Kyoto

With loads of lovely clean clothes we packed ready to leave. Suitcases were taken to Yamato Luggage forwarding – a service widely used in Japan and known as Takkyubin – to be picked up at Narita Airport before we fly back to Canada. Backpacks with everything we’ll need for the next 6 days … much easier for traveling on public transport. Rain predicted for today – so rain jackets at the ready.

Train to Kyoto … subway to the closest point of our next stay … a traditional Ryokan style house … paper screens, tatami mats, low tables. Emerged from the subway into rain! Tried to hail a GO taxi and although the app recognized where we were, Google for some reason refused to copy and past the correct address of our stay. Only an 18 minute walk … but in the rain, and up a steep hill with backpacks … not ideal. Never-the-less … dripping great puddles of rainwater in their entry way, we were warmly welcomed by Tetsuya and Hiroku into their beautiful 100-year-old home and provided with slippers and traditional Hanten (padded jacket).

Beautiful wood and paper screened walls, sliding doors, futons in the bedroom, low table and chairs with comfy leg warmer and hallways with outer glass walls to give full advantage of the stunning garden. We have our own bathroom and a shared kitchen (there are a couple of older American ladies also staying – from New Mexico) Everything you could need. A quiet and peaceful retreat. Just one drawback … no food or grocery stores close by … so we brought some food items with us.

Dinner tonight, courtesy of Family Market consisted of: 1st course – chilled noodles, shredded pork and vegetables, beansprouts, pickled pink ginger with a dressing you mixed yourself of soy sauce and wasabi, followed by frozen fried vegetable rice with bbq pork ribs – heated in the microwave. If you’d purchased these at a Canadian convenience store (think 7-11), they’d have probably been inedible. These on the other hand, were most acceptable and very tasty. They have excellent caramel flans too … and to think we couldn’t find any decent ones in Spain!

Unfortunately, Glen picked up a nasty cough/cold, so we took things easy. Ambled around admiring the cherry blossoms … many of the pale pink ones have almost finished, but the darker, double pink ones are just starting. The canal downtown is reminiscent of Amsterdam with humpback bridges made picturesque with blossoms and spring-green Japanese maples.

Through an arch and there was a Sunday market with stalls selling everything from food to trinkets to souvenirs. One food stall had what looked like large meatballs … but watching him make them was fascinating. Large heated cast iron trays with dozens of round indentations which he filled with a liquid egg/batter then covered with chopped up squid, shredded cabbage and dried bonito flakes, another layer of batter … and then deftly (using chopsticks) kept turning the balls as they formed until they were golden brown. Of course we had to try them.. Served 6 to a paper dish, garnished with a mildly hot sauce and a squeeze of mayonnaise .. they were delicious, if a little difficult to eat with only toothpicks. A consistency somewhere between a souffle and French toast but very flavourful. Further in hand cut sweet potato fries … made using a dangerous-looking guillotine chopper. Topped with either salt or sugar they made a substantial crunchy snack.

Not feeling too energetic we opted for a Hop On bus tour … easy when you have a lack of energy, but compared with others this was disappointing in the scanty information provided between stops. Given Japan’s amazing cultural history they could’ve done so much more instead of just playing music.

After all the bustle and travel these past few weeks, it was refreshing to open the outside sliding doors and just sit … absorbing the quiet of the garden … and listen to the birdsong (we ignored the crows). All of a sudden an enormous wasp/hornet flew in and around one of the trees … it had to be a good two or three times the size of our hornets. Not bothersome, but one wondered if it was one of the notorious Asian Hornets . We didn’t get close enough to see!

Just down the hill there’s a short tunnel leading under the old, unused railway track. A tranquil walk with rills either side giving a pleasant sound of running water. An unexpected traditional garden and temple … a small lake reflecting the trees and flowering azaleas on its surface. At first we were the only people there. Further on another garden and temple … bigger this time, and busier as several tour buses had disgorged passengers … but still very pleasant.

A quick stop to pick up food for dinner. After breakfast tomorrow we’ll be heading to Narita airport … and then the plane home. It’s been an incredible adventure.