The toilets are everything you could imagine and more. I even like the toilet paper holder. Powder coated steel with a shelf for your phone on top. I think the toilet in our room in Kyoto has most of the major features. The seat is heated, a fan goes on as soon as you sit down and there are multiple spray settings. You can adjust the pressure and the water is heated as soon as it comes out. This one also a speaker where you can play pleasing water sounds with volume control. We were a little confused by the sink in the top but that's where the bowl is refilled so you can wash your hands with the water before it enters. The best part is Kerry giggles every time she uses it.
We got up early today to walk to Ninenzaka which is about an hour away. We figured if we were going to do any walking, early morning was better. Our route took us through an area that was at the very least a club and bar district but included maid cafes so perhaps it was a bit of a red light district as well. This was the only place we saw garbage in the streets and it only included a few drink containers and cigarette butts. There was also a nice tourist throwing up in the edge of the sidewalk. Some of the clubs appeared to still be open. Having said all that Kyoto's sketchiest area was still cleaner than most streets I've been to in North America.
I'm not sure how old the Ninenzaka area is but it's located at the base of an area with many ancient temples and includes a mix of traditional homes and shops. The streets are paved with granite stones and although it is hilly it is still easy to walk up with well place steps and curbs. We got there quite early so we could get pictures before things got busy but as the day progressed things got busier as all the shops started to open. There was even a tiny Starbucks that didn't have it's traditional big green sign. We wouldn't even have noticed except that there was an early morning line up that seemed out of place.
Once we made it to the top of the street we got to an area that had a number of large temples. We've definitely maxed out our culture budget on this trip. Each area we've gone to charges a few dollars per person and there is at least one tourist trap expense inside that you can choose to do. This one had a number of 'lucky' trinkets as well as wooden boards that you could purchase, sign and leave. I'm assuming they sand them down and re use them. We didn't do any of that but we did remove our shoes and tour a shrine. The wood planks on the floor were very old and very well finished either with some sort of oil or just years of use.
I was about done with spending money on culture but the family wanted to check out the giant Buddha statue so I waited in the parking lot while they did a quick tour. I was then tricked into going inside with the promise of a bamboo garden which happened to be for the area next to this one. This Buddha statue was probably the most economical. No second level tourist trap and you got an incense stick plus it was also their tomb of the unknown soldier from the Pacific war. All for only $3.00 per person.
We finished this area with one more entry fee that got us into a park that wasn't quite as well maintained as it was not a temple and was previously owned by someone as a residence. They were in the process of restoring things though which makes the entry fee a bit easier to pay. It included some traditional homes as well as a walk through the bamboo forest we could see from the other area. I did take a picture that included what appears to be a Geisha which you aren't supposed to take pictures of without their permission, however this one was just a tourist. There are several places where you can rent the clothing for the day to get that true Japanese experience. Some people were even wearing the wooden platform shoes which are very loud. After the forest we did a quick walk to the Imperial Palace which was more of a public park and you couldn't actually enter it so we didn't get any good pictures. There was a nice air conditioned rest area which gave us a chance to cool down.
At this point we were about done with walking and caught the city bus to Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion which is covered in gold leaf. It's surrounded by a pond and bonsai styled trees and was one of the busiest areas we have been to. We didn't stay too long but we did go to an indoor area where they gave us a very nice biscuit and some green tea. This tea was a bit different because it was foamy which Carter and Callie seemed to think was because they powder up the green tea leaves and mix it rather than just steeping the tea in the leaves. It was very good and you had to sit on the floor which allowed me to figure out I've got to do some more stretching with my left hip.
After the Golden Pavilion we took a bus back towards our hotel. I was about done for the day but the trip dropped us off at the Nijo Castle which was the one that was closed the day before so we went on one last culture tour to bring our step count up to 30,000 steps. For some reason this was the most expensive location at $8 Canadian which in the grand scheme of things really isn't very bad. We're usually paying twice that per experience in American. It was mostly a walk through around old buildings and did include an elevated area where you could see Kyoto in all directions.
We had a quick break at our hotel before heading out to dinner. Our plan was to try one of the local restaurants. There are several that seat no more than a couple dozen people right near our hotel. We picked one that had a variety of food and they took us up a winding staircase. The food was excellent and the portions were perfect. I had fish and chips which was technically an appetizer. The food came quickly and the experience was nice because everyone is so quiet. This is a common theme where ever we go, from buses, trains, temples to the streets. Very different from every North American city I've been to.
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