Sunday 9/8:
It was Sunday, and time to head of to Kyoto. We were taking the shinkansen (fast train), and it was the first time for me. For some reason I had got it into my head that the shinkansen was leaving from Shinjuku, and not Tokyo station, but luckily we had put in enough slack time to correct that error. It would have been an expensive error to do, for the shinkansen is amazingly fast and practical, but also suitably expensive.
Here is my shinkansen bento. Delicious eel in layers true the rice ^^ Dad and Ina didn’t eat anything, as I hadn’t managed to convince them to change to Japanese eating times, with big lunches and late dinners.
Arriving in Kyoto we headed for our Japanese style hotel of four days in the city. In Tokyo Ina and dad had stayed at a western style hotel, so now I were gone introduce them to the Japanese version.
It was a great hotel, in the middle of Gion district, not very costly but still more expensive than anything I have ever stayed at in Japan so fare. We shared a room, which is the costume here, paying per person, not per room. There were tatami mats, yukatas, slippers, green tea, futons that we had to lay out for the night and the whole package.
We made it a slow day, tried out the yukatas and had a tea brake in our new and “exotic” surroundings. Afterwards we went for a small stroll true the streets of Kyoto, starting in Gion.
Crossing Kamo River, which hosted a small festival at the time and also had the summer eating pavilions of the Pontocho Alley restaurants out.
We visited Pontocho alley and headed back to Gion again, where we ended up eating at this cool place, which should be known for anyone that has visited Kyoto, don’t know the name though, sorry. Ina and dad made a brave try to eat the only dish the restaurant served, which I also don’t know the name of, sorry. Some kind of Japanese style fast food omelette (raw egg was optional for tourists), with konnyaku, octopus, sauces and other jummy stuff.
Ina had by now worked out a system, and were at all times carrying a fork in her purse. A knife, and it would have been a foolproof plan.
The last challenge of the day was bath time. In Norway most people shower in the mornings, only making an exception if you have been exercising, or if it has been an unusual hot summer day (the last one not happening that often). In Japan you shower and bath at night instead, a habit I have gotten quite fond of and brought back home to Norway. Why wake unnecessary early in the morning and stress with showering then, when you can get all that done and finished with the evening before, and loaf around in your comfortable pyjamas the last few hours before going to bed.
Anyway, the hotel had the normal public bath facility available, but also private once just across the hallway of our room. Dad was up for the challenge of Japanese style bathing, and I sent him there after giving him sufficient instructions in bathing etiquette. It went without problem and we could all go to bed, or futons I mean, probably the real last challenge of the day for those used to a bit softer bedding.
