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Today we thought we might visit the bamboo grove in Kyoto before we got on our way to Nara. We got ready to leave but realized that is was quite a long way away and we were a bit stressed about activating our Japan Rail Passes. We went for a short walk in the city instead and got a great view of Kyoto Tower and the Big Tin Shed.
After we picked up our bags (heavy) from the hotel we walked down to the station and negotiated our passes. We felt very special being able to usurp the ticket machines and simply show our passes to the man at the gate. We’re SPECIAL PASS HOLDERS.
We figured out the platform to go to Nara and saw a train ready to leave. It was a local train and we thought “Oh, it’s only 37 kilometers, it can’t be that bad.” When we got on the train and it stopped every 10 seconds we took the initiative at a big station to change to an express. Very clever of us.
When we got into Nara, Chrissy was a bit disappointed that the station area looks just like every other city in Japan with big messy buildings and loud traffic. The walk to the ryokan was uneventful but annoying with our bags which we dropped off and went to look about and find lunch. Nara has some shopping arcades as well, kind of like a mini Teramachi and Sanjo streets (Kyoto). We went back to the ryokan for a while and then went out to look at the park. According to the map, about half of central Nara is park with temples, museums and a few shops. The light was fading but we had a nice time looking at the deer. We walked through a giant temple gate and when we turned around we realised that there were two giant scary statues watching us! Scary!
Dinner was at a chain Japanese restaurant specializing in rice with ingredients on top dishes. These are usually called something-don in Japan and this restaurant is called the don. Chrissy ordered an old favourite of ours – oyakudon – or eggy chicken on rice. I ordered a mysterious item which turned out to be crumbed and fried OYSTER on rice. Bad choice since I’m not that keen on oysters. I probably should have looked at that page on the menu which featured a big picture OF AN OYSTER.
We came back to the hotel reasonably early and used their big bath to wash away a stressful day. Soon – sleep!
j
Showing posts with label kyoto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kyoto. Show all posts
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
December 12th!
Chrissy:Today we got up and caught a bus to Kiyomiz-dera, which is a shrine in the East of Kyoto.
On the way to the bus stop, we saw a old lady who had dropped a bag and was struggling with something. Chucky asked if she was ok, and I helped her with her dropped bag. She said thankyou and we went on our way. Then she called after us "Are you French?" and we went back and explained that we were Australian. "Oh, Australian" she said. We went on our way. Then she called to us again and ran up to us as quick as an old lady burdened with a million bags can run. She pushed two little packages into our hands and said they were "From Tokyo". We thanked her and finally actually went on our way. We were really touched that she gave us a gift when all we did was pick up her bag and see if she was ok.
The bus was packed, so I pushed my way to the front of the bus when our stop was approaching. Then almost everyone on the bus got out after me, including Chucky. I felt a little silly.
Then everyone who had been in the bus, as well as a hoarde of other people started walking up a very steep hill on a very narrow road. We followed and were soon forced along up this hill. I just love crowds and traffic, especially when there are no footpaths. So I was overjoyed when about 20 huge buses drove past, clearly having dropped scores of people off at the top of the hill, where we were headed. Along the narrow street were lots of pottery shops. We stopped and looked in a couple in an attempt to find someone a wedding gift. To no avail!
We finally reached the top of the mountain and I had a sit down. I thought it was particularly mean that there was a sign saying "No Eating or Drinking" at the entrance to the shrine. I was so thirsty after the trek! I snuck a sip from my waterbottle.
One of the pagodas was really tall. There was a multitude of little buildings and things to do. The best building was a huge structure with a famously brilliant view of the city and of the coloured leaves. I fell over and hurt my hand and shin. I was so embarrassed I went and had a discreet little cry.
Next, we went down some steps to the sacred water-drinking thing. A sacred spring up in the hills is directed down to this structure with three streams of water. People take sticks with cups at the end and wash their hands and drink the sacred water. It's supposed to grant your wishes or give you long life. Chucky did it, and I watched and took photos. He brought me back some sacred water. I felt much happier after that.
