so far.

And I have learned a ton about traveling.

Rick Steves was right. You are always carrying too much crap.

You can always find one thing to get rid of.

Two bags is one bag too many. Three bags is insanity.

Digital anything is great.

Now I’m going to take a shower, go to ZigZag, then do some laundry.

Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head

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Oct 192007

I managed to salvage a nice evening out tonight. I thought about going to Gion (the place with all the geisha), but I’m going to save that for when I return to Kyoto later in my trip. I have to return here to see everything I want to see.

First I stopped by the local conbini (convenience store) and bought an embarrassing clear vinyl raincoat to make up for the terrible umbrella I bought this morning. Between the two, I was almost dry.

Sort of.

Dinner at Kyoto Station

Instead of Gion, I went to Kyoto Station for dinner and some gawking.

It’s definitely worth checking out. It’s sort of inside and outside at the same time, and there’s a giant department store and a mall there, too. The department store is Isetan, and it has all kinds of stuff in it. (The mall is in the basement, and also has a lot of little stores.)

Japanese department stores are fun. They have things like Dolce & Gabana, Dior, Gucci, etc., then they have a grocery store in the sub-basement.

The real reason you want to eat at the station is the 11th floor. It’s a food court on steroids, with all kinds of different restaurants with all kinds of different things to eat.

So it’s time to climb the stairs:

Yeah, I took the escalator.

I hadn’t eaten all day, so I went to three different restaurants, each of which had something that looked delicious.

The first place had a really good chicken sandwich, with odd-looking Crunchy Things served on the side. (The Crunchy Things were good.)

The second restaurant had a really good little Margherita pizza (it was really little), and the third was Vie de France, where I picked up dessert and carried it back to the hotel.

The Kyoto TV tower is really pretty at night, but I decided not to go up to the observation deck. Here are a couple of shots I took of it:

This one is through the walls of the station:

And here’s a shot from outside:

I wandered around the station just a bit and took this photo as well:

I’m going to try to visit Ryoanji tomorrow if it’s not raining, but odds are it will be, so I’ll probably just head back to Okazaki. I’ll check out of here, then dump my backpack in a locker at the station and do some gawking, if the weather is even halfway decent.

10-Yen Enemy?

My real arch-nemesis in Japan (besides the toilet paper that feels like 100 grit sandpaper) is the currency. Everything under 1000 yen (~$10) is in coins. As an American, I’m used to bills, even for trifling amounts of money.

So my goal every time I go out is to get rid of as many coins as possible, but every time I come back, I wind up with more coins than when I left.

The true scourge of my pockets is the 10 yen coin. It’s big, like a quarter, but only worth about 1/3rd of one.Â There are no 25 yen coins. Just 1, 5, 10 and 50.

Ticket and vending machines don’t take 1 and 5 yen coins.Â So they’re even more worthless than 10 yen coins.

Every time I get rid of n 10 yen coins, somewhere else I’ll wind up with n+1 more. (Assuming that n is the number of 10 yen coins I started with.) Oddly enough, I haven’t amassed too many 5 and 1 yen coins. Individual items seem like they’re priced so that the numbers come out round. Or maybe I’m just hallucinating.

What Does This Button Do-whoooa!

I finally tried pressing the button on the toilet today. Wow. That’s just funky, a little disturbing, but a whole lot better than the toilet paper there. Those of you who have done it know what I mean.Â Those who haven’t, well… there’s this button, and it has a picture of a butt on it, with a little jet of water aimed right at it. And if you push the button, it pretty much does what it says. It is pretty sanitary, if you think about it. It just feels ten kinds of weird. But the other choice is the toilet paper, so I’ll take a slightly damp butt anytime.

Speaking of butts, it looks like the Chunichi Dragons (the local Japanese Baseball League team in Nagoya) are kicking those of the Yomiuri Giants. Go Dragons!

I think the winner plays the Nippon Ham Fighters, who won the divisional playoffs last night. (I think they call it the Climax Series?)

I’m not really up on J-Baseball.

While I was taking a break this afternoon, I was able to watch some of the Boston-Cleveland game live from the States, which was kind of cool, but also felt kind of weird.

