Journey to the Thousand Year Capital

We departed Kanazawa after an early start and boarded a train bound for Kyoto, which served as the capital city of Japan for over one thousand years. On the way we saw more of the Japanese countryside, which is filled with rice paddies and tiled roofs, and passed through many mountains whose peaks were shrouded in mist. We arrived in Kyoto around noon, and decided to walk to our Airbnb which is about two miles from the main station.

On the way we passed the Amidado Gate of the Nishi Honganji Temple, which is one of two temple complexes in Kyoto of Pure Land Buddhism, and had lunch at a Ramen place. Here Nathaniel ordered an interesting dish consisting of a mound of rice on a hot plate, on which a raw egg served prior to the arrival of this dish was scrambled by the eater. Here a Japanese local from an adjacent table jumped over to correct Nathaniel's scrambling technique, which was not aggressive enough. We finished the day by settling into our Airbnb and buying groceries at a supermarket named Matsumoto Gojo.

-Theodore

 

Beer and cigarette vending machines in Kanazawa. 

An imposing statue near Kaga Onsen Station which we glimpsed from our train. 

 

Lake Biwa and rice paddies viewed from the train.

 

The Amidado Gate of Onissan (Dear Mr. West), the colloquial name given to Nishi Hongan-ji (Western Temple of the Original Vow).

 

Birds on a barrier to a park we passed on the way to the supermarket. 

 

Tiny squid in a bag, yum!

 

Settling in to our Airbnb, which actually has chairs and a sofa. We watched sumo wresting while eating some variety of rice crackers. The cloth worn by the sumo wrestler is thirty feet long and is never washed, as they believe this removes past experiences.