We walked around the complex for a while and looked at all the good luck merchandise. I bought a phone dangly with a little bell in it that I thought was cute. AS SOON AS I put it on my bag, it became exceedingly annoying and I had to remove it.
There is an attraction at this particular shrine that is an underground tunnel of darkness. The Lonely Planet guide says "This subterranean walk through the darkness easily qualifies as Kyoto's most unusual attraction. We won't say too much about Tainai-meguri - just try it". So we did. We paid 100 yen each to a man and were told that it is "very dark - use your left hand". There was a rail on the left that you're supposed to hold to guide you. Chucky made me go first. We descended a flight of stairs and then turned a corner and went through some curtains and were in total darkness. It was the kind of darkness that makes you feel as though there's a wall right in front of you, stopping you from continuing. Feeling the handrail and listening to the people ahead of me, I went along slowly, getting more and more freaked out the whole way. Towards the end, I saw this weird glowing rock that you're supposed to turn clockwise. I took my hand off the rail to turn it and then couldn't find the rail, and panicked until Chucky guided my hand back to it. Then we were out and I needed a good sit down. We were down there for less than 5 minutes, I think. When my breathing returned to normal, we left and followed a walk suggested in Lonely Planet. We bought crepes from a crepe shop. What I thought was ice-cream in the picture turned out to be normal cream, so they were incredibly rich and were hard for Chucky to digest. It was ok though. At the end of the walk we took a bus back to our hotel. We had a late lunch of tempura from the lady over the road. It was so filling! I also ate the little gift the old lady gave me this morning. It was a little package of Hello Kitty sweet soft rice snacks, covered in that yummy powder they use so your fingers don't get sticky. Yum! Thanks old lady!
Went out again later to visit a department store we read about in the book. It turned out to be only dumb clothes for girls, but the boys clothes were pretty good and Chucky bought some amazing shoes. Yay! Ate a late dinner at our mystery restaurant and now home. I've had the same dessert 3 days in a row and I AM getting fatter.
Charles:
The walk today was great. We got to go down lots of amazing streets and saw some really nice traditional japanese craft shops. We also saw a giant faux-traditional japanese crafts shop which spanned three or four of the old buildings. Bizarre.
On the way to the bus stop, we saw a old lady who had dropped a bag and was struggling with something. Chucky asked if she was ok, and I helped her with her dropped bag. She said thankyou and we went on our way. Then she called after us "Are you French?" and we went back and explained that we were Australian. "Oh, Australian" she said. We went on our way. Then she called to us again and ran up to us as quick as an old lady burdened with a million bags can run. She pushed two little packages into our hands and said they were "From Tokyo". We thanked her and finally actually went on our way. We were really touched that she gave us a gift when all we did was pick up her bag and see if she was ok.
The bus was packed, so I pushed my way to the front of the bus when our stop was approaching. Then almost everyone on the bus got out after me, including Chucky. I felt a little silly.
Then everyone who had been in the bus, as well as a hoarde of other people started walking up a very steep hill on a very narrow road. We followed and were soon forced along up this hill. I just love crowds and traffic, especially when there are no footpaths. So I was overjoyed when about 20 huge buses drove past, clearly having dropped scores of people off at the top of the hill, where we were headed. Along the narrow street were lots of pottery shops. We stopped and looked in a couple in an attempt to find someone a wedding gift. To no avail!
We finally reached the top of the mountain and I had a sit down. I thought it was particularly mean that there was a sign saying "No Eating or Drinking" at the entrance to the shrine. I was so thirsty after the trek! I snuck a sip from my waterbottle.
One of the pagodas was really tall. There was a multitude of little buildings and things to do. The best building was a huge structure with a famously brilliant view of the city and of the coloured leaves. I fell over and hurt my hand and shin. I was so embarrassed I went and had a discreet little cry.
Next, we went down some steps to the sacred water-drinking thing. A sacred spring up in the hills is directed down to this structure with three streams of water. People take sticks with cups at the end and wash their hands and drink the sacred water. It's supposed to grant your wishes or give you long life. Chucky did it, and I watched and took photos. He brought me back some sacred water. I felt much happier after that.
