Kyoto bound!

We got up at a very reasonable time today and used the onsen before going down for breakfast. We knew the spread would be large, but neither of us were prepared for all the food! We had yogurt, soft-boiled eggs, grilled fish, sashimi, pickled vegetables, salad, tofu and chicken meatball in chicken broth, and other things that I couldn’t tell you what they were! The ryokan has been such a fun experience and we were sad we had to leave the tranquil space and move along.

The ryokan arranged a taxi for us and we were off to Kanazawa Station to catch our Shinkansen to Kyoto. Despite not being the least bit hungry at the time, we grabbed some onigiri for later. This was not konbini onigiri, so there were more fillings to choose from! We got tempura shrimp, grilled salmon, and, for the last time, Kanazawa curry (it is really delicious!).

About two hours after leaving Kanazawa Station, we found ourselves in Kyoto! We quickly got a taxi and when our driver was stopped at lights, he made us an origami crane that could flap its wings. Pretty neat how fast he could fold! We got settled into our hotel, took a brief siesta, and then wandered over to see the shopping streets and the Yasaka-no-To Pagoda, which has been destroyed by fire and reconstructed several times. The current one was erected in 1440!

It was about 36c (and tons of humidity, so it feels way hotter) in Kyoto, so after the Pagoda stop as well as a few store stops, we dropped into a cute little place for a beer. One of the first things we noticed here was the English language signage everywhere, which we haven’t run into yet. And, the tourists are abundant here as well!

After a drink, we decided to try the Kyoto bus system to get to dinner. The Kyoto system is far more straightforward than the one in Kanazawa, so it was no problem! Dinner was at Teppanyaki Manyru, a restaurant that cooks everything on a flat-top, kind of like Ichiban but without the performance! We had okonomiyaki, which are like a big savory pancake made with cabbage and ours also had pork, shrimp and squid. In addition, we had fried garlic shrimp and omusoba, which had noodles and seafood on the bottom and a thin egg omelette on top. I also tried an icy sake! Everything was delicious and our counter seats allowed us to see how it was all made, so we enjoyed that as well!

It was 8:30pm, so we thought we’d try to go see the Fushimi Inari Taisha, or the 10 000 Tori gates that go up Mount Inari. We took the train, although we took the express line and missed our stop. Doubling back on the train, we finally reached our destination. The Tori gates are one of the most visited attractions here, but there was hardly anyone around when we visited! I think Brad took some great shots, even if it was dark. I’m also glad to have missed the crowds!

Now it’s off to bed. We plan to visit a few temples tomorrow and then we are eating lunch at a monastery!Read more