Monday, April 21, 2008

Halfway Through

Today is the exact halfway point through my seven month gap year trip to Japan.

During the last three months and two weeks I have had so many new experiences and felt so many different emotions.

I have had made more progress with my Japanese in this time than I have in the last five years.

I have developed more confidence than I've ever had before, in speaking with new people, sometimes in a foreign language, and just within myself.

I've met some amazing people, and made friends that I intend to keep for life.

I've had a birthday! Turning 19 in Tokyo, seeing my family and friends, was something I could never have imagined, and yet it happened!

Time has twisted itself into the strangest of forms. It's sped up to a sprint and slowed down to a crawl at different points. One thing I guess is that, when I come to look back at my trip to Japan, it will have gone by in a flash. I'll wonder where all that time went, and how I managed to fit so many things into a couple of seconds.

But the biggest thing about the last few months has been the changes I've noticed in myself. For one thing, the sudden switch from introvert to extrovert was startling, and the boost in confidence, seemingly from nowhere, was a shock! I've started learning about myself, what my goals in life are, and how my mind seems to work.

I don't feel I can do the trip so far justice with words only so I won't try.

But if there's one thing that you take away from reading this blog, then let it be this:

"If you ever have an opportunity to explore a new world, a new experience, or a new emotion; take it. And don't regret it. A colourful life is only worth living if you include your favourite colour. Find it!"

Monday, April 14, 2008

Answers to David's Questions

As you probably know by now, one of the main reasons for me keeping this blog is to help other people do similar things to me, and to reassure them that it's not impossible!

I welcome any questions or thoughts you have that I may not have answered fully or just plain missed! Some more came through last week, so I will try to answer them as best I can!

1. Since I'm not living in England or another country that has a Working Holiday visa arrangement with Japan at this moment, I'm up the creek as far as getting a Working Holiday Visa is concerned. I know that you don't get issued a Work Visa unless you have proof that you have work, but schools (like Gaba, which I'm actually going to try and get a job with, thanks to you!) generally don't hire you on a tourist visa (which is the only way you can stay in Japan for an extended time (if you're not eligible for the Working Holiday visa) to look for work). It's a little confusing! Any advice?

This is a very difficult question! One of the main reasons it's taken me so long to post a reply! As far as I'm aware, Gaba cannot sponsor people for Work Visas now, but they do not accept job applications from people on a Tourist Visa. I checked this again, and I was wrong, Gaba can sponsor you from abroad, but it's not as flexible as non-sponsored as you need to work a certain amount of lessons every month. I think it's at least 150 lessons per month. Other eikaiwa (English conversation schools) can sponsor you for a Work Visa too and you can work with them for a year, or extend it for up to 3 years. Some appropriate schools I can think of are Geos, ECC and Aeon (not Nova now!). To my knowledge, these schools can sponsor full Work Visas. There's more information in my post on Working Holiday Visas. If you find any information to the contrary, please tell me and I will change this post immediately, but that's all I know right now. Sorry I can't be of more use!

2. What kinds of things do you teach in your lessons? And how do you teach them? Do you introduce concepts in English, then elaborate on them in Japanese? That's something that has intrigued me a bit!

In Gaba lessons, I teach from the textbooks, working through prescribed lessons and answering any questions that the student has. It's pretty self-explanatory, and sometimes the students would just prefer to chat to you and talk about things. They're the best type of lesson. With private students, I find current affairs and news topics work really well as a base for the lesson, and then let the flow of the conversation take you somewhere else, all the while correcting grammatical or pronunciation mistakes.

I never elaborate on things in Japanese (I wish my language ability was that good!), as Gaba prefers only English to be spoken. However, if I know a word in Japanese and can't describe it in English then I will just directly translate it, or write it in Japanese. Katakana (the phonetic alphabet used for foreign loan words) is extremely useful if a student is having difficulty remembering the pronunciation of a word too.

3. I'm well aware that foreigners get a lot of curious looks, but have you experienced any blatant racism? Or have you seen it? I would imagine not, but I'd also like to know for sure!

Personally, I have never seen or experienced racism (that I know of!) but there is discrimination towards Westerners in terms of finding apartments (landlords don't want the hassle of dealing with non-Japanese) and maybe being refused work because you don't look 'foreign' i.e. blonde hair and blue eyes. I have heard a couple of stories of non-violent moderate prejudice towards Chinese people here, but nothing major.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Birthday Karaoke

I had an amazing time on Wednesday night.