We walked around the complex for a while and looked at all the good luck merchandise. I bought a phone dangly with a little bell in it that I thought was cute. AS SOON AS I put it on my bag, it became exceedingly annoying and I had to remove it.
There is an attraction at this particular shrine that is an underground tunnel of darkness. The Lonely Planet guide says "This subterranean walk through the darkness easily qualifies as Kyoto's most unusual attraction. We won't say too much about Tainai-meguri - just try it". So we did. We paid 100 yen each to a man and were told that it is "very dark - use your left hand". There was a rail on the left that you're supposed to hold to guide you. Chucky made me go first. We descended a flight of stairs and then turned a corner and went through some curtains and were in total darkness. It was the kind of darkness that makes you feel as though there's a wall right in front of you, stopping you from continuing. Feeling the handrail and listening to the people ahead of me, I went along slowly, getting more and more freaked out the whole way. Towards the end, I saw this weird glowing rock that you're supposed to turn clockwise. I took my hand off the rail to turn it and then couldn't find the rail, and panicked until Chucky guided my hand back to it. Then we were out and I needed a good sit down. We were down there for less than 5 minutes, I think. When my breathing returned to normal, we left and followed a walk suggested in Lonely Planet. We bought crepes from a crepe shop. What I thought was ice-cream in the picture turned out to be normal cream, so they were incredibly rich and were hard for Chucky to digest. It was ok though. At the end of the walk we took a bus back to our hotel. We had a late lunch of tempura from the lady over the road. It was so filling! I also ate the little gift the old lady gave me this morning. It was a little package of Hello Kitty sweet soft rice snacks, covered in that yummy powder they use so your fingers don't get sticky. Yum! Thanks old lady!
Went out again later to visit a department store we read about in the book. It turned out to be only dumb clothes for girls, but the boys clothes were pretty good and Chucky bought some amazing shoes. Yay! Ate a late dinner at our mystery restaurant and now home. I've had the same dessert 3 days in a row and I AM getting fatter.
Charles:
The walk today was great. We got to go down lots of amazing streets and saw some really nice traditional japanese craft shops. We also saw a giant faux-traditional japanese crafts shop which spanned three or four of the old buildings. Bizarre.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
December 11th
Charles: Today we went to the Kyoto Costume Institute in the morning. It was only one stop down the JR Kyoto line which turned out to be a really awful area. The costume institute turned out to be on the 5th floor of a big building. This crashed through the first of Chrissy's imaginations, that the institute was a sprawling campus full of costumes. The second of Chrissy's imaginations was that the gallery was vast, in fact it was one room and, as was stated on the website, had three dresses and four undergarments, all European from the second half of the 19th century. It took me about one minute to take in the gallery, but Chrissy was determined to eximine every detail while the attended flitted conspicuously behind us.
Chrissy: In my defence, photos and sketching were not allowed, so I was trying to memorise the details about the dresses that I liked the most. Can't remember now, though.
Charles: After returning to Kyoto Station we were asked some questions by grade 6 students from a primary school in Kyoto who were doing an English project with their teacher. They thanked us and gave us a postcard and a piece of calligraphy they had done. I think they were surprised that we knew the characters - ni hon (Japan) - but these are about the only kanji that we know.
On the way back to the hotel we visited a temple called Higashi Hongan-Ji. Apparently the big hall is one of the largest wooden structures in the world, but since its being repaired its currently wrapped in the biggest corrugated iron shed I've ever seen. Luckily there was a picture so we could see what we were missing out on.
After relaxing for a while we set out again in search of a kimono shop that Chrissy had read about in the Kyoto Visitor's guide. It took us about 45 minutes to find it even though its nearby. The small streets here are basically unlabelled and the whizzing trucks, vans, cars, scooters and bikes are hazardous and distracting.
Chrissy: I hate traffic. Twice last night I nearly died of shock when trucks that were really too big for the tiny alley roared past about 3cms away from my vital organs.
Charles: When we got there, a nice young man showed us around the entire shop. He could speak quite a lot of English but when he introduced us to a lady who had very good English he was too shy to say anything. After seeing some beautiful kimonos (over 1 million yen) we decided to buy the cheapest kind of yukata (a light cotton kimono) they had which were about 2500 yen. We also bought the proper belts and had a lesson on how to tie the correct knot. Chrissy's knot was extremely difficult but we have managed to reproduce it.
