From One Cold to Another

Shopping Opportunity

Its Lunch, must be soup

Bike Parking Lot

Sea Urchin

Appetizers 

Fish inside of Lemon

Kyoto Beef on top of Braiser

Good news the rain is gone! Bad news Cathy is getting my cold. Bummer. We decided to make the day a restful one. We slept later than usual, then after breakfast taxied to the Central District area. Scott and Tom rented bikes and rode along the riverbank to visit Temples.

Cathy and I went to our Temple: Takashimaya (the grandest department store in Kyoto). Department stores in Tokyo are NOT like department stores in the States. They are huge, crowded and high end. They also sell groceries, meats, baked goods, and prepared food. We use Takashimaya as a landmark. Many other interesting shops are in the same general area, it is easy to tell a taxi driver to take us to Takashimaya and then we can walk to wherever we really want to go. Most Japanese do NOT speak English. I have been using Google Translate on my iPhone and it works well.

We first went to Gallery Gallery but they were remodeling. We then went back to Takashimaya looking for gifts, but didn’t find anything appropriate. Cathy was beginning to feel the cold’s onset so we decided to take it easy. Have a cold? Have hot soba for lunch. The Japanese version of Jewish Chicken soup. We taxied back to the hotel after lunch. I decided to buy some Sudafed for us, and asked the concierge where there was a pharmacy. It was a hike away, but I decided to walk to it rather than taxi. At the store Google Translate saved the day. Sudafed isn’t sold in Japan, but they have products with a similar compound. All the labeling however was in Japanese and I had to explain that I wanted something with: pseudoephedrine specifically. Try communicating that by sign language, thank god for Google (or is Google god)?

I then decided rather than walking back to the hotel to take a bus, I asked the people how much was bus fair? They refused to tell me, and said it isn’t that far I should walk and not take the bus because it is healthier. Only in Japan would I be given lifestyle hints. On my walk I passed a bicycle parking lot; I have never seen one in the States. We relaxed and read before preparing for dinner.

We met Tom and Scott in the Bar for happy hour. Later we went to Giro Giro for dinner. Japanese apparently like double names. We sat at a sushi like counter where what I would describe as Hipster chefs created a delicious multi-course dinner. With lots of sake the price was under $ 50.00 per person. It was a real treat.

After returning to the hotel I realized I left my shoulder bag somewhere. I had my wallet and iPhone with me, but I did want my bag. I called the Bar at the hotel it wasn't there, the hotel then called Giro Giro and they had the bag. I jumped in taxi and made the roundtrip to recover my missing bag. I then read late finishing the book I was reading and set my alarm for 5:30am so I could walk to the nearby Temple for the Buddhist Fire Ceremony that starts at 6am daily.