Kyoto (day 2)
Today was a gray and drizzly day. We split off from Brad and George again (more baby break) and went to the Gion Corner theater, where the geisha were performing a special cherry blossom dance. We bought 2nd class tickets, which gives you entrance to the highest balcony, where you sit (with shoes off) in a little tatami mat lined terrace. Riley slept through the first 10 minutes or so of the performance, but then the music woke her up. She amazingly sat and watched the next half hour or so, seemingly transfixed. She loved the scene changes (it was an old wood stage with scenery that slides in from the sides or comes up from the floor) and pointed excitedly whenever another Geisha came on the stage. It was a very colorful performance. She did eventually get bored, but then just played quietly next to us while we watched. Everyone in the 2nd class seats was taking pictures and talking quietly, so they didn’t seem to mind the occasional baby noise.
Riley pointing at the cherry blossoms
After the show, we went to get lunch in the Gion area around where all the fancy teahouses are. We love eating in places where you sit on the floor on tatami mats because then Riley can roam around and the table is the perfect height for her and she doesn’t get bored. At lunch she decided she likes rice again, but only if we feed it to her (she went on a rice strike after getting frustrated with how sticky it is – she really hates having stuff stuck on her hands).
I can’t get over how cute her little shoes look next to ours…
After lunch, it was raining. Riley had her jacket and hat and didn’t seem bothered so we pushed on. First priority was a baby wipes mission, since we were running low. I figured out how to ask for wipes using the phrase book (oshirifuki wa arimaska?), but struck out at the first few places. Finally, we went to a supermakrket and asked. They didn’t have any, but the woman decided to take on our mission as well. So she ran around with us in the rain looking for a store to sell us baby wipes (despite our constant protesting that she didn’t have to), and finally we came up successful. So incredibly nice. If you stand on a corner looking at a map with a confused look on your face, someone will just come up to you and ask, “Can I help you?” Japanese people must think we are so rude when they visit the US… I can’t imagine anyone ever just volunteering to help a tourist without being asked. Maybe now I’ll start…
Anyway, we then went to Kawai Kanjiro’s house (partly to get out of the rain for a bit) which has been turned into a museum – he’s a famous potter and a bunch of his stuff was on display, pretty cool. Also just nice to see the inside of a traditional Japanese house.
We then walked up a hill through a cemetery, catching some smaller shrines and temples along the way…
Our last stop was the Kiyomizu temple, which the signs say is a candidate for the new 7 wonders of the world. It was pretty amazing. The view was even spectacular, despite the rain and clouds.
We wandered down the cute little streets filled with people (and umbrellas) and souvenir shops and amazingly found the little Riyokan we were staying at that night (Tamahan Yokichi), which is not very clearly marked and on a tiny alleyway. There we met up with Brad and George, and were served a tea ceremony (funny frothy green tea that is very grainy) with a yummy biscuit in our room. This place is a kind of fancy traditional Japanese inn. You leave your shoes at the door, and we had our own little suite with a bathroom complete with a steaming hot bath and little sitting area and tatami mat room where we ate and slept. Our dinner that night was incredible. Many many courses of deliciousness served very quickly.
After dinner, Riley fell right to sleep, and Sage and I took a quick dip in the hot (i mean really hot, you have to sit very still) bath then slipped into bed exhausted.
More pictures of day 2 in Kyoto here.