Chrissy: The lady who was teaching me how to wear the yukata and belt told me lots of interesting things about how mine was different from a men's yukata.
Charles: After the kimono shop we got some late lunch / early dinner from a place called Yoshinoya's. This very simple but very cheap food was pretty satisfying. The basic meal is a beef bowl or pork bowl which is a big bowl of rice with a pile of thinly sliced meat on top. Another kind of dish is curry and rice. There are also sidedishes like soup, salad, kimchi or raw egg which you dump onto the rice. Emi assures me that this is delicious but I can't get the hang of it.
We walked across the river to Yasaka-jinja which is a shrine in Gion and was the starting point for a Lonely Planet walk. We went through little streets past old style houses and restaurants. We saw a Geisha (maybe Maiko) in a big hurry. She was absolutely stunning and we were both a bit startled as she teetered past. Our walk was lit up with lanterns and we enjoyed the atmospheric streets.
Chrissy: I've tried a different 7/11 dessert almost every day this week. My favourite is a layered cream and chocolate dessert. I'll be FAT SOON.
Also look at this link. It's an ad for Chucky's favourite kind of bum-washing toilet. Warning: features bums. Washlet. I'm sitting here cringing.
Chrissy: In my defence, photos and sketching were not allowed, so I was trying to memorise the details about the dresses that I liked the most. Can't remember now, though.
Charles: After returning to Kyoto Station we were asked some questions by grade 6 students from a primary school in Kyoto who were doing an English project with their teacher. They thanked us and gave us a postcard and a piece of calligraphy they had done. I think they were surprised that we knew the characters - ni hon (Japan) - but these are about the only kanji that we know.
On the way back to the hotel we visited a temple called Higashi Hongan-Ji. Apparently the big hall is one of the largest wooden structures in the world, but since its being repaired its currently wrapped in the biggest corrugated iron shed I've ever seen. Luckily there was a picture so we could see what we were missing out on.
After relaxing for a while we set out again in search of a kimono shop that Chrissy had read about in the Kyoto Visitor's guide. It took us about 45 minutes to find it even though its nearby. The small streets here are basically unlabelled and the whizzing trucks, vans, cars, scooters and bikes are hazardous and distracting.
Chrissy: I hate traffic. Twice last night I nearly died of shock when trucks that were really too big for the tiny alley roared past about 3cms away from my vital organs.
Charles: When we got there, a nice young man showed us around the entire shop. He could speak quite a lot of English but when he introduced us to a lady who had very good English he was too shy to say anything. After seeing some beautiful kimonos (over 1 million yen) we decided to buy the cheapest kind of yukata (a light cotton kimono) they had which were about 2500 yen. We also bought the proper belts and had a lesson on how to tie the correct knot. Chrissy's knot was extremely difficult but we have managed to reproduce it.
Chrissy: The lady who was teaching me how to wear the yukata and belt told me lots of interesting things about how mine was different from a men's yukata.
Charles: After the kimono shop we got some late lunch / early dinner from a place called Yoshinoya's. This very simple but very cheap food was pretty satisfying. The basic meal is a beef bowl or pork bowl which is a big bowl of rice with a pile of thinly sliced meat on top. Another kind of dish is curry and rice. There are also sidedishes like soup, salad, kimchi or raw egg which you dump onto the rice. Emi assures me that this is delicious but I can't get the hang of it.
We walked across the river to Yasaka-jinja which is a shrine in Gion and was the starting point for a Lonely Planet walk. We went through little streets past old style houses and restaurants. We saw a Geisha (maybe Maiko) in a big hurry. She was absolutely stunning and we were both a bit startled as she teetered past. Our walk was lit up with lanterns and we enjoyed the atmospheric streets.
Chrissy: I've tried a different 7/11 dessert almost every day this week. My favourite is a layered cream and chocolate dessert. I'll be FAT SOON.
