I cranked myself out of bed early this morning and headed to the train station to make a trip to Kyoto to meet up with Britta and her coworker, Laura. They are in Kyoto for just a couple of days, so this was my best chance to meet up with them.
At the train station I bumped into one of my students heading to school on Saturday for a sports club activity. I chatted with him across the train tracks while we waited for our trains. He seems like a really good kid – I hope that I bump into him more often.
I got on the Sanyo train and then transferred at Akashi, and from there I got almost an hour of sleep on the train and woke up just when it arrived in Kyoto.
I never did get a hold of Britta on her cellphone, but she had sent me her schedule, so I knew where they were staying. I took a taxi to get there – the driver engaged me in some small talk, but it was a classic situation where he thought I knew a lot more Japanese than I really did. I found myself nodding and agreeing to things I couldn’t understand. Usually I stop people when they say something in Japanese I don’t know, but taxi drivers are another story – there was not stopping him.
Gratefully I stepped out of the cab in front of the hotel, and got the desk clerk to look up Britta and Laura. Britta came out and said hello, and we ended up going into the big tatami dining area of the hotel to eat breakfast. Laura was feeling under the weather, so I ate her breakfast, much to the annoyance of the hostess. Still, it’s better than throwing it away.
Over breakfast Britta told me all about her trip so far, and it sounded like she was really enjoying it. They’ve got her organized on a tight schedule, so she’s seen lots of highlights but at a really brisk pace. There doesn’t seem to be much flexibility in Japanese tour schedules.
While they were getting ready I waited out in the lobby, and soon made the acquaintance of the two guys from Sanyo that were going to guide them around. I said hello, and they didn’t know quite what to make of another foreigner. In the end they were really nice guys, just a little surprised.
Britta and Laura had a show that they wanted to see, but they needed to change their train tickets to do it. The guys made the arrangements, and then we were ready to do some sightseeing.
We started at Kinkakuji, the golden temple which I consider a must-see in Kyoto. We had fun walking around, lighting candles, taking pictures, and really enjoying ourselves. Our guides were really knowledgeable about the area, and spoke great English. They had been to America and Britta had taken them sightseeing, so they were eager to return the favor.
Next stop was Nijo castle, which is famous for a lot of things including being the homebase of the Shogun Tokugawa for a while. The interior is really old, ornate and beautiful. The “nightingale” floor was specially designed to creak in a musical way to alert the Shogun and his men of anybody approaching. It was fun to walk around making strange creaking noises.
After touring Nijo castle I said goodbye to everyone – I had to head back to meet up with Kuniko for dinner at my place. It was really cool to be able to see Britta here in Japan, and I think she was having a good time. She’s getting to see a lot, but it’s hard to get a feel for a country in such a short time. I would have loved to take her eat and drink with friends around the yakitori grill, to eat shabu shabu in some skyscraper in downtown Osaka, or to see the Japanese education system in action at my school. Still, a short visit is better than no visit at all!
I went back to Kyoto station and saw some live music and dancing being performed. The girls in the troupe wore colorful costumes – and the front of the costumes were pretty skimpy. There were lots of perverted old guys taking pictures of the girls, but in order to seem more civilized I only took a picture from the back. I’m just a wimp, I guess.
Once I got home I did a little food preparation, and then sat back and rested for a while. Before I knew it Kuniko said she was on her way, and she said she had bought lots of food for dinner.
When she arrived we broke into the food – it was awesome! There was fried crab, tiny pork buns, chili shrimp, and two fried croquettes filled with rice, meat and gravy. Wow! We cracked open a few beers and had a feast in the living room.
Tomorrow we’re going to do a little shopping, hang out, and maybe plan a trip for Golden Week. Should be relaxing!
