Miyajima - March 22, 2016

The entire family bused to the train station together, then divvied up - Grandma, Grandpa, Valerie and I taking a train and then ferry to Miyajima; Mom, Dad, and Deanne to another day trip out from Kyoto. They'll have a nice, quiet, empty house tonight. 

I looked up our destination on the way to Miyajima, and formed a plan that was well executed - first, drop our bags, have lunch, then check out the tori gate for the main shrine at low tide. Then, walk up to the "ropeway" (gondolas) and ride to an observatory on Mount Misen. 

It went remarkably well! We stopped at the first restaurant we saw with tables, and all sat facing the cooks as they made "okinomiyaki" - soba noodles, thinly sliced meat, sprouts, and either squid and shrimp or oyster with a thin pancake on one side and an egg later on the other. We beat the rush; all the seats were taken when we left, and three cooks were on the assembly line. This Hiroshima speciality filled us up we were on to the next task - touching the tori gate. 

It wasn't quite low tide yet, so we strolled through the Itsukushima Shrine. (Looking again at my ticket, this thing is old - first built in 593 then rebuilt in 1168.) A wedding party was dazzling (and not just because of the bright sun reflecting off her white kimono). We walked along the boardwalks connecting the couple closed off rooms, then headed toward the beach. 

The shrine is at the midpoint of a horseshoe beach, with the tori gate between the two tips. Valerie and I danced along the muddy sand to get up close to the roughly 16 meter tall gate. 

I was probably more proud of getting there without getting my feet wet than I was excited about touching it. On the gates, mollusks had coated what normally lay below water. In the sand, tiny creatures inched their conical shells along the gritty ground. 

We leaped over the few trickles to get back to Grandma and Grandpa. It wasn't until ten minutes into our uphill hike that I remembered reading about a shuttle that would have dropped us off at the bottom of the ropeway; instead, we earned our supper on that slope. 

The ticket station had steps up to the entry to the first of the two ropeways. This one dangled cars which could hold up to six people; in the second one, about twenty people could fit into the hovering room. 

A small exhibit with benches is where we agreed to meet Grandma; she was almost done with her "quota of stairs" for the day, and the closest shrine was a twenty minute walk. Grandma accompanied us, though we pulled ahead when he stopped for some pictures and a breather. 

The temple holding the eternal flame was much different than I had pictured. A sleek modern building was on a lot of the posters - turns out, that was actually the observatory that was at the peak. The eternal flame shrine was a single wooden room with a bunch of candles and incense - it was actually overwhelmingly smoky!

Val and I said hi to Grandpa as he panted up, then continued the final ten minutes, through the "duck-under rock" (duck the verb, not the noun) to the observatory. 

There was a wonderful 360 degree view of the mountain range to the west, Hiroshima to the north, and the inland sea spotted with tree-topped rock islands to the east. It was staggering, and also a bit breezy - there was a chill up my sweaty spine for both those reasons. 

Val and I trotted down the mountain talking about boys and were quickly back to the meeting place with Grandma and Grandpa. The loudspeaker had been going once every 15 minutes alerting us of the next ropeway departure, and reminding us that the final departure was at 5:30. 

We took something like the 4:30 car down the mountain, and we managed to find the shuttle bus and squeeze on for a switched-back ride to the city center. 

Right on the corner as we were dropped off, a shop was selling "melon pan." I read the sign aloud: "what is melon pan?" The Swiss lady that Grandpa had befriended answered by telling us it was a sweet bun, and to eat it quickly if you add ice cream - it melts fast. She also said it was a disappointment if you spent half an hour walked to find it in Kyoto and expecting something melon-flavored. 

Well, since I didn't expect or want anything melon-flavored and since I hadn't spent thirty minutes walking to find it, I was over-joyed with the sweet crisp of a bun with a hatched top and yummy warm center that was bready and soaking up the dripping ice cream that had been sliced into the middle. 

Mine was done in like three bites, so I had to take a picture of Valerie's to document. The sign was also hilarious - "Even world #1 ice cream eaters, the Americans, don't know about this fantastic ice cream only offered in JAPAN!"