I was a bit nervous before I even left, so I had a beer and a glass of wine to calm me down. I didn't have any dinner, which was a big mistake!

My housemates came home at about 18.30 and we left for the Big Echo karaoke place in Ningyocho, about ten or fifteen minutes walk away.

One of my housemates, Dong, had come with me the previous night to see what it was like. His Japanese is excellent so he did the talking. He bought a Members Card (for Y500), which reduced the price by about Y100 per person per 30 minutes.

There were only a few of us going, so we didn't rent a Party Room or anything, but decided to reserve a room and then pay per person, which worked very well.

When we got there, we were shown to our room, and we asked how to use the equipment, which was all in Japanese, but it was very simple.

There were five of us at the beginning, but Kyoko, who helped me buy my Softbank phone in February, arrived later.

Once we were settled, and food and drink had been ordered, Dong produced a cake which he had had specially made at a expensive store called Mitsukoshi with my name on it!! He had also asked for candles and matches, and everyone sang Happy Birthday to me.

I was so incredibly touched by everyone's kindness, especially Dong's, who made such an effort, and went completely out of his way to make that day special for me. And it really was. I thanked him over and over, but somehow the words 'Thank you' don't express all the gratitude I actually feel. They wouldn't even let me pay my share, so I had three hours of free karaoke, food, drink and fun!

I, annoyingly, forgot my camera, so I don't have any photos or videos. But that's probably a blessing in disguise as you probably wouldn't want to see, or hear for that matter, me singing!

The range of songs to choose from was crazy! They had Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese songs there, and a really good selection too, not just Madonna and The Beatles.

If you're interested, these are the songs I sang:

Beyonce - Beautiful Liar, Deja Vu, Crazy in Love, Irreplaceable (okay, I admit it, I do like Beyonce)
Linkin Park - Numb
Madonna - Sorry
Evanescence - Bring Me To Life
Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On (Titanic) - that was really hard on my throat but everyone cheered afterwards!
Shakira - Hips Don't Lie and some song with lots of Spanish rapping I'd never ever heard before but I gave it a go
Some Japanese songs - again, had no clue that they existed but read the characters on the screen and guessed the tune

With the songs I'd never heard before, I was surprised at how undisastrous they were. Especially the Japanese ones with no English subtitles. When I said that I'd never heard the song before, everyone was really shocked, which I was pleased about!

I asked what my singing was like, because I had no idea as I was singing. People said that I had a nice, powerful voice, but they had to be nice to me as it was my birthday!

The evening was really really amazing. I loved it. It was so fun! Who would have thought that making a fool of yourself could be so great!

I have done karaoke twice in my entire life, both times in the last 10 days in Japan, but I am very keen to go again. I have become a karaoke fan!

Once again, I just want to thank everyone who made that day special, and everyone who supports me here, whether it's from the room next to mine, or from the other side of the world, I want you all to know that I am so grateful, and English doesn't have the words to describe it! Maybe Japanese does...

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

My Birthday

Today I reached the grand old age of 19. It already feels like my birthday has been and gone because of my amazing official birthday when my family were here last week.

But this is the actual day and it feels like a milestone.

I've realised that in no way do I feel 18, or even 19 for that matter. Within myself, I still think of myself as a child, but in how I present myself to others I feel very adult.

The more I think about how people's perspectives must change when they discover that I'm 18 (I've avoided telling any students my real age as I don't think it will do me any favours!), the more I'm inclined to keep it to myself.

There are a lot of negative age-related stereotypes, but I don't feel like I fit into any of them. And other people have told me exactly the same. I ask them to guess my age and I've heard everything from 20-25.

Perhaps it's true that people aren't allowed to have a childhood anymore. Children the world over are forced into studying extremely hard for exam after exam, pressured by everything around them, coerced into achieving their very best, and more.

Last night I was prematurely thinking about my life's achievements so far.
With any luck, the novel I wrote with my youngest brother will be sent to publishers in the UK later this month or next month, and we'll see what people think of it later this year. I've started writing the second in the series now.
I'm not making as much progress with Japanese as I would have hoped, but I use my spare time to study kanji and grammar, working from my Random House Living House Japanese course and with any hope I'll improve over the four months I have left here.
I got into the University and the course I was praying for, and I'm really looking forward to it as I think it will be perfect for me.
Maybe because the last five years have been geared towards getting me to Japan, now I'm nearly halfway through the trip, I'm wondering what my motivation will be when I get home. Succeeding in University isn't enough for me, so maybe I'll focus on my writing too.

