Day 19: Kyoto

Day 19: Kyoto

Weather: Rain in the morning, letting up before noon, temps in low 60s

Pictorial Pop Quiz Answer:

How to plug up the sink: pull up and push down

THB goes to the fitness center!! Can’t get elliptical to right resistance so switches to exer-bike and watches interviews of Tour de France riders, complete with Japanese subtitles.  

 

There were 5 other gringos there when THB arrived

At breakfast, THB gets great pancakes: they aren’t doughy, more like the consistency of corn cake. Excellent with berries and yogurt.

R picks us up to give us a ride to a modern ceramics store on outskirts of Kyoto, near a famous shrine, and we end up buying something that’s more a bowl for snacks.

If they know you or you're buying (we're both categories) you get two servings of tea: green tea with chocolates much appreciated!

Back to town for an exhausting walk through the covered market in the middle of town, so crowded you can barely walk, let alone look at all the stalls full of exotics. We reach our goal: a ramen house where we each get slightly different noodles and excellent gyoza (greasy and hot, great with the vinegary sauce). The young couple next to us is from SF; his mom is a flight attendant and they are here in Japan for 5 days, 3 in Tokyo and 1.5 in Kyoto. We recommend Mt Inari and Iiajaren.

A first: ice tea!

After stirring in the toppings

Before stirring (this is THB's, more hot sauce!)

Gleaming with grease?

We’re pooped, so did just a touch more shopping and back to room for a long rest up before the last night of the trip dinner: yakitori (skewers)

A 15 minute walk to dinner at Kushikura, and we’re right in front of the charcoal grillers. Overall, just okay. With a draft beer and sake, around $45.

Book Review: Green on Blue, Elliot Ackerman (novel): Takes place in the territory between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the early days of the American involvement in Afghanistan. A young man is driven by the code of revenge for a bazaar bombing that injured his brother and ends up a soldier with a chance for revenge. Written by an experienced Iraq and Afghanistan war vet with obvious knowledge of the culture and history of the area. Recommended.