#20260219

So, I think I learned that 7 straight days of doing multiple things every day is my limit. I did not want to do anything when I woke up today. I forgot to turn my alarm off so it woke me up at 8 (at least I had turned off my 6am one from yesterday!), but I really needed a lazy morning. I had laundry on my to-do list, but had also been eyeing a breakfast place a short walk away so decided to do that first before coming back to the hotel and doing my laundry.

The cafe was called Dining 603, and I'd seen online that they made really interesting flavours of bagels in-house, and had a good breakfast menu. Oh my gosh, this place was so pretty! It was really quiet and peaceful, with a nice white plaster and wood interior, and soft classical piano playing. There were indeed probably like 30 different flavours of bagels arrayed at the front, only a few of each kind. I got there around 10 and was expecting it to be bumping at prime breakfast time, but there were only 2 other couples there. One couple was speaking French and the other couple was speaking Korean, so it was kinda funny to be able to eavesdrop on both. The French couple actually were staying there - there was a guest house above the cafe! So cute.

I went for a multigrain bagel with butter and housemade red bean paste, and a side of scrambled eggs. It sounded so good on the menu and I wanted something simple with the red bean paste, but on my way out picked a more exciting bagel flavour for later. The bagels were pretty small, so it made for a good snack later. I wasn't really expecting the butter to be, like, a whole slice in there? It was very good though so I can't complain.

The coffee was also delicious, I think it was a pourover, and came in a super cute mug. I couldn't tell it if was a frog hanging onto the ginko leaf or just a little creature, but it was charming either way. I'm happy I found this place, it was a lovely start to a relaxing day!

Back at the hotel I had a really non-exciting hour and a half of doing laundry and writing up yesterday's post and working on my presentation while I waited for the machines to finish. The lounge setup at the hotel is quite nice though so at least I had a good workspace and unlimited coffee. Once that was done I went back up to my room to laze around some more, snack on that second bagel I had gotten (sesame and (Japanese) sweet potato!) and feel just a little bit guilty about not doing anything all morning/early afternoon.

I ended up deciding to switch my train to Nagoya tomorrow to a later time. Originally I had it booked for 11am, but it's only a half-hour ride, and I can't check into my hotel in Nagoya until 3 so I was going to find something to do in the city until then. But, the fact that I had to take this morning off for my own good meant that I wasn't getting to things I had on my list for Kyoto. Aaaand I don't really have anything on my list for Nagoya since my days there are going to be filled with the conference, and my afternoons/evenings are already planned out. So I switched my train to 2pm instead and planned my itinerary for tomorrow morning in detail to ensure I still do everything I want.

As I was sorting out tomorrow's plans, I was nearly talking myself out of the itinerary I had sketched out for this afternoon (the half day that I had to move from Tuesday due to the sento (public bath house) on my list being closed). I was just feeling worn out, and tired, and not really into the idea of a new kind of stressful experience, having not been to a sento before. I was truly just getting in my own head about it, it's just a bath house! I think it had just been a long week, which is totally valid, in my day-to-day life I am nowhere near this busy and always have a lot of downtime. However, I knew I would end up regretting it if I didn't go to these places, so I mustered up the energy to get out the door. Always the hardest part. I put on a cute but cozy fit to get me through it! (man I really hope my next hotel has better lighting)

The sento I had bookmarked, and actually the afternoon itinerary, was totally put on my radar by a random Reddit comment when I was searching for tattoo-friendly onsen in Kyoto. They had mentioned the Funaoka Onsen but also that it was good to combine with Funaokayama Park, Kenkun Temple, and a restaurant called Sarasa Nishijin. These were all close to Kinkaku-ji which was also on my list of places to see, so it all made for a perfect little route. Kinkaku-ji is like incredibly famous and I was hesitant about the crowds, particularly since by the time I ended up getting out the door, the 45min transit got me there around 4pm, and I thought it would be super busy. It wasn't actually that bad, I guess because it closed at 5?

This Buddhist temple is famous for its golden pavilion at the edge of a pond with beautiful surrounding landscaping. The lands of the temple originally belonged to the Saionji family, and the original temple they had built there was destroyed, but the pond remained. In 1397, the third Ashikaga Shogunate, Yoshimitsu, had the current temple built, including the pavilion covered in gold leaf. I can see why this place is so famous - it was absolutely stunning. I think I actually timed my visit quite well, as the sun was on its way down, glinting off the pavilion at a great angle. It was unbelievably bright, which none of the photos I took captured! Like, blinding to look at for too long, but I couldn't help it. I was really captivated by how the reflection looked in the gently rippling pond.

Walking through the grounds there were some gentle streams and waterfalls, and a few other buildings that we couldn't get that close to but could still appreciate. I was really intrigued by the pine trees outside of the abbot's quarters. Branches were propped up by bamboo lattices, and I wasn't sure why this would be, since it didn't seem structural. At other shrines I've seen wooden beams supporting tree branches or trunks, but never lattice platforms like this. I wondered if it was to give the tree an aesthetically pleasing arrangement of branches.

Upon trying to google "Japanese pine trees supported by bamboo platforms," I only got results for a preservation technique called "yukitsuri" which looked quite different. In this, strings are tied to branches and then to a central pole. This is done to support the weight of the branches under snow during the winter. So, maybe what I saw was a similar technique just looked different?