Sorry, now I'm just thinking "out loud"!

Wow. That was a little negative for a birthday!! But, don't worry, I'm not feeling negative at all, just philosophical. I feel old! And also very young! Hmmm... Mid-life crisis already? Doesn't bode well for life past 40 does it?!

Earlier the housemate who moved out two weeks ago came back for a visit, and gave me a present! It was a Japanese version of the 'Golden Compass', and if you haven't read the original Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman then you absolutely must! I'm really looking forward to giving the Japanese copy a go.

It was great to see him again, and tonight some friends and I are going to go to Karaoke up the road at the Big Echo (Japanese link only, sorry) in Ningyocho.

It will be lots of fun to give karaoke another go. And it's exactly a week since I did it for the first time in my life in Kyoto! Very fitting I think!

I'm about to have a beer (sshh, don't tell anybody), and read a book for a little while before housemates arrive, and then we'll gather ourselves, and leave for a bit of singing action! Know any good vocal exercises?

Family Visit: Farewell at Narita

This was it.

We all knew it had been coming. It was just that none of us wanted it to come.

In a sort of daze, knowing that soon we'd be thousands of miles away from each other again, we made our way to the airport.

The check-in went with no problems, but the flight was delayed by half an hour. Of course, none of us cared about the delay, it was extra time together.

I found it very hard to eat my breakfast, but I had some, and enjoyed being able to see my family in the flesh for the last time in four months.

We looked back at the holiday, thinking about the blur of sights, emotions and experiences. It couldn't have been better timed. The weather for the most part was beautiful, and the cherry blossoms were out in full bloom in both Tokyo and Kyoto for the entire time. We saw all the parts of Japan that we wanted to, and most of all, saw each other.

We departed at the gate when we couldn't hold on any longer.

There was no way to keep my emotions inside me, so of course it was a tearful goodbye.

I waved until they were through the gate, and then followed them on the other side of the window up to the escalators down towards the departure gates. I waved for as long as I could, and then they were gone.


I took the JR Sobu line back to Kinshicho station, and then transferred to my subway line. I somehow lost my ticket on the way, but I just explained at the gate what had happened. The guard asked me how much I paid for it, and that was proof enough.

I went back home, seeing the places I visited with my family, like the coffee shop over the road. It was like a film or something, with blurry flashbacks to past memories.

Once I was back in my room, I started to sort through the presents and cards they brought me for my birthday, but I just couldn't do it.

I couldn't do it then. It was too hard.

Thankfully one of my housemates, Dong, suggested that we go to Ueno because he needed to go shopping. I was very grateful as I needed something to take my mind off the goodbye.

How amazing to see them, to be able to show them my life, have the opportunity to introduce them to all these new things.

Unforgettable. Truly unforgettable.

And that was it.

The end of the fastest eight days of my life. And the end of eight of the most wonderful...

Family Visit: Nishiki Market & Return to Tokyo

On the morning of our last day in Kyoto, and last full day in Japan, we wanted to do something during the day, before catching the 17.02 Shinkansen back to Tokyo. I would have loved to see Kiyomizu-dera or Fushimi Jingu, but unfortunately we didn't have time. I hope to return to Kyoto to see the sights I missed.

Instead, we went somewhere someone had recommended to me at Gaba. It was Nishiki Market, about 30 minutes walk from Kyoto station.

It was another bright, warm day, but there was a cloud hanging over my mind. I couldn't push the sadness out of my head, I knew that this time tomorrow I would be on my own again.

We stopped at a couple of nice sights on the way, and my mum took a photo with a Glamour magazine in front of a nice temple, so she could enter the 'Around the World Photos' competition. We had lunch in a small restaurant and then headed into the market.

It was full of everything you could want to buy. There was clothing, jewellery, and most of all, food! There was such a wide variety of strange foodstuffs, and the smells ranged from enticing to frightening.

The market stretched on for several buildings, all in one long straight line.


My brother and I met a devil holding cherry blossom!

The fruit is as huge here as it is in Tokyo! All those chemicals... We bought an apple and cut slices off it - it actually fed five of us!


After the market, we realised we didn't have time to walk all the way back to Kyoto Station, so we went to our nearest station after buying a bit more food to keep us going.

