Today was a much quieter day. I had to check out of the hotel by 11 AM and make my way to Osaka. I had a late breakfast, packed up, and headed to the station for a one-hour train ride. It was not one of the bullet trains, but it was still quite pleasant.
After dropping my bags at The Gala Hotel Umeda (check-in was not available until 3 p.m.), I spent some time sitting in the lobby, reading, and wandering around fairly close to the hotel.
Along the way, I came across what looked like a very interesting restaurant, Minori, where I could get a snack.
The restaurant had probably enough room to seat 15 people. It was about half full when I arrived, and I was the only guy in the building. It was filled with happy chatting young Japanese women. What was served? Açai bowls.
What exactly is açai?
Açai is actually a small, dark purple berry, which comes from a palm tree in the Amazon rainforest.
“Similar to blueberries, acai is high in antioxidants and fiber,” says Melissa Keeney, RDN, clinical nutrition manager at St. Vincent’s Medical Center. “Grown in the rainforest, they’ve long been used in medicine – but have recently become popular around the world for their benefits with immune health.”
Like broccoli, avocado and sweet potatoes, açai is considered a superfood, meaning it’s packed with nutrients and linked to countless health benefits. (Source)
That’s the official description. My unofficial description is that it’s a bit like a mullet. Business up front, and party in the back! All that healthy stuff is on top, and then all that delicious goodness is below. I was convinced that it had some Nutella mixed in there. I will probably have to stop by there at least once more before I leave.
Afterward, I came back to the hotel and sat out in the lobby to read my book, and then I remembered… Books. Not just any book, either. A very special book. A quick search in Google Maps found me a bookstore about a half mile away. I started walking.
I typed out my request in Google Translate and handed it to a clerk on the second floor. They read my request and immediately directed me to the third floor. The clerk there brought me to the correct section, but these were English language books. This will not do. Back to the clerk, and I revise my request. The clerk had an “Aha” moment. He brought me back down to the second floor, and there they all were. I can’t read a word of it, but it’s my favorite souvenir so far! A Japanese version of The Shining by Stephen King!
And for the record… I am not a nerd! I smiled all the way back to the hotel (not The Overlook!) and then some. It’ll go next to my Norwegian version of Carrie.
Tomorrow, I don’t plan to go far. I’ll step out for a bite to eat and all that, but I will take a day of rest and enjoy not moving too much.
I hope you all have a good day and that you are well. Thank you for following along on my adventures in Japan. I hope you are enjoying these block posts because I enjoy writing them.
Everything I read said that if you want to beat the crowds, you’ll want to get there early. I was up at 5:15 AM and moving, and there was still a pretty good crowd when I arrived. I can only imagine what it would be like during prime time. That said, it was quite amazing.
Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社, Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds.
Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari’s messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital’s move to Kyoto in 794.
The torii gates represent a transition from the mundane to the sacred. They are places where spirits are said to pass through. Each gate is sponsored by individuals or organizations. There are thousands of them on these grounds.
I did not make it all the way to the top, but that was not in the plan. Along the way, there are also many shrines.
After climbing so many stairs, I had a sneaking suspicion that I looked like this guy. If me saying that is disrespectful, I do apologize. I suspect he is one of the many gods.
At one particular shrine, there were a number of cats. This one was on an errand, but he was kind enough to give me a leg bump as he moved past.
Of course I’m in Kyoto, Japan and I will stop to pet the cat and take its picture! What do you think I am, some kind of barbarian?!
I took a short train, and a very crowded one because it was rush hour, and made my way to my next stop. I had planned on going to one place but ended up going to another. I saw all these people lined up waiting to get in and thought that was my line, so I got in line with them. It turns out I was in line for a special exhibit at the Kyoto Museum. They don’t let you take pictures, so I didn’t. (I know, I took pictures at the church when I wasn’t supposed to take pictures at the church, yada yada ya) However, I bought a book of pictures so I would have them because one was a painting we are all familiar with.
