#suchagoodday

Kyoto Day 1 – Monday 20th November

Early start to what would turn out to be a very busy day. We were out by 8am and went for some breakfast around the corner before heading out to our first stop, the Kyoto Imperial Palace…which turned out to be shut on Mondays! However, we made the best of it as the surrounding gardens were very beautiful and in full swing of the Japanese autumn. We also found a little shrine and I taught Steve how to pray properly. I like shrines, I always find them very peaceful unlike churches which make me nervous.

Our next stop was the International Manga Museum which was very interesting. All the books in it had been donated mainly from one man’s collection and there was an exhibition on the evolution of manga through the years. Maybe some explanation is required. Manga is a style of Japanese comic drawing, odds are that you’ve encountered it and just didn’t know what it was. Manga and anime (when it’s made into a cartoon) are many people’s first in depth insight into Japanese culture. Take it from me, some of the portrayals of Japanese life are spot on.

From here we wandered on to the famous Nishiki Market. I swear it’s the longest street of vendors and independent shops I’ve ever been down. Narrow and crowded, it holds a multitude of goodies and gaijin alike. I must say that I didn’t realise how used I had gotten to being one of few gaijin around, seeing them all seemed so wrong to me which was weird. I managed to get some Christmas shopping done in the Market and I must hail Steve at this point for his unwavering patience with my indecisiveness and vanishing acts (he got a good insight into the life of my father!). We also found a random owlery hidden away in there which we had to visit obviously due to my professional status as Snowy Owl and Steve’s obsession with owls. We popped into the Kyoto Pokemon Centre on the way to the Higashiyama Ward (Old Town) and apparently, Steve has never seen someone so happy. I would like to challenge this observation as I’m pretty happy all the time when I’m doing something fun and he should know it!

Walking around Gion (pronounced ‘gee-on’) was lovely. So many Japanese girls were dressed in their kimonos (rented) and I was quite jealous. I have vowed that the next time I go to Kyoto I too, will rent a kimono and feel super pretty (and probably uncomfortable, those things are tight). The local authorities have made an effort to restore the area to the former glory of the Edo Period which means they got rid of the telephone wires. It was very strange to walk down a street under an open sky but obviously pleasant and we took in the oldest zen temple in Kyoto ‘Kennin-ji’. We had to take our shoes off which meant I spent most of the tour thinking how cold my poor little feet were. Thankfully there was a nice little coffee shop nearby, next to Gion Corner (Café Ushiwakamaru) for a hot chocolate and a cream puff before off to an afternoon of more shopping! Once again I would like to commend the patience of Steve whom I dragged into shop after shop searching for Christmas gifts!

Our plan after this was always to go to a restaurant called Teppanyaki Manryu, due to a personal request of a friend who had been there in the summer and wanted me to check if his picture was still there. I feel rather sorry for the staff as a baffling English girl came wondering enthusiastically in demanding to see their wall of photos before even sitting down. I’m happy to say I did find the picture in question. The food was lovely and I had some pork wrapped asparagus thing which was delicious. Then all that was left to do was make our way towards Onigappa, the bar we had made reservations in the previous evening. We took a leisurely stroll down the Kamo River to get there which was very pleasant despite the constant danger of being run over by a bicycle. Onigappa was nice but a little overpriced for what it was I think. Plus, Steve burnt the bajeezus out of his mouth about 10min in, so he couldn’t taste anything. On the way home we found another little izakaya much more to our taste called Onishi Yakitori Bar where we imbibed yet more sake (Louisa drinking two nights on the trot whuuuuuuut?).

End Part 2