We got on an Express train and wanted to go two stops, then walk to Kyoto Station. But we didn't realise that the express train skipped the first stop, and then made our stop the first one. I was standing there reading the station name in kanji, when I suddenly thought, hold on, didn't we want this one? By the time I'd worked it out, the doors had closed and the train was on its merry way again. I exlained what must have happened, and we said we'd get off at the next station. But no so luck! The express train missed the next five stops before giving us a chance to turn back.

So the last part of our day was a little rushed! We got back to the hotel to collect our bags and everything on time though, and then got to the station to catch our train.

We settled into our seats, as you can see on this photo on my Dad's Flickr page.

And then we were off again, leaving Kyoto behind us. It really was amazing. It was such a pretty place, and so different to Tokyo. I think it's definitely a must for any visit to Japan.

The following are videos showing the view from the train. Sorry about the occassional reflection of my camera or my face!

You can also see the shots of Mt. Fuji taken from the train window.





By the time we got back to Yokohama and Tokyo, it was dark, and there were good opportunities to see the city all lit up!




The train journey back wasn't nearly long enough. I tried to speak to all of my family, saying the things I'd made mental notes to mention. The whole time I was being struck with waves of sadness and foreboding as the goodbye came closer.

We pulled into Tokyo station and collected our bags. It wasn't such a rush to get off the train this time as Tokyo was the terminal.

On the way to take my family to their platform, I realised that I couldn't bear to leave them here, even if I did intend to get up early and wave them off at the airport. It just wasn't enough time with them. I knew I'd regret it if I went back to my guesthouse and didn't spend one last night with them.

We discussed it and decided that we'd make it work. The relief that flooded through me was immense, my mind was completely full of thoughts of staying with them. Nothing else mattered.

Because the way I got to Narita Airport to collect my family was so long and arduous, we decided to take the JR Sobu line from Tokyo station straight through to Narita Airport. Unfortunately we didn't know you had to reserve the N'EX Narita Express train, so we took a normal train.

This wasn't the easiest thing in the world! The Express train that pulled in was very crowded already, so we dragged all our luggage in, and the train slowly filled up with more and more people heading out from work to the suburbs in Chiba Prefecture to the East.

The train journey was very uncomfortable, until the train started hitting the major suburban stations, like Funabashi and Chiba. Then the flow of people started to ease off and we could sit down and relax.

By the time we reached Narita Airport, there were only a few people left on the train.

I was with my family!

We entered the airport, all having flashbacks of when I met them a week earlier. The hotel was nearby, but all the taxis were long-distance. One driver spoke English and told us that there was a free shuttle bus going to our hotel. We arrived at the right bus stop and it was waiting there. We clambered aboard and were off! It was surprisingly simple.

The hotel was very nice, despite being only 3*, it had the feeling of a 4 or 5*. We went up to the rooms and ordered some food, watching Japanese TV. It was so nice to still be there with them. It was like an extension of the holiday.

We went to bed late, at gone midnight, and then slept well, because we needed to be up early for their flight.

What a mad rush of emotions. I was confused, happy, and sad all at the same time. Was any of it actually happening?

One thing was certain, we'd be saying goodbye again very soon.

Family Visit: The Temples & Karaoke of Kyoto

On our second day in Kyoto we wanted to see the places we'd seen photos of in guidebooks, on the internet and just generally thought would be nice sights.

This is the view of Kyoto station and the city from our hotel room. The great thing about Kyoto is that you can look in any direction and see hills and mountains, whereas in Tokyo you look in any direction and see grey buildings!



After a late start where we lazed in the hotel, we left to get the bus for Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavillion). There are loads of bus stops outside Kyoto station, and it took us a while to find the right one, but we asked an attendant and he was very helpful.

We bought 5 tickets for a reduced price from a ticket machine near the stop. The buses were set-fare so you can pay Y220 (I think) and go as far as the bus goes. When the bus arrived, we got on at the back door, and it took about 30 minutes to get to Kinkakuji. The exit was at the front of the bus, and you put your ticket into the machine by the driver.

We went into the temple grounds, a short walk from the bus stop. On the way, we stopped at a convenience store to buy lunch, and we sat outside a shrine in the warm sun. It was about 19C and the sky was very bright. It was lovely. My youngest brother got lots of stares from Japanese girls, which of course he loved.

The entrance fee for Kinkakuji wasn't expensive at all, and we got beautiful tickets with kanji on them.

