10:00 a.m. – Breakfast, ahhhh, a far cry from Osaka’s Hostel 64 spread. I am trying not to let last night’s weird and stressful hostel situation ruin Kyoto for me.
So despite being a little bummed, a lot broke, and uncertain of how long I can stay in the city, I am going to find ways to RELAX and do mostly free things today. I was going to rent a bike and ride around the city, but now I’ll just walk.
I am very very very thankful for Megan’s wonderful Kyoto advice and the maps that she scanned in and e-mailed to me. It’s getting me excited for the day. I’d like to walk around Gion (the geisha district), visit the Nishiki food market, and check out the oldest Zen temple, Kennin-ji. I want to drink oodles of Uji green tea from pretty Japanese pottery, read my book (still on Fear of Flying), and take a lot of pictures.
2:30 p.m. – Change of plans. My friend Richard is in Kyoto for today. He wanted to check out the Inari Shrine. It’s…..amazing.
3:45 p.m. – This shrine, just like Kyoto, is massive. Richard had to head back to catch his train. I was determined to climb steps for another hour to see the top of the shrine.
Here I passed the top. I was going to just head back down, but then I read that the shrine at the top is supposed to bring you health. I’m such a sucker for these things, so now I’m backtracking. Or uptracking.
4:00 p.m. – THE SUMMIT.
6:00 p.m. – Inari Shrine is definitely a day trip. I walked around and climbed hundreds of steps, but every area of the shrine was stunning in an otherworldly way. I loved the light coming through the the torii gates at the end of the day.
Since Richard and I walked to the shrine from the station and lunch was oranges and almonds and a bit of chocolate, I stumbled into the first place I saw for dinner. Oshinagaki? Probably a chain. I ordered the tempura and soba set. Only 850 yen! It feels so good to eat and sit.
Now I need to figure out hostel stuff. Blah. Next time I’ll research places better instead of letting a friend book a deal she saw online.
8:00 p.m. – After dinner, I checked out Kyoto station. It’s busy and ramped up for spring cherry blossom season.
I bought some cookies and a face mask. It was one of those 100 yen (like a dollar) face masks, thinking that I just wanted to veg out on my futon with a face mask and a book tonight. The introvert in me is coming out.
Also, I snapped a picture of the drugstore where I bought my face mask. All the drugstores in Japan look like a hoarders house, but everything is bright and eye-catching. I love them.
11:00 p.m. – New/tentative plan is to cough up the cash for the private room since I already paid for this place (and nothing else is available), but leave one day early if I can change my train tickets. I just can’t sleep in the dorm that smells like a bar with a creepy strange guy…
So, what does my room that costs double the already overpriced dorm look like? It’s quite big (for just me) and sparse (no wall art) and traditional (no bed) and weird (see-through shower in the kitchen).
My favorite part is the see-through shower in the kitchen. I mean, what if you were sharing this with friends or acquaintances? Ha!
Going to face mask it up and read. Gion tomorrow!
Oyasuminasai.
