Day 5 - Kyoto

This morning we by-passed the Japanese breakfast and had coffee and snacks at the Pizza Cafe in the Kyoto railway station again. Rather than just explore by ourselves, Frances organised through the tourist information centre for us to be taken on a free guided tour with a student. Students volunteer to do this as a way of improving their English and also to interact with people from other countries. We met Ryutaro at the information centre and we began our guided tour of Kyoto. He was very friendly, with a good sense of humour, and spoke quite good English. Ryutaro pointed out some of the historic and cultural aspects of Kyoto, one of which being the many small shrines that dotted the roadways, often in the most unlikely places.

Nishiki Food Market

A mushroom shop

Pickled vegetables

Next we went to the Nishiki Food Market & Teramachi area, which had a bewildering array of Japanese foods. Visits to local markets are always eye-opening as it's here that you see foods that never seem to make it out of the country, being either to specific to the region, or too strange for foreign palates. For us, the range of fish & seafood, very expensive mushrooms (the shape as well as size determines the price) and pickled vegetables were the most interesting.

A modern ceramic Tanuki,
with big tummy, staff,
giant scrotum, straw hat,
sake flask, and promissory note.

Design student display and workshop

We also saw our first Tanuki statue. The Tanuki is a magical raccoon or fox-like dog with shape-shifting powers. It was traditionally a trickster & spook, originally evil, but now a benevolent modern-day icon of generosity, cheer, and prosperity found often outside Japanese bars & restaurants. The intention is for patrons to be generous ("come in, don’t be stingy"). It is also used as a wealth-bringing icon adorning gardens.

Myrtle ST homestay business card

While walking, we came across a design student display, where students were creating design on the spot for visitors to the display. We asked them to design some "business cards" for us for the homestay in Myrtle St. Within a very short time, a student knocked-up a design AND printed a few copies for us to take away - very impressive.

Ryutaro, Ric & Frances at Nijo Castle

Next we went to visit the Kyoto Nijo Castle. It is a flatland castle which consists of two concentric rings (Kuruwa) of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens.

Ninomaru Palace with the wide
decorative and defensive verandah

We spent quite a while exploring the grounds and buildings which are set up as exhibitions of the period during the Tokugawa shogunate in the 1600s. Particularly interesting were criss-crossing metal strips attached beneath the verandahs. These strips squeak with even the lightest pressure from above, so theoretically even the quietest ninja assassin could not sneak into the building unnoticed. It was quite funny watching school students in their socks trying to walk across the boards without making them squeak.

Example of  a Kyoto train carriage

The tour finished around lunchtime, so we took Ryutaro to lunch at the Zest restaurant, and gave him a donation for his time. It's always much better to have a local guide. Not only do they have more local knowledge, but they are also more passionate about their locality. The rest of afternoon we spent seeking out interesting places based on the Lonely Planet guide.

Typical hotel room size

By now, after 3 days sleeping on the floor in the Ryokan, we decided to move to a hotel with a real bed, and chose the Hotel Station West only a short distance away. We didn't realise though how small the rooms were until we moved our luggage in - there was not enough room to lay them down AND walk past the bed. In fact the room was only slightly larger than the double bed that could only be accessed from one side! At least we had a better sleep. That night we had an excellent dinner at the hotel dining room, accompanied by the remainder of our wine.