Now, I don't often conform to the gaijin stereotype, but when I saw the temple appear through the trees I couldn't help pointing and calling out 'There it is!' Afterwards I thought, 'Did I really just point and shout?' but never mind, it was amazing to see it.


One of the bonuses of travelling with other people is that they can take photos of you!



The most surprising thing about Kyoto was how uncrowded the major sights were. I don't know if we were just lucky, but everywhere we went it wasn't swarming with people, even though the sakura were in full bloom, and the weather was wonderful. The only thing I can think of is that it was because we were there during the week, not the busier weekends.

The path took us round the lake, behind the temple, and past other smaller temples and into the hills behind.




After Kinkakuji, we took two taxis (big taxis for more than four passengers don't seem to exist) to Ginkakuji (the Silver Pavillion). We knew it would be closed as it was 5pm but we had other plans.
Ginkakuji lies at the north end of the Philosopher's Walk (Tetsugaku no Michi). I don't know how famous this is out of Japan, but I've wanted to visit here for a long time.
The walk follows a cherry-tree lined canal south from Ginkakuji to Nanzenji, and lasts about one kilometre. It was really beautiful, and I think it's something that you shouldn't miss if you do go to Kyoto.




The different houses and areas near the walk were worth exploring too.







Once we reached the end of the walk, we took a bus into Gion. Gion is Kyoto's traditional entertainment district. It's where a lot of Memoirs of a Geisha was set.
This is the central shrine in Gion, Yasaka Shrine.

We wandered through Gion, and looked for somewhere to eat dinner. We stumbled upon an area overflowing with blossom.











It was near here that I turned to ask my dad a question on the road, and came face-to-face with a real geisha. It was so strange that my breath was actually taken away, and I completely forgot what I was about to say.
There was something incredibly elegant and beautiful about the way she moved on her high wooden shoes, wearing a flowing colourful kimono, with a white face and shocking red lips. She even had the exotic stripes of bare skin on the back of her neck.
She was moving so quickly that there wasn't time to get my camera out or anything, so you'll have to make do with imagination, I'm afraid. That was the only geisha I saw on the trip, but I'm just glad that I could see one.

Just for some juxtaposition, we found a pachinko parlour in the evening, and went in just to see what the pinball machine-style arcade was like. The noise, as you might be able to tell from this video, was industrial-level and we couldn't stay in there for long.



On the way home we stopped at a convenience store to buy some things for breakfast the next day (the breakfast at the hotel was ridiculously expensive) and there were about ten members of staff all calling out 'Irasshaimaseee. Konbanwaaa!' whenever anyone entered, and 'Arigatou gozaimaaaasu' whenever someone left the shop. The noise was crazy!



We went back to the hotel by bus (buses seem to be more convenient than trains in Kyoto as they go everywhere, like the subway in Tokyo).
My mum was very tired, so she went back to the hotel to go to sleep. But the rest of us were still a little hungry, so we went searching for something to eat. We really fancied teriyaki (skewered meat) so we searched for a nice looking place and found a great little restaurant near the station, which served a wide variety of dishes. We kept ordering more and more and had a great time trying out different types of Japanese food.
Then we decided to try our hand at karaoke! As you can't go to Japan, and not experience real Japanese karaoke!
We found a small bar, which had about 4 people inside, and watched them sing for a bit while we poured over the massive volumes of songs that we could choose. The variety of English songs was incredible. There was just so much!
It took me a while to drink enough beer until I felt ready, 2 bottles was enough though, as I was keen to have the experience. The first song I sang was Smile by Lily Allen, and then Irreplaceable by Beyonce. I was very nervous as I was singing in front of people, but I really enjoyed it. I didn't get into the flow of it like I did on my birthday the following week but everyone was really supportive and it was a very fun atmosphere.
We all had a go and had a great time. The owner of the place even did a duet of Hey Jude by the Beatles with my Dad! She was very nice, and said my Japanese was "subarashii" (excellent). My brother thought she was scary but I just thought she was a friendly Japanese woman.
After my first experience of karaoke ever (and it was in Japan!!), we headed back to the hotel. It was gone midnight and we were very tired, but it was a great end to a great day.
This video shows our hotel room, and Kyoto by night.



It was a wonderful day, but throughout the sightseeing, singing, and enjoying seeing my family, I kept getting struck by waves of sadness that soon they'd be going home, and I tried to push those feelings away, as I knew we still had two days, but it was very hard. I loved spending time with them, in a country that I had come to love.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Family Visit: To Kyoto & The Singing Castle

It was an early start of 7.30 on Tuesday. Well, 7.30 for me, my family had to be up earlier to pack their bags and check out of their hotel.

