To Another Adventure at The Pond's Edge: Kyoto, June 26th, Day One of Three

At about 4:15am Zeb and I sleepily woke-up gathered our things and headed to the train station. We were an hour early for our train, but I figure it's better than being an hour late.

Our trip to Kyoto included a ride on the JR Tokaido Shinkansen which reaches speeds of each speeds of 270 km/h and gets you from Toyko to Kyoto in about 160 minutes. It's pretty neat for the first little while, and then the train was so comfy that it put me to sleep. Luckily the hotel was very close to the train station, so we didn't have to carry our bags very far after the trip and we were close to the easy to use bus transportation in the city!

Shinkansen Train

Kyoto Tower by the train station

On the first day in Kyoto we saw the beautiful Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion). Where we also took pictures with a Korean woman wearing a kimono (she had also studied for a year at UC Davis; she said it was "Beautiful, but very boring.") Too funny!

A cloudy day at the Golden Pavilion (I loved the reflection in the water)

Zeb and I at the Golden Pavilion

Me at the Golden Pavilion

Beautiful kimono

For lunch we walked down the road and found ourselves at a noodle place that didn't look like it had been renovated since maybe the 50's. Inside were little tables that had little Teppanyaki type grills, each were very seasoned and had their own set of tools. The little old Japanese lady that came to serve us couldn't figure out what we wanted, but decided that it probably wasn't a good idea for us to be cook on our own, even though she was ready with her lighter to start up the grill. The food was interesting to say the least. I'm glad that Zeb was a big fan, because he ended up finishing my noodles for me. I liked the miso soup and the rice, but the rest was just too sweet/tangy for my taste. It was funny to watch Japanese daytime television on the TV over the bar, and although I couldn't figure out what the show was about completely I did understand that the couple won a holiday trip to some tropical place! Oooo ahhh! As a thank you I gave the lady a little paper crane I had received earlier on my trip... it was a "presento". We paid the woman as well... don't worry. I know you were a bit worried there for a second. I swear I'm not a completely crazy American!

She's making lunch for Zeb and me

What a meal! (I'm not too fond of the after taste of the noodles though)

Where we ate lunch

After becoming slightly lost on the bus we finally made our way to the gardens around the imperial place. They were nothing particularly amazing, but the information at their conservation center was interesting and the park was nice. Zeb and I had some fun seeing how high we could make the water from a drinking fountain go. Sometimes it's good to act like a little kid... even if you do end up with a few scraps and bruises. I'll have to watch out for the short concrete blocks next time.

I believe we got lost on the bus once more before we made our way back to the hotel.

After we checked into the hotel we relaxed and got settled before asking the concierge where we could find some sushi. We chose the place closer to the hotel. There was a bit of wait to be seated, but it was worth it. There were a lot of things that were either too expensive or looked too weird for me to eat, like the little tiny fish (like 30 of them) wrapped in a bite-size piece of seaweed.

How the plates were priced

Zeb eating sushi

Octopus on the sushi train

I can't believe I'm about to eat this

After dinner we went to the grocery store to find drinks and deserts. Japanese put a whole new meaning to playing with your food... and there were tons of amazing cookwares. I wish I had taken a picture of the hot dog cutters that turn hot dogs into funny shapes... like the shape of a crab... hahaha... enjoy these shopping pictures!