Also look at this link. It's an ad for Chucky's favourite kind of bum-washing toilet. Warning: features bums. Washlet. I'm sitting here cringing.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wednesday, 10th of December
Chrissy: Today we moved into a different room within this Hotel. It's a bigger room and has an ensuite bathroom, which means we don't have to use the communal toilet and shower or go to the public baths. They were scary. Everything about this room is nicer: nicer curtains, nicer cups, nicer saucers, nicer kettle, nicer futons, nicer table, nicer cupboard, nicer light. However, Chucky noted with disappointment that the toilet is not heated and doesn't have a bidet. He says he's going to use the communal toilet anyway. I think he should start a blog about Bidets of Japan.
We took a bus around 9:30 to get to Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavillion. It's woderful to enter this temple's grounds to see such a visage. Up close it was beautiful too. It has a rooster weather vein on top of the roof, and the thatched roof was steaming in the sun.
The gardens were not as amazing as Ginkakuji, but I really enjoyed looking at the pond and the little islands in it. It was a clear still morning, just perfect for viewing reflections in the water.
Next we thought we'd go to Ryoanji, which is supposed to be famous for its Zen garden. We walked about 500m in A Direction when we realised it was also the Wrong Direction. Then we decided to go somewhere else instead.
We went to a bakery and got some Meron bread and a pastry called a Curry France. I liked it mostly because it sounds more like our percussion teacher than a food. It was curry. The meron bread was delicious. It is a bun-shaped bread with a crisp layer of sugar on the outside.
We took the bus to Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle). At the bus stop, some schoolgirls wanted photos with us for some reason, and they had to take one with each of their 3 cameras. They could only say "Excuse me! Camera!" and gesticulate. So we posed with them in our usual punch pose which they enjoyed a lot.
Nijo Castle is most famous for its Nightingale squeaking floors. These were made so that ninjas couldn't creep up on the Shogun. I tried sneaking and I ended up squeaking. It's amazing! It's done by putting metal wedges under the floorboards so that they rub together. Then we walked the grournds of the castle. It has two moats! And a garden with 300 Special Rocks from All Over Japan!
We were pretty tired then. So we took the bus back to our hotel, bought some foods from the 7-11 and ate and rested.
Later, we went out again and I finally got to see my shop, Metamorphose. The first and second nights we couldn't find it, and then yesterday we found it but it was closed. It was a great shop! Pretty big for a Lolita shop. It had a couple of beautiful dresses and some lovely accessories and socks and things. The petticoats were... 10,100 yen... so I didn't buy one. I didn't buy anything actually, but I had a great time looking.
Then we went down a road with lots of electronics shops for Charles. We found a shop with lots of cool headphones so he was happy for a while.
Charles: The electronics shop was great, but they had the most headphones I've ever seen ANYWHERE. Sony, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Denon, Bose and even Stax. They had some Stax electrostatic earspeakers on display which I tried out. Ridiculously cool.
Chrissy: We ate dinner at an Okonomiyaki shop which was amazingly delicious. We walked all the way home, which was quite a way. At a convenience store I bought a dessert which was creamy and cakey and chocolatey yum.
Tomorrow we're going to go to the Kyoto Costume institute, despite its website saying that it has 3 dresses and 4 undergarments on display. I'm hoping that it's more like 400 dresses and it was lost in translation.
We took a bus around 9:30 to get to Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavillion. It's woderful to enter this temple's grounds to see such a visage. Up close it was beautiful too. It has a rooster weather vein on top of the roof, and the thatched roof was steaming in the sun.
The gardens were not as amazing as Ginkakuji, but I really enjoyed looking at the pond and the little islands in it. It was a clear still morning, just perfect for viewing reflections in the water.
Next we thought we'd go to Ryoanji, which is supposed to be famous for its Zen garden. We walked about 500m in A Direction when we realised it was also the Wrong Direction. Then we decided to go somewhere else instead.
We went to a bakery and got some Meron bread and a pastry called a Curry France. I liked it mostly because it sounds more like our percussion teacher than a food. It was curry. The meron bread was delicious. It is a bun-shaped bread with a crisp layer of sugar on the outside.