 

I think I've found my calling - bringing freshly baked melon pan to America. Don't worry, #1 ice cream eaters! I got you. 

The "deer beer" happy hour spot was closed, so we wandered along the water until we found a hotel bar that looked out at the sunset. Val had a Premium draft beer, and Grandma and Grandpa had the local Miyajima beer, and I had a very lemon-y lemon sake. The sunset while we chatted and plotted the next day's plans. 

We were sipping and savoring so much that the island was dark and boarded up when we emerged from the hotel. First, we captured the tori gate alit from shore, its fiery red reflected in the high tide. The deer were mostly curled up in the tree beds by the sidewalk, also waiting for the next bout of tourists in the morning. It was holy - like you'd expect an island full of shrines to be. 

Which is all well and good until you need supper before bed. A single pub with a huge waiting list was open, so Valerie and I investigated and found a nice looking and oddly empty restaurant a block down the deserted main street. Maybe it was because everything on the menu was eel?

Well, not everything, since we got oyster fried rice and fried oysters as well as the tempura eel and vegetable dish. Each of the three platters came with clam miso soup, a tiny trio of pickled vegetables tied together with seaweed, and some other side. Whatever came with the tempura eel was cold and squishy and not good; otherwise, the meal wasn't what we were expecting but was at a real table and filled us up. Given the look of the place, I wasn't surprised at the quality, but instead just happy about it. 

We walked the two blocks back to our ryokan (Japanese guesthouse), passing the world's largest rice paddle (or close to - fifteen feet and made from wood, it had to be good for something, right?) We all slept in twin beds all in the same room, and the lights were out by ten. The sleepy island was wearing off on us. 

Hiroshima - March 23, 2016

Our ryokan on Miyajima included breakfast, so we got some good enough eggs, toast, and yummy jams. We dropped our postcards in the mailbox on the island,then headed back to the mainland (or main-island, if you'd rather).

We took a tram into Hiroshima from a stop on the JR line to give us an extra half hour, instead of going all the way to the main station. It was a beautiful, sunny, 60-degree day, which juxtaposed our morning of learning the history of the A-bomb, but also made it slightly more bearable to hear. 

The A-bomb dome is at the far corner of Peace Memorial Park, which itself is scattered with memorials and statues. Nearly right below the blast, the former convention building was blown out, but not toppled, and now stands as a skeleton monument. 

Standing along the path was a guide, whose mother — pregnant with her — came to Hiroshima a few days after the bombing to follow her father. She had binders of information, Q&A about the Japanese and the bombing, including one question that stuck with me: do the Japanese hate Americans? From the answer in the book, and the presentation of the later museum, it is clear there isn't blame for the past, but rather information to prevent this in the future. 

We visited the mobilized students monument - many of those killed were middle school students who'd been basically conscripted to make fire blockades by demoing buildings and were headed to work. 

Across the river was the children's monument - a student had developed leukemia and heard that folding one thousand cranes would grant a wish, so she folded them while she was getting treatment. She passed away, but the crane as a sign of peace and hope lives on. The monument was filled with the origami offerings. 

In a row starting with the A-bomb dome, the fire that would burn until nuclear weapons were off the earth sat next to the cenograph with the names of all known victims of the bomb and radiation, which is continually updated. 

Last in the row was the Peace Memorial Museum, arching over (a construction site and) the fountains of peace in the distance. 

It was sobering. It was somber. I flowed along with the crowd of people, attempting to both take in what I could of the artifacts and stories while also paying respects to the many, many who are now just possessions behind a case in a museum. 

The warping of the roof tiles, glass bottles, and steel girders was a haunting metaphor for those survivors left behind. A wall with the black rain that fell dripping down its wall was weeping.

The final hallway was filled with video screens of interviews with survivors recounting the blast and the days afterward. All but one were fairly matter-of-fact: a blinding flash, coming to, calling for help and not recognizing the war-torn around them. The last was a mother who wasn't able to make it home until the next day. Her baby had been hit in the impact so hard that its buttons had essentially fused to its chest. Her daughter was throw and was lying dead nearby. Her husband had seemingly recovered then became bedridden after a week and died. The bomb took her whole family, she explained, getting choked up. We had a beautiful life, and the bomb took it all. 