“Under the Wave off Kanagawa” from the Series Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji By Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849) Edo period, 19th century.
They allowed us to take pictures of one item. It has to do with the revealing of the Buddha within. I will not try to explain it. This is not my department, but it is an interesting idea.
I then made my way to my originally planned destination, which was right across the street.
Sanjūsangen-dō is a buddhist temple of the Tendai sect.
The temple was founded in 1164 by Taira no Kiyomori for the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa. It is officially known as Rengeō-in (蓮華王院, hall of the Lotus King) and belongs to the Myōhō-in temple complex.
Sanjūsangen-dō is most famous for its massively long hondō (main hall) dating from 1266 (Kamakura period) and designated a National Treasure of Japan, and the collection of sculptures it houses, including 1001 standing Thousand-armed Kannon, 28 standing attendants, a statue of Fūjin and a statue of Raijin, and the principal image of the temple, a big seated statue of Thousand-armed Kannon, all of them designated National Treasures in the category of sculptures, most of them dating to the Heian to Kamakura periods.
In case you didn’t read all of that, there are 1001 statues! Again, you can’t take pictures of it, so I bought a picture book and took pictures of the pictures in the picture book.
god of thunder
When I left the hotel this morning, I had anticipated being back in time for breakfast. Because I made that extra side trip, that didn’t happen, so by this time, I was done for a little while. I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then find some lunch.
I was hungry enough that I forgot to take pictures of my lunch, but there was a line to get in. It was ramen noodles—not the kind you get at Jumbo’s grocery—and very tasty. I had the one in the bottom right-hand corner of the picture.
Seeing as I had no idea what I ordered, it came with something round and yellow with green flex in it, a bit like a coin, on top. I thought it was a tasty morsel. I popped it in. It was a big ol’ pat of butter! I discreetly removed it from my mouth and got it back in the bowl, where it did melt.
When it comes to eating Ramen noodles, the key is to slurp. I have been raised my entire life not to slurp my food. I would get smacked for slurping my food. I don’t know how to slurp food! I try. I watch the others and see how they do it. I cannot slurp. I have a slurping deficiency. I was afraid I’d slurp it right down and choke on it, and then that would’ve been bad. Nobody seemed to care, and I managed just fine.
I have discovered that you don’t want to be out during rush hour or lunch hour. These people are busy; they have places to go, and they really don’t want the big dumb American in their way.
This is turning into the day that I want to go here, and I really didn’t mean to go there, but since I am here I guess I will see what’s happening, and then I’ll go to where I wanted to go. Confused? It’s easy to get that way.
So, after lunch, I returned to my room and propped up my feet. My feet were very happy.
Another bus ride brought me to what I thought was the bamboo forest, but it was, in fact, a temple. At the temple was a very big statue—a statue of a very big happy lady.
She’s 500 tonnes of concrete and steel but Buddhist lore says Kannon’s a real softie. As she is compassionate to all living things, this temple is a memorial for many forgotten souls. Underneath the statue you’ll find a memorial for the 2 million Japanese lives lost in the Pacific War. But as Kannon does not discriminate, there is also another memorial hall for the unknown soldiers of World War 2. These were the foreign soldiers who died while protecting their countries. Built 10 years after the end of WWII, it’s clear to see that Japan was still reflecting on the devastating effects of the war. (Source)
After my visit there, I did find my desired location, which was actually right next-door.
The Bamboo Forest, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, or Sagano Bamboo Forest is a natural bamboo forest in Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan. It consists mostly of mōsō bamboo.
And my favorite photo of the day…
After leaving the serenity of the forest, the beauty of the psithurism, and fighting my way through several thousand schoolchildren, I decided that I would like an ice-cold beer. Some very happy fellas with twirling signs directed me into a location that was very near my hotel. I did not know what I was getting myself into. I REALLY did not know what I was getting myself into. It was a karaoke bar! And there were people singing!
At this point, I finished my beer and had a whiskey.
