This is the first day that I am on my own. I felt ill prepared to navigate this country, but there is no better way to learn than to jump in with both feet! After my day yesterday we returned to Ryoko's flat and I crashed after having dinner. Not really from jet lag,because surprisingly I have had NONE whatsoever. Today I am heading to Kyoto and am learning to navigate everything on my own.
The bullet train:
In one word: amazing.When another train would pass the shockwave of air would slightly jolt the cabin and it made a sound like: Foom! shishishishishishishi foom! That has to be the coolest sound ever!
Kyoto:
About an hour from Nagoya, I chose this as my first destination because of the abundance of temples and other cultural aspects to explore, and because it was relatively simple to navigate to. But once I got there the subway station was a nightmare to figure out. None of the subway ticket machines were in English. So I was stuck there for a few hours trying to figure out which button got a ticket for wat train and finally just got some buns and found a waiting room to sit down in asI hadn't really eaten anything all day. Ryoko doesn't really eat breakfast and the kitchen is really small so the cooking capability is limited. After I was rejuvenated by mighty morphin' bean bun power, I reread myguide book and was remotivated to explore the city.This time I skipped the subway and headed for the Kyoto Tower. It is a large tower similar to Space Needed in Seattle. The views were great, you could almost see all the way to Osaka!
Food:
I had a mugwort bun filled with bean paste. It was pretty good but would have been even better with some coffee. I miss that food shop Iwas at yesterday! Mm, I have another regular bun filled with the same bean stuff. I ate half of it when I got home and it is much better than the mugwort bun.
For dinner Ihad raw liver, octopus balls, tempura pork and Japanese pumpkin in a sauce. A fermented vegetable sauce that was sweet and sour was used fr the temputa and a thicker version was used for te octopus balls.
Check out my other blog about world travel in Japan and Kyoto:
Ah come on give mugwort a fair try. It's good with a little lime juice and a nice piece of pie.
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