Kyoto

To escape from my stalker I left Kagoshima early in the morning to catch the train to Kyoto. I tried to be as quiet as possible and headed straight for the tram so I wouldn't get caught. I reached the train station but it didn't look familiar. I followed Google maps which had served me so well up until now. I later found out that there were multiple stations in this town. Luckily for me I was in Japan where everyone is super friendly and helpful. The train guard said I could just pop onto the next local train which would take me to the correct station and then jump onto the bullet train to Kyoto. I really love the Japanese.

Once I arrived in Kyoto I checked into my hostel which was setup as a traditional Ryokan, so basically a futon on the floor. I unpacked and was pretty hungry so headed to an udon place down the road. I got my bowl of noodles and I was doing a pretty shit job of getting the broth all over me and the restaurant. The Japanese love to slurp their noodles and I was watching one guy slurping away next to me. I thought I'd try to copy the locals and start slurping and found I was no longer getting covered in the broth. So there seemed to be some logic behind eating your noodles as loud as possible.

Anyway I went back to the hostel to get my bag. Whilst in my room I could hear the girl downstairs check someone in and then show them around the hostel. She came up the stairs with the new arrival who happened to be my German stalker. She was about to introduce us but the German interrupted and said "no need, I know this guy, he's my good friend and we're travelling together". Ah nuts! I can't believe this guy followed me all the way from Kagoshima to the same hostel! I had to get out ASAP. I said I had just eaten and was heading out now to sightsee and before he could say anything I was running out of the door.

Temples aren't really my thing so I only planned to stay one night in Kyoto. There are a million temples here so I decided to head to the one nearest to the hostel which happens to be one of the most popular. It was Sunday and the road up to the temple was rammed! It took a while to barge my way through the crowd and I was desperately trying to get some distance between me and my stalker. I won't bore you about the temple as it was rather uninspiring.

After spending sometime strolling around Kyoto I headed back to the hostel for a well earned beer.  Whilst enjoying my cool beverage my stalker returned to the hostel.  I wanted a bite to eat and as I tried to leave my stalker decided to join me.  I really wish I had the balls to tell him to "f'off" but I let him tag along.  And like the previous night we struggled to agree on a place to eat.  We walked around for ages and I was starting to turn into the Snickers diva.  Finally I snapped and decided to eat at a takoyaki place and I told the German dude that he can go somewhere else if he wanted but I was staying put.  He reluctantly sat with me and sulked through the meal.  During the meal my stalker kept saying he wanted us to go to an onsen.  And like the previous night, yes I wanted to go but not with him.

So we headed back to the hostel and we had a new guy in our room from Australia.  The German dude got chatting to the Aussie about their travels so I took the opportunity to escape to the onsen.  I grabbed a few things and ran for the door.

The onsen wasn't far but I stood outside for a while as I was pretty nervous about going in.  I wasn't nervous about getting butt naked in front of loads of old Japanese men but there is a certain etiquette that must be followed in these establishments and I didn't want to anger a bunch of old naked men.  I searched the Internet about onsen etiquette before heading in but I was more confused as there were a few different ways of using the onsen.  I decided to go with the simple version.  I won't get into too much detail but the general rule is you strip down to your birthday suit, wash yourself very thoroughly at the showers by the side of the baths and scrub like you've never scrubbed before.  Then you have to make sure there is not a trace of soap before you step into one of the baths.

So after cleaning myself I had the choice of 3 baths, one cold, one hot and the other with an electric current.  I'm pretty sure I was taught water and electricity is not a good mix.  So I avoided that bath and gingerly entered the hot bath.  Dawn this water was hot.  I eventually got my shoulders under but it was not a pleasant experience.  I dare not move once in the water as it was painful to move.  To risk not looking like a whimp I told myself to stay in for at least 10 minutes.  All I did was look at the clock move around slowly.  As it was getting nearer to 10 minutes I started to feel light headed but I made it to the end and jumped out.  I noticed no one else used my pool and I was getting paranoid I broke some sort of etiquette and dirtied the pool.  All the old guys decided to use the sauna instead.  Oh well, I had finally experienced my first onsen and it wasn't the relaxing experience I was told it would be.

The next day I grabbed a bike and cycled around Kyoto.  It was much quieter than the Sunday and was quite relaxing.  I saw some beautiful gardens where the leaves were changing colour and I cycled the famous "Philosopher's Walk" which was calming.

I ended up at a sushi joint to try some Kyoto style sushi.  There was a lovely old man that started chatting to me whilst we were waiting to be seated.  He helped me pick some awesome dishes.  I love the Japanese people, they are so friendly, polite and helpful.

It seems my stalker has got the message that I didn't like him and he was planning to meet someone in Tokyo so hopefully I don't have to worry about him following me to Osaka.

Observation: The people working at the train station can type super quick.  It's hypnotising watching them book your tickets.  You have to love Japanese efficiency.Read more