We met at 8.00 at Suitengumae station to take the Hanzoumon line to Tokyo station. They had to take all their luggage they brought with them so we all struggled up and down the escalators with the huge suitcases.

We went to Otemachi station and followed the twisting passages (and lots of escalators and stairs!) to JR Tokyo station.

I had previously reserved the Shinkansen tickets so we were all booked in for the 9.10 Nozomi 700 (the newest to date) to Kyoto.

We found our platform (number 14) without too much trouble and had nearly half an hour to spare.

Once we were there, all present and correct, I could relax and get excited about going to Kyoto. A few minutes later, the Shinkansen made its sleek entrance.



The Shinkansen are very modern and clean. They look like aeroplanes inside, and have infinitely more leg room, even by long-legged Western standards. There is room for luggage at the back of each carriage (there are usually 17 cars!!) and in the racks above the seats.

Usually carriages 1-3 or 5 are for unreserved passengers. I had a peek inside and was surprised to see that everyone had a seat! Maybe it's not so bad to not reserve, but I bet there's a rush to sit down as soon as the doors open.

Announcements were in Japanese and English (would you expect anything less?) and top news stories (in Japanese only) scrolled along the screen at the front of each carriage.

There was a trolley service with food and drink, and my brother kept asking me what "Anything from the trolley, dears?" was in Japanese.

The train was incredibly smooth but my mum and youngest brother felt a bit motion sick from the way the train seemed to bob up and down on the tracks as it sped across the landscape.

And speed it did. Before we knew it we had passed Nagoya (Japan's not-very-famous fourth largest city) and were well on our way to Kyoto.

Halfway through, a man entered and bowed deeply and then said something very quietly and quickly, before checking everyone's tickets.

The journey took 2 hours and 18 minutes in total, and arrived within the minute it was scheduled to. Apparently the average is that they get to their destination within 6 seconds of when they're supposed to. Wow.

We got our stuff ready before we pulled into Kyoto station because it didn't seem to wait for very long at each stop.

The machine swallowed our tickets as if they were ordinary train tickets as we walked into Kyoto station's famous high-roofed central hall. It was quite chilly in there but I've heard it's a lovely refuge from Japan's infamous heat and humidity in the summer months.


Because we booked quite late, all the traditional ryokan we would have liked to stay in, with tatami mat flooring and futons etc. were full. This meant my parents had to shell out for a 4-star hotel attached to Kyoto station itself, the Granvia.

It was very nice, but obviously very expensive! I'm so grateful as I'd never be able to stay there out of my own pocket.

We checked in and left our baggage with them, not being able to get into the rooms for a few hours. So we got straight on with touristing, by taking the subway (it's virtually the same as Tokyo's) to Nijo-jo mae station, to see Nijo Castle.

It may look like other similar places in Japan, but the difference is that the floors inside the castle as you walk through them squeak and sing like birds. It was designed to do this as a warning in case any intruders tried to break into the castle.

Sometimes it just sounded like creaky floorboards, but occassionally I would put my foot down and be met with a twittering just like dawnbreak. It was very different to other places I'd been to.

We were inundated by school-children visiting at one point. I actually thought Kyoto would be heaving with tourists, as it was cherry-blossom viewing season, but the weather was lovely (19C on one day) and it wasn't crowded at all. We were so lucky!
There were pretty gardens attached to the castle grounds.




After the castle, we took the subway back to Kyoto station, and wandered round the area, until we found a nice looking place for dinner.
The restaurant we chose had salt outside the door, I assume to ward off evil spirits.

This was the passageway leading up to the door. It was very atmospheric.

We were given the choice of a table, or a tatami room to ourselves, so of course we took the mat room.
Everyone's legs hurt by the end of the meal, but we had the proper Japanese experience of taking our shoes off, and going through the sliding doors and sitting on tatami, eating at a low table. Plus the food was delicious.

After that, we went for another wander round the area, and my brother Dominic hugged a random bear outside a hair salon.

Near the station is Kyoto Tower. It's not as impressive as Tokyo Tower, but it's a good landmark, as you can see it from most areas nearby.

We went back to the hotel and settled down for bed. The beds were lovely and soft, the type that you sink into and can just lie there feeling comfortable. Great!