That is it, for now, my karaoke-loving friends. I’m going out tonight for supper. It’s a very special place, and there are only six seats available—that’s the whole restaurant. If I get in, I will have a supplemental post; otherwise, I will wander down after a bite of supper somewhere and see my friend Uno, whom I met last night, and let him know that I did get to the temple he wanted me to see.
Tomorrow is another travel day. We will be off to Osaka sometime around 11 AM. It’s about an hour on one of the slower trains. Osaka is my last station before coming home. What a trip.
Today was another travel day, and you don’t always expect travel days to be that exciting, but today was really kind of great. In the picture above, you should say if it was really kind of great, then you should be smiling, but as fast as that train moves, you can either take a picture or smile. It’s going pretty fast.
My travels today consisted of a 20-minute bus ride to the train station and then a three-hour train ride to Kyoto. It was peaceful and not crowded.
What strikes me about the countryside is that it is very much like Oklahoma. The only difference is that instead of growing wheat, they are growing rice. On any flat piece of ground, if there is not a building on it, there will be a garden, and in most cases, that garden will be growing rice.
Look familiar? If you’re from Oklahoma, it most certainly does. Although they have a lot more water than we do.
After arriving in Kyoto, I took another bus to my hotel. I read the reviews about this hotel, and there were some complaints about the rooms being too small. However, given the fact that land is at a premium in this country, I don’t think you can expect to have a sprawling room with lots of wasted space. Everything you need is right here, only a step away. I find the rooms to be absolutely delightful. The staff is very kind… Oh, I’m at the Hotel Resol Kyoto… it’s in the middle of everything, and there’s nothing that you are without. So, you can complain if you want, but this is a lovely place.
Besides, you have traveled 13 1/2 hours to be in Japan and an additional four hours to get to Kyoto from Tokyo, and you’re going to complain about the size of the room?! Get out and see the world, for crying out loud. You came this far. You are here. You are blessed and fortunate.
And then we hit the bucket list jackpot! Now we have discussed sushi, and you know that I am quite fond of the raw fish. Anytime I have the opportunity, I will try to eat my weight in the raw fish. I find fish, whether it be raw, broiled, fried, boiled, baked, canned, poached, etc., etc., etc., to be absolutely amazing. You know this. However, my all-time favorite is the sushi, and tonight I found the sushi conveyor belt. You pay based on the color of the plate. It goes round and round and round, and you just pick up what you want and eat it.
I kept saying to myself, “John, don’t embarrass yourself. John, don’t embarrass yourself.“ I reached a point when I just didn’t care! It was good, and I was happy. I was in a sushi-eating frenzy.
Look at all that loveliness go rolling by! It desires to fulfill it’s purpose in life by being eaten by me! 
Oh, don’t judge me! The yellow ones are beer. LOL. 
Afterward, I wasn’t quite ready to return to the hotel, so I wandered up and down the street for a bit, eventually ending up in a very small basement cocktail lounge. I was the only one there, along with the bartender, Uno. What a fantastic conversation we had. I understood most of what he said, and he understood most of what I said. We talked about Oklahoma, red beef, the differences between the big cities and the smaller towns, and, of all things, Pink Floyd.
My new friend, Uno, plays guitar. He’s a fan of Deep Purple but had never been introduced to Pink Floyd. He pulled up a track from The Dark Side of the Moon, and he’s hooked forever.
He gave me several recommendations on local restaurants that I need to check out, and I’ll do just that. He’s only about two doors down from my hotel, so I told him after my day was done tomorrow that I would swing by and let him know how things went. He seemed quite pleased with that.
What a good day.
Tomorrow is looking to be an exceptional day as well, including the fact that tomorrow’s blog post will include the word psithurism. One of the other spots I planned to visit means that I will need to get up early to beat the other tourists. Considering how I’ve been doing that every day, tomorrow should not be a problem.
That’s all I know for today. I pray your day has been good. Sleepy time in Kyoto. 
Candle in a Cave 