The schoolboys, teachers, others that were interviewed - their stories varied but it was a harsh reality for something that happened far before my lifetime. And I hope and pray that it will never be used as a tactic again. 

I polled Grandma, Grandpa, and Valerie, and a walk to the station in the sun, passing by the rebuilt castle, seemed like it would be a nice way to work ourselves back into reality. 

It was a few blocks along a sports complex, then we found a bench for Grandma by the moat as the rest of us walked through the island to the rebuilt tower.  A single cherry tree in bloom lay in the shadow of the pagoda-like tower; other stones evoked the ruins of the original castle - a thousand years old, but flattened in the atomic blast. 

We swung back by Grandma to say hi to some duckies before finishing the walk to the train station. We took the local train one stop to the regional station, where we bought foodstuffs (Val and I got bento boxes!) to eat a late lunch on the train. 

We treated ourselves to a cab ride back to the house, and waiting for Mom, Dad, and Deanne to meet us. A little downtime before our evening plans.

Valerie hadn't had sushi yet, and Deanne hadn't gotten the chance to have her sister's photo booth, so the three of us were going to split off to remedy both of those while the other two generations had Italian food. 

The conveyor belt sushi place was packed, so we took our ticket and walked back to the arcade above the Italian place where we dropped them off. 

It was intense. I am super impressed by the automatic photoshop this machine did (silky hair, smooth skin, extra mascara, larger eyes), and then we could decorate it with stamps and messages afterward! My intricate work was lost on the wallet-sized print, but I know that I put a super cute heart where that teeny tiny dot is on the printed strip. 

We made it back just before our number was called. Dangerously, I was put next to the conveyor belt. It hadn't been two minutes and we had a salmon, two different tunas, and some roe sashimi in front of us. Sorry not sorry. 

I did experiment a bit. Two of the four involved these teensy little fish - raw and then coated in a sticky, sweet sauce. Those were fine; not a new favorite, nor abhorrent. The diamond squid was not the rubber texture I was expecting, but my second bite of the crunchy layer of squid was ok as well. We only left one piece of sushi from the plates that we got - and I had the pleasure of eating the first piece off that plate. It was mushy, and sweet in a bad way, and also rotten tasting, and had some other bits in the whitish congealed sauce... But back to how good that salmon was. I refused to eat the corn fritters or tofu skins - more room for sushi!

We spent some time chatting as a family (except with Valerie up checking in on Ben) before calling it a night in our respective rooms, beds, and futons. 

Deanne's Graduation - Kyoto, March 20, 2016

I woke up to hear Deanne's voice, which I didn't expect. Her plan for the morning was to get to her kimono appointment at 5:30 and not be back until 8:30. Instead, she was out over an hour early and all dolled up. 

Her hair was coiled and braided, her eyes were accented, and she had that weird box hidden under the back of her gown. All in all, she looked ready to graduate in Japan!

We finished up breakfast, did a few showers (with handles that it took half the shower to figure out), then headed to the bus after wishing Ben a safe journey back to the US. 

We passed a dozen shrines and temples on the way to Ritsumeikan. Apparently Deanne doesn't have to pay for a bus as long as she's wearing a kimono - the rest of us got bus passes, since she's familiar with them and they will fit seven people easily. 

The thirty minute trip terminated at a line of kimono-ed and suited students (the men don't have a traditional dress that they wear) who were waiting to take pictures with a flag. 

We decided to go take pictures of the resident cats that the Cat Club feeds instead. A much better plan, in my opinion. 

Deanne walked us to the hall where we were going to be watching the simulcast of the university-wide graduation ceremony. We were to sit and stay until it was over, then she would fetch us to the degree conferral for the international relations college. 

Well, the orchestra before the ceremony was probably my favorite part. No Japanese required. After that, I tuned out and finished up yesterday's blog post. Mom and Dad watched the screen to see if we could see Deanne, to no avail. 

She did, in fact, return to pick us up after those three or four speeches and some special degree conferrals. We found our next building with a much more engaging ceremony - there was an entire speech in English, on top of the Dean's speech which was pre-translated on screen. The dean's speech warned of dying alone and unloved... Nice and inspirational for the graduates?