We took the bus to Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle). At the bus stop, some schoolgirls wanted photos with us for some reason, and they had to take one with each of their 3 cameras. They could only say "Excuse me! Camera!" and gesticulate. So we posed with them in our usual punch pose which they enjoyed a lot.
Nijo Castle is most famous for its Nightingale squeaking floors. These were made so that ninjas couldn't creep up on the Shogun. I tried sneaking and I ended up squeaking. It's amazing! It's done by putting metal wedges under the floorboards so that they rub together. Then we walked the grournds of the castle. It has two moats! And a garden with 300 Special Rocks from All Over Japan!
We were pretty tired then. So we took the bus back to our hotel, bought some foods from the 7-11 and ate and rested.
Later, we went out again and I finally got to see my shop, Metamorphose. The first and second nights we couldn't find it, and then yesterday we found it but it was closed. It was a great shop! Pretty big for a Lolita shop. It had a couple of beautiful dresses and some lovely accessories and socks and things. The petticoats were... 10,100 yen... so I didn't buy one. I didn't buy anything actually, but I had a great time looking.
Then we went down a road with lots of electronics shops for Charles. We found a shop with lots of cool headphones so he was happy for a while.
Charles: The electronics shop was great, but they had the most headphones I've ever seen ANYWHERE. Sony, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Denon, Bose and even Stax. They had some Stax electrostatic earspeakers on display which I tried out. Ridiculously cool.
Chrissy: We ate dinner at an Okonomiyaki shop which was amazingly delicious. We walked all the way home, which was quite a way. At a convenience store I bought a dessert which was creamy and cakey and chocolatey yum.
Tomorrow we're going to go to the Kyoto Costume institute, despite its website saying that it has 3 dresses and 4 undergarments on display. I'm hoping that it's more like 400 dresses and it was lost in translation.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Sunday, 7th December
Chrissy: Today we went from Emi's house to Nagoya with her and her dad. It took about an hour in the car. Half an hour to get to Nagoya, and half an hour to negotiate the horrible traffic. I couldn't believe it. I had to just zone out or I would have become really anxious. Emi's dad decided that we could park in the Mariot Hotel carpark - something that would never have occurred to most people. It turns out we could. At the Mariot, a guy stands by the ticket machine and hands it to you, so you don't have to stretch out your arm. Japan is nice like that.
It turns out that the Mariot is in the same building as the station, so we went ahead and bought Shinkansen tickets. It was only 200yen extra to ride on the Nozomi (that's the fastest one) so we bought that kind. We went to the basement of the building where there was a large food market, like one we visited in Tokyo except slightly less gargantuan. Emi, her dad, and Chucky got curry at a place that only seats about 8 people. You had to line up outside until someone finishes their meal and then rush in. I didn't want to be rushed, so I looked around the food for a while. I bought a stick of Dango, which was already wrapped in a little piece of plastic. The lady put it in a tiny box, and then wrapped it in paper, and then put it in a bag. I just wanted to eat it! Tonight I am learning how to say "No bag, please".
Then we went to Tokyu Hands (also in the same building - it was 52 floors tall), which is a department store that Chucky really wanted to go to. For me it was not that interesting, mostly zakka stuff and things like wallets. There was a craft section that was vaguely interesting, but I didn't buy anything.
Chucky had fun though - he bought a kit to make a little mechanical organ that plays punched paper. He's putting it together now!
Then we rushed to the station and said goodbye to Emi and her dad at the gate. I was scared to be going to the next part of our trip without Emi, and I was sad to be leaving their house. I bought a bento box from a stall at the station. It was a two-coloured one (I forget what it is in Japanese) with two toppings on the rice, half eggy and half chicken-y. It's really nice crumbed topping. There was a plethora of other nice things in it too.
The shinkansen from Nagoya to Kyoto was only 35 minutes long. We went zoom.
We managed to find our way from the Shinkansen station to the normal station in Kyoto. The main Kyoto station is a work of art. It has a really high arched ceiling made of criss-cross metal beams and glass. We must have been on one of the middle floors, and there was a balcony where I could see everything below and above. There was a big bell on the top floor, and I could see a newly married couple ringing it. It was so loud!
