Kyoto in Photos (Day 2)

The next day, we got an early start. The plan for the day was to follow a walking tour laid out in our Kyoto guidebook, which included the must-see sights of the city. But first, we packed up some fruit and nuts to snack on. We then quickly located the bus stop and I had Ingrid wait in the line that had formed there as I went to purchase all-day bus tickets for us. There was a brief moment of panic when, after securing the tickets, I couldn't find Ingrid in the line, which at that point was moving as people began boarding the bus that had arrived. I thought to myself, "Could she have boarded the bus without me or tickets?... Nawww, she wouldn't do that." And just as I completed that thought, who do I see on the completely packed bus waving me on? That's right. Ingrid. Great. So not only do I have to cram passengers in an effort to squeeze into the back door of the bus, but I have to jump the long line of people already waiting to get on the bus. Soooo not a Japanese thing to do.



In any event, we took the brief bus ride and using my trusty guidebook, departed the bus at the Gojo-zaka bus stop on Higashioji-dori. The first destination on our tour was Kiyomizu-dera (Kiyomizu Temple), a place I remember visiting with my father when I was younger. On the hike up to the temple, we stopped by the air-conditioned shops along the way.



Ingrid loved the little trinkets sold at the stores, including these fans. Speaking of which, I was a fan of the air-conditioning. Ahhhhhh.



We took a quick pit stop on the way up to enjoy the fruit and nuts we had picked up before leaving. Just sitting there, I took time to really appreciate my time off from work -- relaxing, stress-free and fun. Ingrid, on the other hand, took time to appreciate how truly delicious Japanese peanuts are -- crunchy, tasty and yum. Needless to say, it was her first of many, many bags to come.



At the top of the hill, we arrived at Kiyomizu Temple, only to be confronted with more stairs. And don't be alarmed, that tiny pagoda in the background is not the actual temple.



On the way up, there was a "secret" detour you could take to descend into the Tainai-meguri. The guidebook said that by entering the hall, we were figuratively entering the womb of Daizuigu Bosatsu, a female Bodhisattva who has the power to grant any human wish. With my interest piqued, I convinced Ingrid to pay the 100 yen, take off her shoes and join me with me down the stairs. It was completely dark inside. And I mean pitch black. You honestly couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The only thing guiding us through the area was a wooden handrail. So with one hand on the handrail, and one hand waving blindly in front of me, we ventured deeper into the maze. We eventually came across a large stone on a platform illuminated with a beam of light. The guidebook said we should spin the stone clockwise and make a wish, and that our wish might come true. So we did. And it did.



After emerging from the "womb", we rehydrated and cooled off in the shade. Ingrid came prepared with a bottle of Volvic.



I took the more local approach of using these fountain-type things. I remember seeing people drink form these things back when I used to visit with my father and thinking it was unsanitary.



So rather than drink from it, I filled a ladle and poured it all over my head... and then got strange looks from the native Japanese people. Uh... guess I wasn't supposed to do that. But with no air-conditioning to keep me cool, it was all I could do to cool off.



Sufficiently cooled off, we headed further into the temple. One obvious difference between Los Angeles and Japan are the vast number of trees as far as the eye can see.



Though it was a bit hazy that day, from the temple, we could see all the way down into city.



Kiyomizu-dera was first built in 798 and is one of the most famous landmarks of the city. The present buildings, which were built under the order of the third Tokugawa shogun, are reconstructions dating from 1633. It's amazing to think that hundreds of years ago, nobility used to live in these temples.



We eventually stumbled across the Jishu-jinja, and the famous Love Stone.



That's right,... the Love Stone. Legend has it that if you can walk with your eyes closed from one stone to another about 50 feet away with your eyes closed, you'll find the love you desire, but if you can't, it will be long before you realize love.



Here's a video of Ingrid's attempt at the task. Hmmm... looks like she needs a little guidance.



But as you can see, taking advice requires you to have someone who will help you achieve your love. Well, truth be told, that was actually the case with the two of us. She needed a lot of help from someone and a lot of convincing by someone to achieve her love... and that someone was me.



That's right. Very early in our courtship, Ingrid nearly rung the gong on me.



But in the end, our love prevailed and here we are... happily married...



... and very sweaty. Before Ingrid and I met, she never would've guessed she'd be in Japan for her honeymoon...



... married to this Japanese guy!



It was around this time when Ingrid began to get hungry and started asking about where we were going to eat. Knowing foodiness (Ingrid's tendency to get moody when she's hungry) was just around the corner, we promptly exited Kiyomizu-dera and headed down Kiyomizu-michi, lined with shops selling various tchotchkes (and hopefully something Ingrid could snack on).



We popped into the shops along the way and picked up a few things for our friends and family back home in the process, but didn't have any luck in the food department.



With no real snacks at the stores to eat, I encouraged Ingrid to continue on the path, because according to the guidebook, "a charming street lined with old wooden houses, traditional shops and restaurants" was just around the corner, and if we "fancied a break, there are many teahouses and cafes along this stretch." The guidebook instructed us to take a right and walk down stone-paved steps once we reached a four way intersection. Well it should come as no surprise that we came across several intersections that arguably fit the bill, so I was a bit unsure when we took a turn down the street you see in the picture. Do those look like "stone-paved steps" to you? In any event, with Ingrid getting foodier by the second, I just hoped I made the right choice.



Well thankfully, we hit the right street, but what we didn't hit, were the restaurants and teahouses that the guidebook promised. And the food being served at the few places to eat we did come across didn't appeal to Ingrid one bit.



