Going full tourist mode
Plus anime studio and gay bar
Top of Mind
It’s time for laundry. Which means we’re about halfway through Japan. Say it ain’t so! I’m not concerned though. Typically when I travel I like to get up and bounce around places, pinballing through places in a concentrated amount of time. And while we are definitely doing a lot each day, it’s also been nice to like, sleep in? We can be a little bit less intentional about our plans and just kinda figure it out as we go. We’ve ended up stress-wandering at some points lol – “we’re overwhelmed with choices and can’t make a decision!!!” – but fate takes over eventually and gives us steak (link here).
Also!!! I’m starting to get some major mileage out of the business cards I made for the trip. It’s been so fun to be able to exchange cards and share the enthusiasm.
10/3
We went to the outer edges of Kyoto today, resting our feet on the buses, trains and taxis. Ryan may have sprained his foot which is … bad! But we’ve been powering through.
We hit up a shrine in the morning - Fushimi Inari Taisha in the south and it was very likely the most touristy thing we’ve done all trip. And my god it was hot. We’re talking bumper to bumper standstills inside thousands of vermilion torii gates, a near exclusively uphill walk. I didn’t get the memo about the uphill part so I thought it would be a good day to flex my denim fades, and now I have sweaty jeans I have to deal with for the rest of the trip.
We made our way northwest, stopping at Toei Kyoto Studio Park along the way to visit Kyoto Evangelion Base, a gigantic mech unit from my favorite anime (I’ve only seen this one)* show. Atop the mech unit I made small talk with a pre-teen Japanese student and the conversation went a little something like this:
Kid: “Where are you from?”
Aidan: “New York”
Kid: “Ah. America.”
Kid: “I’m from Kyoto”
Aidan: “That’s cool.”
Aidan: “You like Shin Seiki Evangelion?” (aka Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Kid: “yeah”
Aidan: “me too.”
The park was overrun with Japanese students (and rightly so, this place was basically a giant playground) so we got the photo op and dipped.
You like bamboo? What if I told you we went to a place where there was so much bamboo. That place exists and it’s called the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. But reader beware: there are wild monkeys afoot! We didn’t see any (“thank god” we all say in unison).
I am a bit of a uniform person. Yes, I am mostly symmetrical (save for my ears) but I am actually referring to how I dress myself. No, not like a salad you silly, I mean clothes! A t-shirt and jeans, but they’re good versions of each. My favs. I say all this because we went to this t-shirt store where all the fabric is hand dyed from naturally made colors***. I’m talking shirts dyed from tree bark, pomegranate skin, insect gall**! And the shirts themselves, so soft! We were shown around by one of the owners, walking by the dying chamber in their shop as other employees were in the middle of a sesh. She took us to the back showroom and was very kind and social, teaching us how they dye, how long it takes, and the materials they use. An incredible experience. Oh and they offer re-dying services for when I torch these tees from extended wear.
We hit up the local Pokemon Center for our second collectable pin and I also purchased a Pokemon sleep tracker. It says I got 1 hour and 54 minutes of sleep last night!
We took another leap and went to the onsen at our hotel (!!! yeah!!!) and it was similarly empty, which was a great win for our confidence and may get easier with time from here. I know there are bathhouses in NYC, but not sure if it’s the same vibe.
It started raining into the evening so we sported our raincoats and headed to Pontocho for some sick night rain plus lanterns vibes.
What I ate
We’re branching out at 7-Eleven and trying new things. I had this custard filled brioche bun (banger) and this pancake sandwich filled with chestnut purée (mont blanc, also a banger).
At the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest we ate some sushi per a coworker’s recommendation**** and it did not disappoint. Fatty tuna and salmon, and unagi (the sleeper hit of the meal). As a bonus I got ham and cheese sushi out of sheer curiosity and it’s about what you’d expect.
In the night rain we hit up this jazz bar for a whiskey on the rocks and some martini glass drinks, peeled out from there and into a ma and pa takoyaki + beer spot, which slapped.
On this night I went to my first ever gay bar and that’s on personal growth. This particular bar is supposedly the oldest gay bar in Kyoto by means of 60 ish years. We spoke nearly exclusively through google translate about Lady Gaga and Madonna to the staff. I had a shot of this liquor with a snake inside, which I admittedly should have googled before drinking (a common sense thing to do), and thankfully was just a harmless venomous snake drowned or killed inside sake, negating the effects of the poison with the OTHER kind of poison that makes a drunken salary man soiled.
What’s next
Laundry mode, maybe some onsen time, and then a quick train to Osaka for the aquarium.
Appendix
*I’ve also seen plenty of Studio Ghibli films fwiw but we’re talking TV shows
** An insect gall is an abnormal growth or deformity of plant tissue, such as leaves, stems, or flowers, caused by the feeding or egg-laying of insects or mites
*** Tezomeya is its name!
**** We added every single recommendation to google maps so as we walk we can get some ideas on what’s good nearby