According to the map, it would be a 12 minute walk to the hotel. It took us around 40 minutes because we got lost. We assumed that the only roads on the map would be big ones, so we ended up going way past the correct street. We had to double back and then find a landmark that was on the map and then get to it.
The hotel is a small youth hostel run by a family, and the rooms are Japanese style. Our room is a square box with deep cupboards going into the wall. There is JUST enough room for two unfolded futons.
We went for a walk towards downtown Kyoto and ate at a super-yummy super-cheap restaurant. I love it how they give you free tea everywhere. In Australia it costs another $3 for drinks. I had katsu-don and Chucky had ton-katsu. Each came with some tofu, pickles, rice, and miso-soup. When we left, the main waitress said "Arigato" and we heard all the chefs in the back room say in chorus "Arigato!"
We walked to the river and then along it, finding the main downtown district. I saw about 4 gothic-lolita girls. They were beautiful! There were a bunch of long streets lined with small interesting shops, all under a roof. We bought a couple of things at a hyaku-en shop. I blught some gloves because it was really cold!
We went to a big department store called Takashimaya. It was really posh. We went downstairs to the food place and I bought what looked like Tiramisu with cream on top. For later. It was put in a box in a box in a bag.
We walked home (about half an hour) and passed a shop called Snob Excelsor.
We ate the dessert I bought. It was not cream on top, it was marshmallow. Weird.
Our next adventure was going to the public bath. It is literally around the corner. I was really nervous about it, because I know that they take off their clothes and I'm shy. It's not so bad though. I went in, I was really nervous, and I was hit with a heat wave so strong that I wanted to take my clothes off. And there were all these other ladies there too, and they looked at me a bit because I was foreign but it was fine.
I dropped the tiniest of social brickettes. All around the walls in the actual bath room there are little stations for washing yourself before you get in. You're supposed to get a bowl, fill it up, soap yourself and rinse (I guess). I sat down at one and started doing so, and a big Japanese lady came up to me and pointed to the bowl I was using, and then to herself. It was hers. I was incredibly embarrassed. I went to another where there was no stool and no bowl and finished washing myself. The bowls are there because there are two separate hot and cold taps. The hot is very hot, the cold very cold. You use the bowl to mix the water. So I used some cold. I was a bit flustered so I only tried one bath out of many. It had bubbles and was very hot. I only stayed about 5 minutes because I was lonely and freaked out.
It was so hot!
Chucky came out of the mens one about 5 minutes later and told me his adventures.
Now we're back at the hotel making a calliope!
Charles bath experience:
My bath experience wasn't as embarrassing as Chrissy's. The old men only shot looks and not glares and I don't think I did anything wrong. In the foyer there were shoe lockers and I put the key in my pocket. In the change room there were clothes lockers. I felt bad because I didn't have a basket to go in mine and everybody else seemed to produce one. When I got undressed I closed the locker and took out the key, then I had the key but no pockets so I had to put it back. Later I saw that the keys had elastic loops and people put them on their ankle or something.
There were about 5 different kinds of baths. Different colours, different bubbles and one which was cold. I didn't try the cold one but one guy jumped right in and went underwater. I didn't see him come out so maybe he died.
BTW: We find this all incredibly funny.
It turns out that the Mariot is in the same building as the station, so we went ahead and bought Shinkansen tickets. It was only 200yen extra to ride on the Nozomi (that's the fastest one) so we bought that kind. We went to the basement of the building where there was a large food market, like one we visited in Tokyo except slightly less gargantuan. Emi, her dad, and Chucky got curry at a place that only seats about 8 people. You had to line up outside until someone finishes their meal and then rush in. I didn't want to be rushed, so I looked around the food for a while. I bought a stick of Dango, which was already wrapped in a little piece of plastic. The lady put it in a tiny box, and then wrapped it in paper, and then put it in a bag. I just wanted to eat it! Tonight I am learning how to say "No bag, please".
Then we went to Tokyu Hands (also in the same building - it was 52 floors tall), which is a department store that Chucky really wanted to go to. For me it was not that interesting, mostly zakka stuff and things like wallets. There was a craft section that was vaguely interesting, but I didn't buy anything.