By this point, Ingrid was foody... extremely foody... and totally irritated with me telling her lunch was just around the corner. I have to admit that even I was getting quite hungry. Desperate to find a place to eat, I busted out my elementary Nihongo (Japanese) and asked a stranger where we could get some good food. Like the guidebook, he told me restaurants were just around the corner...



... and in fact they were. Delighted, we stopped at the first establishment we came across, but unable to read the signs, we rolled the dice on what was being served.



The place turned out to be a totally traditional Japanese restaurant, which was perfect, but we were told it would be about a half an hour before we'd be seated. Ingrid could care less about the wait and was just glad to have finally found a place to eat. She's so hungry she looks delirious here.



Okay, so this may be the funniest thing ever. We eventually get called and taken to our table which has a wooden pot with boiling water in it. Hmmmm... Shabu shabu, perhaps? Ummm, not quite. We're handed menus written entirely in Japanese with no pictures to guide us. So in my best broken Japanese, I ask the waitress for some help with the menu. She describes dish after dish after dish, and they all have something in common -- Tofu. There's boiled tofu (hence the pot of boiling water), deep fried tofu, barbecued tofu, steamed tofu, baked tofu, broiled tofu, sauteed tofu, tofu salad, tofu stew, tofu on a stick, tofu in a bowl, hot tofu, cold tofu, hard tofu, soft tofu and even runny tofu! They had every type of tofu a tofu-lover could want. Why is that funny you ask?... Three words: Ingrid HATES tofu. Haha. I asked the waitress in broken Japanese if there was anything else on the menu we could order other than tofu, and judging by Ingrid's face in the picture, I'm sure you can guess what her response was. Turns out that of all the places we could have walked into that afternoon, we ended up at a tofu house. Part of me felt so bad for Ingrid, but the other part couldn't help but laugh a bit, especially after having had to deal with her foodiness all afternoon. Even Ingrid couldn't help but find it all a bit humorous. Heh heh!



This is without a doubt my favorite picture of our honeymoon. No further explanation needed.



With no alternative, Ingrid ate the tofu dishes she could stomach and was a surprisingly good sport about the whole thing. Even more surprising was that she wasn't foody after the meal... just a bit tofu-dy (whaaa whaaaah!). We proceeded along the path suggested by our guidebook...



... and hit some more sites along the walking tour.



But eventually, we decided to abandon the tour and break out on our own adventure. We used the maps in the guidebook to get us to one of the main streets in Kyoto. It was here that Ingrid experienced her first of many department stores in Japan. Here she is saying t-Hankyu very much for bringing me back to civilization.



Of course, Ingrid checked out the selection of shoes, as well as everything else the store had to offer. One of the things she wanted to pick up while in Japan were some baby clothes, in the event we need them some day.



As it turned out, Hankyu wasn't that spectacular, so we headed across the street to Takashimaya, where I introduced Ingrid to what was ultimately dubbed "the B-level" of department stores in Japan. As a result, Ingrid will never be the same.



For those of you who don't know, the B-level (or basement) of department stores in Japan is almost always entirely dedicated to food. It's got everything to eat you could ever want. Imagine an indoor mall. Then imagine the entire ground floor of that mall filled with food. It's amazing. And it was just what Ingrid needed after her less than ideal lunch. Here she is getting warmed up with a fine chocolate pound cake. Mmmmm.



The glass is there for a reason: To prevent people like Ingird from simply grabbing everything she sees.



It was love at first sight when Ingrid came across this assortment of sushi rolls. We bought a bunch of them to enjoy later...



... but Ingrid simply couldn't wait. She started eating them as we searched for our next purchase. I pointed out to her that other people weren't eating things in the store and that there were no tables, chairs or trash cans around probably because we weren't supposed to eat in there. She responded, "Who cares?! I'm hungry! And we're tourists!!" It was hilarious.



You're right, Ingrid... If we keep visiting the various B-levels for much longer, we may end up with "daikon ashi".



After filling up, we left the department store and wandered around the nearby shops. Of all things to bring back home, Ingrid bought socks.



I admit that Japanese people do some strange things, but something must be lost in translation here.



Still jetlagged, by this point, the day had taken its toll on us, so we decided to head back to the hotel to re-energize with a quick nap. Unfortunately, I got us on the wrong bus and before we knew it, we were completely lost. When I realized we were heading the wrong way, I once again broke out my elementary Nihongo and asked someone on the bus which direction the train station was. He pointed in the oppposite direction the bus was traveling, so I immediately rung the bell for the bus to stop. On the buses in Kyoto, passengers exit at the front of the bus where they insert a ticket (or money) into a slot to cover the fare. I inserted my all-day pass before exiting and thanked the bus driver, but Ingrid did something slightly different. Ingrid inserted a card, but not the all-day pass we had purchased. And clueless about using the wrong card, Ingrid just walked right off the bus without even paying. As I turned to make sure Ingrid got off the bus, I saw the bus driver look at her with utter disgust. As the bus drove away, I realized she used the wrong card. Another hilarious moment. Damn foreigners!



We eventually found our way back to the hotel and got some sleep. We figured we'd wake up later and go out for a nice dinner and enjoy the Kyoto nightlife, but unfortunately, we woke up at around 2:00 in the morning. And instead of a fancy dinner, we picked up some obento (a type of meal in a box) at this convenience store (similar to 7-11), with a bag of peanuts to boot, of course.



And, no night would be complete without making a brief stop at the Liquor Shop. Where were these things when I was a teenager?! Anyway, our first full day in Kyoto was a complete success and filled with tons of good times I'll never forget. We couldn't wait to see what the next day would bring.