One Time One Meeting

Day 12 ~ 12,670 Miles

Today was move day. But first we had an opportunity to spend a few hours with a local family in their home. We were met by a traditional older Japanese couple, Masa and Noriko (read: wife is 3 steps behind husband unless serving husband). Masa gave us a tour of their home, showed us his prized collections and possessions, then Noriko served us tea and Mizu Yokan. He then showed us his calligraphy skills by painting each of us a memorial piece that included the phrase “One Time One Meeting” and we finished up with a stop at their liquor store and sampled some of their family branded Saki.

We boarded an afternoon train in Kanazawa and headed south east to Kyoto passing over and through more mountains and alongside beautiful Lake Biwa. Kyoto is surrounded by mountains which is said to produce very cold winters and extremely hot summers. Apparently summer lasts well into September because we felt the heat before we were fully out of the station.

We are in a beautiful newer hotel. Shoes off at the front entrance as the staff cleaned and disinfected the wheels on our luggage then we could place our shoes in a keyed locker or carry them in a plastic bag to our room. No shoes anywhere in the hotel but there are two smoking areas available. The hotel is calm and serene with tatami and bamboo flooring, muted tones, soft lighting, beautifully textured walls and simple artwork but if the beds were any lower we’d be sleeping on the floor.Read more