There were group pictures and individual pictures and family pictures. 

We passed a few sports teams and clubs that were celebrating their graduates by throwing them in the air, showering them with confetti, carrying them around in chairs, or waving gourd-shaped balloons at them. Kimonos and hair-dos of every shape and size surrounded us, as well as selfie sticks to capture the moment. 

We got the pictures then separated ourselves from the crowd to have lunch at a quick service cafe - like Sheetz, you order on the screen, then pay and pick up your food. 

The next few things on the list were to get Deanne's suitcases from her friend - she had packed up her apartment a few days ago, so had them kindly stored by Maria. Then, Deanne had to head back to the kimono rental to change. Originally, the hope was to take some photo booth pictures with the three sisters, but since there was only an hour before church, we were just given directions to get to the service while Deanne disappeared. 

We made it on a slightly late bus, and got to church ten minutes before the service was to start. The band was warming up, and there was a herd of playing children in the rooms adjoining the sanctuary. 

Deanne scooted in the door right at 5, but it turns out that this service wasn't quite as formal as I had in my head. A few people came in late, but it really got interesting when the dedications (similar to baptisms) were going to start. Just one of the three babies was in the room; the pastor's wife went out to fetch the others but came back empty-handed. The service was rearranged, and we continued with a few more messages and songs.

Dedications take two was slightly more successful - two babies went up to the altar with their families and were eventually joined by the third, and the herd of sponsors. The service concluded with an invitation to the side room where a great buffet was being laid out. 

There were rice balls (not stuffed, but still a great texture), rolls, pizza, salad (very much appreciated by us, since we'd been eating out continually), and these mashed potato casserole squares that we loved. Made by the pastor's wife, they were a layer of mashed potato (which could be sautéed vegetables), topped with pancake mix and cheese! We feasted while we played a quiz game about Deanne and the other family that was leaving. 

Next came the speeches. Deanne is well-regarded in the church, and all of the speeches praised her for her willingness to help out and initiative. Dry eyes were hard to find. 

The cake was cut, everyone found someone to chat with, and the night continued on. (Frosting here is more of a whipped cream than a buttercream sweetness, in case you were wondering.) The cleaning began, and - with the majority of her goodbyes said - Deanne led us to the bus and back to the house. 

Arashiyama and The Golden Temple - Kyoto, March 21, 2016

Arashiyama and Kinkaku-ji

While the church celebration and "sayonara" (goodbye) party for Deanne was yesterday, today was dinner at her favorite restaurant and a special cake made by a bakery she loves.

When we were thinking through the plans for the day, we took into account that I don't like monkeys and Grandma's hips don't like stairs, and the two of us and Grandpa hadn't yet seen the Golden Temple (Kinkaku-ji). Since the pastry shop was right near there, we'd swing by to get the cake on our way back to the restaurant while the rest of the family had an adventure climbing up to a monkey park. We all would take the tram there together though. 

The Arashiyama district was full of shrines, including the sprawling complex at Tenryu-ji. We first made our way through the bamboo grove, crossing over some high-speed train tracks to get to little loop through the "woods." There was a shop selling all things bamboo that called to us, and we meandered along for the majority of the morning. 

We were back at Tenryu-ji (which we had passed by the exit from the tram) around noon, because I had read there was a Buddhist restaurant inside the temple grounds - little did I know it was $30 a person for lunch!

Valerie and I had shared a bubble tea, thankfully, so I was happy enough wandering the garden without much food in me. The gardens were between the various temple buildings (which we didn't go inside) and the line of hills, though built up on the side for a great view over Kyoto. 

We found a single cherry tree blossoming, with a few other shrubs and flowers starting to bloom, but the majority of the plants were pretty bare. Just made the mossy banks of the streams that ran into the wide reflecting pond all the prettier. 

We were now in search of street food - I especially wanted to try takoyaki, which are pancake balls with octopus in them. After shuffling along with the crowds over the bridge, we found a few stands that more than satisfied me. I'm not sure if I like my steam bun with meat, Dad's fried curry biscuit, the takoyaki, or the cherry blossom dumplings I had for dessert better!

