Kyoto, Japan

DAY 3

SITES: fushimi Inari (Orange Temple), Kyoto Station, Isetan, Funaoka Onsen

2018-08-11, 17:49, JASON

BUDGET, STAY: Ryokan

We're slowly getting the hang of the train system here. There's just the right amount of organization designed into the system. Tokyo Metro line into the Tokyo Rail line. Use our Japan Rail Pass here, don't use it there. Buying a ticket and knowing the amount and where it'll take you; whether this is an express or regular train, and which one to take. The information's all there, you just have to process it. Probably one of the most convenient and inconvenient infrastructures I've ever seen. Today morning, we find our way to Tokyo Station, and take a train to Kyoto.

One of the things that Taiwan is famous for is bento boxes on the train. This is directly an influence of the Japanese, who also sell small train bentos. As usual, a good variety of meats and veggies, packaged into a not-so-large portion. The design and everything, I just can't with the intricacy. I have to take a picture of everything.

Kyoto's vibe contrasts with Tokyo's. It used to be the old capital, so there are historical parts to the city. But, it feels like a smaller brother when compared to the more metropolitan Tokyo. There's an emptiness to it that I couldn't place. One of those feelings where not much is going on, but more traditional regarding Japanese culture when compared to Tokyo. We'd stayed in a Ryokan which was a traditional Japanese "sliding door" house, with a tatami room and a bathroom with a large wooden bathtub. You book a 30 minute slot and are free to fill the tub with water while you bath. Intimate. The owner was never there, just to check us in and then out. The surrounding neighborhood was all small ryokans and a local playground for schoolkids.

One famous site in Kyoto is Fushimi Inari, which is the "orange temple" that people post on Instagram. It's one long hike to the top, but well worth it. Plenty of detours along the way etched into the mountain, but we didn't have time and decided to head for the peak. The higher you go, too, the more likely it is to get a picture with no one in the background. This was not our main motive for doing it. Just an observation..

Looking back at the pictures, the peak didn't lend itself to a good angle of photography, so instead I am leaving you with some advice. Here's what you should wear to the temple:

Fushimi Inari exits onto a small tourist street with great food and some small snacks. Tucked away -- being "tucked away" seems to be a sign of quality in Japan -- at the end of the street is a small ramen shop where we decide to eat. Downstairs, there is a bar of 5 seats, and upstairs, about 3 tables. The owner is an old, cheery guy who speaks broken English but uses it fearlessly to chat with his customers. "Where are you from? Do you know how to eat the ramen? I've been making this ramen a long time." The food really is treated as an art form here. They spend a lot of their life getting one thing right. And when they do, they sell it to you for about $8.00 USD. Worth every penny.

In Tokyo, we went to a pick-and-mix small restaurant to try various Japanese dishes. In places that have higher food prices, we go to the supermarket to try to DIY our dinners. In Japan, instead of the supermarket, the department store culture is still alive, of which one of the most famous is Isetan. You walk in, everyone bows, and when they leave shift, even if no one is looking, they bow. One brilliant thing about Isetan (and presumably department stores in general here) is that their basements are the food level. And, everyday after 19:00 there'll be discounts for their leftover products. Jackpot. Thorin and I do a loop around looking for a good deal. They resemble the bento boxes on the trains but one dish here will be different, and one side dish there. You can also mix-and-match. We take our gatherings outdoors and sit on the steps of Kyoto Station, where the Christmas decorations come on in full force. It's chilly outside, but we happily eat our discounted bentos.

At night, we go to one of the oldest traditional sentos in Kyoto - Funaoka Onsen. We take a bus there, and by 20:00 most of the street was quiet. The bus driver drawls out an "arigato" everytime a passenger leaves the train (think of The Grudge voice, but him saying arigato); eerie. We walk into an unassuming, dimly lit street, and come upon an old house where the sento is. We pay the 5 USD to the machine, take off our shoes, and enter the changing room. Since it's our first time it's a bit awkward, but we go with it, eyeing what other Japanese men do without seeming creepy. A headmistress is overseeing the room, making sure rules are followed. Once we're in the bath, there's several pools to choose from: the traditional hot bath, the cold bath, and a lukewarm bath. There's also an electrified pool I decide to try. The sensation is strange, unfamiliar, but perhaps relaxing? Imagine your muscles clenching everytime the pulse runs through, or it suddenly cramping. There must be some sense to that uncomfortability, and leave it to the Japanese to figure it out, but I can't stand it for more than 10 seconds. I go back to the comfort of the warm bath.

We get out, and decide to walk about 5 km back to our place. It's dead this time of night, with some people biking home; what seem like university students. After the bath, our bodies are so relaxed that 5km seems to go by in a blink, and we're back in the ryokan. A silent night again in this neighborhood. A fruitful but tiring day.