Putting the Mizu in Kiyomizudera, or Blame It On the Raaaaain

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Oct 192007

So I made it to Kyoto, and guess what? It’s raining like crazy. And guess what I left behind in Okazaki? Yes, my rain gear, what there was of it, anyway.

I managed to make it to Kiyomizudera (emphasis on the mizu today, I guess), and I took a bunch of pictures there.

Like any famous tourist spot, even in rain, it’s crowded.

These are ema, wooden plaques you write wishes on.

Here’s the Stage of Kiyomizudera:

A view of the Otowa Waterfall from the Stage: (you drink from one of the three streams for luck with health, love, or money.)

Love Alley, so you can get divine help in finding Mr./Ms. Right, or Good Enough-san:

As you can see, this is a pretty busy part of the temple.

All of these ema are filled with specific prayers for love/marriage.

I wandered around a bit, left Love Alley, and found this view of the Stage from across the way:

Then I headed down to the Otowa Waterfall area. Looking up, I could see the Stage supports:

Here’s the Otowa Waterfall:

Then I was pretty much done. Here’s the tea shop:

And the row of souvenir shops on the way out:

Wet Enough For Ya?

Now I’m trying to figure out what to do next, because trying to see any shrines/temples is madness in this weather. I may end up bagging it today, because it’s a wet nasty mess out there. I’ll try to hit a place or two tomorrow before I head back to Okazaki, and I’ll try to come back here later on in my trip.

So far, Kyoto isn’t one of my favorite places, but it will probably improve with some sunshine.

Getting around here is kind of a pain, but I can safely blame it on the rain.

Most importantly, I enjoyed my soft, fluffy bed.

I’m definitely going to head to Beppu at some point. Even though the shinkansen makes me a little queasy, I think it’s probably worth it to go someplace warm.

I’m still having fun, and taking a lot of photos. Things don’t always go as planned. That’s travel.

The really weird thing… I’m watching “Inside the Actor’s Studio” right now, because it’s in English, and not dubbed. What can I say. Sometimes I really miss English. I’d never watch this if I was back in the U.S.

Made it to Kyoto.

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Oct 182007

I finally made it to the hotel in Kyoto. It’s the Urban Hotel Kyoto, another business hotel. Business hotels are a good deal for cheapskates like me. You get a tiny room, a tiny bed, a tiny bathroom, a TV, a fridge, and you don’t pay a whole lot. The fridge was an unexpected bonus for a cheapskate like me.

It doesn’t precisely exude charm. The window is frosted, and instead of curtains, there are sliding panels that obscure, well, everything. Then again, I opened the window, and the view wasn’t anything to write home about, anyway.

Also, the room runs about 7,000 yen a night, which is about $63. Not bad for a major tourist spot in prime season, if you can survive without charm. Kyoto is an expensive place to stay otherwise. (Those elegant ryokan? Start at about 25,000 yen a night and go all the way up to down payment-level hotel prices.)

I don’t need charm in a place to crash when I’m mostly going to be out of the room. As long as there’s no dirt or funky smells, and a good internet connection, I’m happy.

A few shots so you get an idea of just how small it is:

Carrying too much electronics with me:

The controls on the headboard are in English:

Everything about the lighting, though, was orange. Very, very orange. The photos really don’t do it justice.

Business hotels are made mostly for salarymen who are sent on business trips during the week, and they need a place to call home. Actually, since the office is their home, they really just need a place to crash. Business hotels all over Japan serve just that purpose.

The vending machines have beer, cup o’noodles, and other stuff, along with laundry machines, pay-per-view (with an inordinate amount of porn), and generic cable TV. This one does have an Ethernet Internet connection, for which I am grateful. Getting an Internet connection in general can be kind of hit-and-miss.

I tried taking a bath in the hotel tonight, and found out it’s not worth the trouble. Being 6’1″ is fun when you’re walking around, but most of the plumbing in this country was not made with me in mind. Everything is way too tiny, and to fit in the tub, I had to bruise the hell out of my knees.

I got here about 8:30PM and promptly crashed.

So no Gion tonight.

Other Stuff (McPork!)

Seen at Nagoya Station McDonald’s– McPork!

