During my usual travels, or at least those on my own and with Haynes, our modis operende is to visit (or find a place), stay a day or two (or three/four at the most) and move on. That’s it – constant movement. I guess I like the feeling of being on the move – it must be that feeling of the threshold that fulfills me.
Going against this travel style, however, we planned our Asian journey to post up in towns for several nights at a time as our home bases – venturing out for day trips. We started planning like I traditionally like to write a paper – write it all and then edit down. Knowing that what is reality and what is in my mind when it comes to travel time, our month long journey at first even included a stop over in the remote Papua New Guinea and wearing fins in Cairns for a quick dip near the Great Barrier Reef. After months of discussion between the several parties here (as I write this, I’m sitting in the car with 6 other North Little Rock-ians), we cut out several of the stops and arrived at a reasonable itinerary – balancing the stop-and-go with a few anchor-spots.
To the point of this blog, Kyoto was the first of those anchors. After leaving Miyajima, Erin, Haynes and I jumped a bullet train to Kyoto and settled in for 6 days and 5 nights. Not all of the days/stories are complete as we have found it hard to find free internet and, even more so, free time while traveling with such an amazing group, but the following photos and stories highlight our time in the second capital of Japan – a hilltop/river village of 1.4 million speckled with temples (and what seems to be the capitol of World Heritage Sites).
Day 1 - Thursday, Aug. 1
From Kyoto Station, Haynes, Erin and I took a cab to the Westin – where Dean and Loryn turned us onto a good deal (splitting a hotel cost is just as cheap as staying in a hostel most times in Japan). After settling in, we walked down our street in search for fresh fruit for Erin and dinner. We passed by a gallery as soon as we left the hotel and talked to the owner for a bit. The work was screen-printed wall paper and just under ten pencil drawings hung at varying heights on top of the yellow, black and white printed wall. Further along the walk we stumbled upon a hip area along the river and found a place called Salvatore’s where we had a salami pizza. Afterward, we went to the grocery store next door and stocked up on fresh fruit, two root beers and an Inca cola. Then back to the hotel for an early night in.
Day 2 - Friday, Aug. 2
We woke up and ran varying miles up and down the hills of the hotel area, which was on the east side of town. We spent some time in the hotel using the internet we had paid for to blog and plan parts of the trip that we needed to finalize hotels or travel. Haynes did some research on food and we commenced our day by journeying uptown through the art district and university area to eat at a vegetarian restaurant named Sunny Place.
The proprietors were a great example of collaboration. The younger woman was a mother of 3 children, whose only son was excited about the Kamen Rider exhibition at the International Manga Museum. She had lived in New York City for 2 years and in Boston for a while and was a devoted vegetarian, working in vegetarian restaurants in both places where she also studied and learned English. The older woman, her friend, wanted to start a Sake bar/restaurant in Kyoto. The younger woman, who wasn't named Sunny, convinced the older woman, who also wasn't named Sunny, to open something a little more unique, since Sake bars and drunk Japanese men weren't the ideal business opportunity for the aging woman. Well, we're happy they made that decision, because we ate a delicious lunch and decided what to do with the rest of our afternoon from the conversation we had. To learn more about the Kamen (or "Masked") Rider, we walked by the walled Imperial Palace and through the surrounding park to the International Manga Museum. There we observed the masses reading Japanese comics (comics may be underselling the importance and widespread readership of Manga - not to mention the widespread influence). After journeying through the evolution of the Kamen Rider, we left for dinner at a yakitori (chicken on a stick) place and once satiated, braved the rain and clouds back to the hotel where we reunited with Dean and Loryn for a champagne toast before shut eye.
Day 3 - Saturday, Aug. 3
We ran. Found a new place to stay at Hostel K's. While cooling down, we worked. Then we walked to the 5-storied pagoda where Erin, Haynes and I each sketched a version. See mine below.
After, we caught a random bus north and got off before it started turning west. We walked around a narrow cool street near the river and decided on eating at the top of a shopping mall. We settled on a Chinese buffet and there ran into a fellow Arkansan - Tristan Evans from Searcy. That day I was wearing my Arkansas Intramural soccer championship shirt - while traveling, I try to wear Arkansas items as a means to connect. This time, as almost always, it worked. With all of the variables in place - in Asia, in Japan, in Kyoto, on this date, taking a random bus, walking a random distance down a random almost-alley, passing all of the Japanese restaurants because we would eat this food when Zach and Emily arrived, arriving at a major crossroads, deciding on dining at a shopping center food court, selecting a Chinese buffet, wearing a Razorback t-shirt and the personality of Tristan - the world proved itself small again. So, we exchanged contact information with Tristan and planned to meet up when the rest of the group joined.
COMING SOON: Day 4 - 6 in Kyoto, Mt. Fuji and lots from Tokyo!
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