(photo credit!)

In any case, it was cool to learn about yukitsuri as a result!

After I wrapped up my round of Kinkaku-ji, it was off to Funaokayama Park, a ~10min walk away. The random Reddit commenter had said it's a park with nice trails to it and a great vantage point over the city, as well as a small temple at the top. They weren't kidding, the view was incredible! Photos didn't do it justice! By this point the sun was setting enough that the mountains in the back had that faded, misty look to them and the whole city was getting tinged in a warm tone. The trails around the park were practically empty, with only a few folks near the top similarly admiring the view. It was amazing to see the city sprawling out all around and below me.

Kenkun shrine, a Shinto shrine, was a short walk away from that first viewpoint. I learned while writing this that Mount Funaoka is where Genbu of the North was sealed. Genbu, a black tortoise, is one of the guardian beasts of the four cardinal directions. The mountain also used to be one of the main burial places of the region (in addition to Adashino, which I had visited on Tuesday). There's definitely a rich history to the place, and I am grateful for the chance to learn about it.

I worked my way carefully down the mountain (there were some mighty steep stairs!) and headed to the recommended restaurant, Sarasa Nishijin. This is a restaurant in an old public bathhouse! The onsen dates back to the 30s, but in 2000 was bought and turned into a restaurant. It was so cool! Original tiles were left along the walls, and I sat facing the partial wall that originally separated the men's and women's side. The bathroom also contained some original fixtures (a tiled basin and tap). Absolutely the most unique restaurant I've been to. I got an early dinner of a rice bowl with tofu, cucumber, tomato, and a soft boiled egg along with a chai to warm me (another chilly day today!).

They had some great sounding cakes and fancy drinks, but I needed a proper meal before heading to the sento. I didn't want to pass out in the hot baths, something that I absolutely would do. In fact, when I was reading back through old trips on this very travel blog, I found that I had at one point casually passed out at a museum in Paris. Totally forgot about that. Whoops. Anyway, I was trying not to repeat that.

I mustered up my courage for new experiences and walked down the road to Funaoka Onsen. It was built in the 1920s, and was apparently the first sento in Kyoto to have "denkiburo," a bath with an electrical current running through it! I was so intrigued by this when reading about it. The staff at the front were very nice, and even though I had read online that it was tattoo-friendly, I confirmed it again with them. I headed in to strip and wash off before entering the baths. My nerves weren't so much about being naked with a bunch of strangers, that's whatever, it's just a bath house. Although I did wonder if I'd get any weird looks/comments for my post-top surgery body, as well as my many large tattoos (I didn't) (there were a ton of foreigners with big tattoos). It was more about being a silly white person coming into an old, respected place and doing the Wrong Thing. But I read up a lot beforehand and heard some women in the change room speaking English so made sure with them as well that I was doing the appropriate things! As expected, I had just gotten way too in my head about it.

Once I was in there, holy heck was it ever nice. In the main room there were like 5 different baths of varying temperatures and tub designs. One had jacuzzi jets, very nice after a week of walking around and being on trains and buses. The hottest baths were absolutely too hot for me - even the medium-hot one was a challenge. Of course my glasses fogged up like crazy. The electric bath was super strange, but also really cool. I only put my legs in to above my knees, but the feeling reminded me of when I had physical therapy that involved sending shocks through my body. Strange, but oddly relaxing. It really was like getting a bunch of static shocks all at once, or like pins-and-needles but More. I couldn't stay in it long but I did go back a few times because it did feel nice on my tired legs and slightly inflamed knees.

I asked a couple other foreigners in there if they knew where the cold bath was, since I was indeed rapidly overheating, and we ended up going to find it together. It was outside, in an open-air bath! There was both a cold side and a warm side, it was two pools done with rocks around the edge, and a dragon shaped statue with water showering down from it and a little waterfall as well. It was still secluded but I could look up to see the roofs of the surrounding buildings, and a few trees. I ended up staying in those baths the most of the time I was there because it was so nice. I got chatting with the other two women, and that was the most social interaction I'd had since the 14th, so very much needed and appreciated. They were visiting from the US for a week, and we talked a bit about what we had each been up to in Japan and our other plans, and about our families and jobs. Really a bit of everything! I hadn't really realized that I had been kind of missing out on just talking to people.

I obviously couldn't take photos, but here's some from online. Apparently, every day they switch which side is the men's and which is the women's, but since I went only tonight I have no idea how they differ. I hope both sides have open air baths - if it's just the one, I'm glad it was the women's side tonight!

I ended up staying there for about an hour and a half. It was so nice, and I am really glad I went. On my way out I sat in the lobby area to drink a Pocari Sweat (like a Gatorade basically but gently carbonated and tastes like Sprite) and cool down before walking to the bus stop, wanting to make sure I was feeling okay. They had a TV playing the Olympics so I got to watch a Canadian and USA snowboarder do their runs of the women's snowboard slopestyle.

After that, it was another 40min transit back to the hotel, where I fully intended to turn in early (since I'm going to get up early to make it to a shrine by like 7). Well, that didn't happen as I'm finishing writing this around 11:30... oops.

I am really glad I had a slow morning, and also glad that I then pushed through my malaise. The afternoon itinerary was so worth it. Thank you, random Reddit commenter from 1 year ago. Totally made my day!

The trinkets have fallen; one click to receive this good mood.