Chucky had fun though - he bought a kit to make a little mechanical organ that plays punched paper. He's putting it together now!
Then we rushed to the station and said goodbye to Emi and her dad at the gate. I was scared to be going to the next part of our trip without Emi, and I was sad to be leaving their house. I bought a bento box from a stall at the station. It was a two-coloured one (I forget what it is in Japanese) with two toppings on the rice, half eggy and half chicken-y. It's really nice crumbed topping. There was a plethora of other nice things in it too.
The shinkansen from Nagoya to Kyoto was only 35 minutes long. We went zoom.
We managed to find our way from the Shinkansen station to the normal station in Kyoto. The main Kyoto station is a work of art. It has a really high arched ceiling made of criss-cross metal beams and glass. We must have been on one of the middle floors, and there was a balcony where I could see everything below and above. There was a big bell on the top floor, and I could see a newly married couple ringing it. It was so loud!
According to the map, it would be a 12 minute walk to the hotel. It took us around 40 minutes because we got lost. We assumed that the only roads on the map would be big ones, so we ended up going way past the correct street. We had to double back and then find a landmark that was on the map and then get to it.
The hotel is a small youth hostel run by a family, and the rooms are Japanese style. Our room is a square box with deep cupboards going into the wall. There is JUST enough room for two unfolded futons.
We went for a walk towards downtown Kyoto and ate at a super-yummy super-cheap restaurant. I love it how they give you free tea everywhere. In Australia it costs another $3 for drinks. I had katsu-don and Chucky had ton-katsu. Each came with some tofu, pickles, rice, and miso-soup. When we left, the main waitress said "Arigato" and we heard all the chefs in the back room say in chorus "Arigato!"
We walked to the river and then along it, finding the main downtown district. I saw about 4 gothic-lolita girls. They were beautiful! There were a bunch of long streets lined with small interesting shops, all under a roof. We bought a couple of things at a hyaku-en shop. I blught some gloves because it was really cold!
We went to a big department store called Takashimaya. It was really posh. We went downstairs to the food place and I bought what looked like Tiramisu with cream on top. For later. It was put in a box in a box in a bag.
We walked home (about half an hour) and passed a shop called Snob Excelsor.
We ate the dessert I bought. It was not cream on top, it was marshmallow. Weird.
Our next adventure was going to the public bath. It is literally around the corner. I was really nervous about it, because I know that they take off their clothes and I'm shy. It's not so bad though. I went in, I was really nervous, and I was hit with a heat wave so strong that I wanted to take my clothes off. And there were all these other ladies there too, and they looked at me a bit because I was foreign but it was fine.
I dropped the tiniest of social brickettes. All around the walls in the actual bath room there are little stations for washing yourself before you get in. You're supposed to get a bowl, fill it up, soap yourself and rinse (I guess). I sat down at one and started doing so, and a big Japanese lady came up to me and pointed to the bowl I was using, and then to herself. It was hers. I was incredibly embarrassed. I went to another where there was no stool and no bowl and finished washing myself. The bowls are there because there are two separate hot and cold taps. The hot is very hot, the cold very cold. You use the bowl to mix the water. So I used some cold. I was a bit flustered so I only tried one bath out of many. It had bubbles and was very hot. I only stayed about 5 minutes because I was lonely and freaked out.
It was so hot!
Chucky came out of the mens one about 5 minutes later and told me his adventures.
Now we're back at the hotel making a calliope!
Charles bath experience:
My bath experience wasn't as embarrassing as Chrissy's. The old men only shot looks and not glares and I don't think I did anything wrong. In the foyer there were shoe lockers and I put the key in my pocket. In the change room there were clothes lockers. I felt bad because I didn't have a basket to go in mine and everybody else seemed to produce one. When I got undressed I closed the locker and took out the key, then I had the key but no pockets so I had to put it back. Later I saw that the keys had elastic loops and people put them on their ankle or something.
There were about 5 different kinds of baths. Different colours, different bubbles and one which was cold. I didn't try the cold one but one guy jumped right in and went underwater. I didn't see him come out so maybe he died.
BTW: We find this all incredibly funny.
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