Saturday (3/8)

So this is going to be short, because I'm using a shared computer (with a Japanese keyboard).

Yesterday I caught the shinkansen around noon, and got into Kyoto around 3.



LOTS of leg room



Here's a (boring) video of the train taking off from Tokyo station, and heading through the city



And some views in the country side





Then it took me until around 4 to check in. Then I went out and walked around the imperial grounds, which are literally right outside my window.

Here's a video walkthrough of my hotel room



This is just across the street from my hotel window



Here's some more from around the imperial grounds





Then I went to an izakaya called Anji, which was much more authentic this time. When I went in they pointed me toward the bar and another guy that was sitting there motioned for me to sit right next to him (the people here seem so much nicer than the people in Tokyo). Then the menu was in Japanese only, and it didn't have any pictures. I ended up asking the guy a bunch of questions, and he had a very limited English vocabulary (to match my very limited Japanese vocabulary =) Also, the place wasn't busy yet, so I even talked a bit with the waitress and the cook. I had some tempura fish (whole fish, a little bigger than sardines), and asked if they had negima. The waitress looked confused, but the guy next to me knew what it was and explained, so they brought me out some yakitori with grilled onions next to it, which was great. I asked him what he liked to have, and he suggested the sashimi (and he was surprised to hear that there is sashimi in California =) Then I saw the cook preparing something, and asked what it was, and the guy said it was "oden", or a daikon radish prepared in someway that made it almost like ... I can't think how to describe it. Anyway, it's served in a broth with onions and some yellow wasabi-like paste on the side. It was pretty good, and they said that it's popular in Osaka.

Anyway, after I left there, I just wandered some more, and ended up south east of where I'm staying in a little outdoor mall called Teramachi. I walked around there for a while (and I'm going to have to go back since there are some great places to buy souvenirs there). I found a coffee shop, and sat down and read a book for a few hours, and just did a little people watching. I finally got back to my room around 10:30.

Today, I head out for Arashima.