The shinkansen from Nagoya to Kyoto went so fast, I was starting to get a touch of motion sickness. And I don’t get motion sickness. Maybe it’s a mild migraine.

The TV in the hotel totally sucks, unless you like J-League baseball. 4 out of 10 channels are baseball, the rest are NHK.

I’m getting up in 7 hours to start my temple blitzkrieg, so I’ll have more to say later.

Off to Kyoto for the Weekend!

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Oct 182007

I’m still in Okazaki, but I’m leaving for Kyoto in just a few minutes for the weekend. I need to rest for another 5-10 minutes, then I’m heading out.

That’s one thing I’ve discovered I have to do– make time to rest. If I don’t, I suffer.

Classes are hard. For some reason, the Japanese is fighting my brain, and my brain is losing.

My teachers are great. I’m just slow for some reason. I’ll get some weird hard stuff right, and then totally blank on the easy stuff.

I guess it means I’ll have to study more when I get home.

I’ve sort of flip-flopped on whether I’d like to live here or not. Sometimes I totally want to, other times, I’m totally hating it. My travel-related discomfort probably plays a large role.

I won’t make a decision until I hit Tokyo in November. No point in doing that now without more experience under my belt.

Beppu is sounding more and more like a good idea. I might head down there for a night or two and just let the hot water take me away.

Anyway, time to go catch the bus to JR Okazaki.

Kyoto Plans

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Oct 172007

So far, I think my tentative schedule is going to be:

10/26 last day in Okazaki– go to Osaka.
10/26-10/28 Enjoy Osaka, then head to Nara.
10/28-10/29 Enjoy Nara, then head to either Hiroshima or Kyoto again, if I feel like more Kyoto.
10/29-11/1 Hiroshima or Kyoto
11/1-11/3 Kyoto or Hiroshima, or move on to Nagano
11/3-11/5 Nagano or Sendai
11/6 Sendai or… uh… I dunno.
11/8 Arrive in Tokyo.
11/14 go home.

I’m thinking something along those lines.

Or not.

It all depends on whether I can find a good spa resort or if my mood changes.

Radio from Home

One nice thing I’ve found: my local sports radio station in Raleigh, N.C., has an Internet streaming feed of their local programming, so I can get a little feel of home when I get overwhelmed by all the Japanese culture.

It’s interesting that even with all of the Japanese that I studied, it’s still really easy to feel culturally overwhelmed here. I think it would almost be easier to understand nothing that to try to puzzle out every sign I see.

Kyoto Plans

I’m leaving Okazaki for my weekend trip to Kyoto around 5 p.m. local time, so I won’t get there until 7 p.m. or so. I’m stopping for dinner at Nagoya Station, because it’s convenient. I would leave earlier, but I have class until about 3:30 p.m., then I have a 20-min walk home, then it will take time to catch the bus to the train station.

It all adds up.

In theory, my hotel in Kyoto has “Internet LAN,” but in practice, well, we’ll see what that really means.

Thursday night I’m planning to hang around Gion a bit and maybe find a restaurant with a nice river view. Gion is the part of Kyoto where you’ll find all the geisha.

And the tourists.

On Friday, I’m planning on shrine-ing out. My hotel is 10 minutes from the Fushimi Inari shrine, so I’ll try to go there first. After that it’s Kiyomizu Temple, the Golden Pavilion, and a bunch more. I found a really cool magazine (in Japanese, of course) that has a great map with pictures on it, so I can pick the more photogenic shrines and temples to visit.

On Saturday, I’ll go to wherever I missed on Friday.

I’m going to try to pace myself, because I learned in Nagoya that if I don’t, I’ll suffer.

Climbing Up Again.

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Oct 172007

I’m starting to feel a bit better.

I can’t believe I’ve already been in Japan for a week. Considering I’ve spent a good portion of it horizontal, I’m not too thrilled about that aspect, but at least I’m here.

I’m really looking forward to going to Kyoto, just to get out of Okazaki for a few days, and to sleep on a bed like I’m used to for two nights.

I can’t wait! I’m going to find a real bath to soak in for a few days.

I can’t do futons. It’s like sleeping on a steel examining table, only less comfortable.