I mean, if you add in the green tea with mango ice cream that I got afterward, there no competition. That stuff was delicious. And Grandpa didn't find his green tea soft-serve all that bad either. 

Since the three of us had broken off from the group after lunch, I had had the "pocket wifi", so I found the buses that would take us to the Golden Temple. We ended up walking past the first stop when I misread the map though, so we watched a bus go by us before we could make it to a stop. 

This was about the time that we also realized that we had ¥2000 (about $20) of cash between the three of us. Cash is king in Japan, so I spent the extra time before the next bus searching for an ATM that would take my card, to no avail. 

We still had our bus passes, and the cake we were picking up was pre-paid, so the worst thing that would happen is that we just pick it up and go home. Thankfully, the Golden Temple was only ¥400 a person. 

Not only that, but twenty steps into the temple, Grandpa found a ¥1000 bill on the ground! We were rich!

The Golden Temple was crowded, but they clearly know how to deal with crowds. The line to get tickets was long but efficient. A single path led from the entrance to the exit. We showed our tickets, then were ushered to the photo spot, where we got our first look at the lacquered gold temple reflected in the pond in front of it. Little islands dotted the ponds, each with a tree or two, and rocks that were donated by contemporaries of the first abbot (around 1400AD). We wound our way slowly along the path, finding a sunning loon perched atop what I'm sure was one of those donated rocks. The other side of the temple was the same, though the lack of the pond in the foreground made it less picturesque. 

Next, we wound up the side of a hill to a lookout with a mediocre view of the temple, but a wide view of Kyoto. We attempted to pronounce the names of each of the little attractions we passed, such as a teeny waterfall, a little house for prayers, and - my favorite - a cup that would ring like a bell if you threw a coin at it just right. (My two attempts failed.)

Right after the booth where you could buy happiness was an old tea house. They rebuilt a modern one next door, with a ¥500 green tea and dessert fixed menu. Well, since we were now rolling in it (¥1800, with Grandpa's little find), we treated ourselves. 

The cake was divine. Probably good we didn't have any more cash or I would have bought far too many of the rich (in both senses of the word) treats. Sugar encrusted a red bean paste; the frothy green tea was warm, which was needed, but nothing else to write home about. 

Our final coins were spent on some postcards outside the temple complex. No more cash for us!

We had an hour and a half before dinner, and the cake shop was a bus stop or a six minute walk south. The line of people was at least three dozen long, and the buses pulling up were already a bit crowded, so it was inching along. We decided to work our tired feet a bit more and made our way to Patisserie de Ange. 

The cake was ready, and the baker gestured at the paper where it said 1 hour. It was a chilled cake, and I guessed that I meant that we should eat it or refrigerate it within that time. I exchanged a few texts with Mom via Google Voice (only needed Internet for me!) and decided we'd drop it off before arriving at the restaurant.

I'm very glad we did, because we made it to the restaurant, were seated, and the rules were explained. The grill in front of us was to cook the meat, and we could order as much as we could eat, in batches of three. 

Valerie and I were excited about the grilled vegetables, Dad less so, but we got plates of marinated meat with onions, mushrooms, and something like butternut squash to roast as well. We had two hours to have at it!

We ordered shrimp, scallops, salted Japanese chicken necks, along with more of the pork and beef. We had met back up with Maria, and their table had some pork ribs then far too many sausages for only them - so we cooked some on our grill. Needless to say, neither Valerie nor I have been getting our normal ratio of meat to produce, but I had to admit, it was a great choice for Deanne's celebration dinner. We were eating right up until the very end. 

The group of tables next to us (which is why our reservation was for the sunken table) was a group of adults, with all their rightly 8-year-olds grilling their own meats. There was only one large flare-up that we witnessed, but lots of hilarity from the orange-juice-drinking boys and girls. 

We stopped at a convenience store to grab another round of breakfast foods, then bused back home, with a gorgeous strawberry-and-cream cake waiting. A slice of that sugar, on top of the meal of meat, made it easy to be asleep before 10. There was also the fact that we had a few showers to take in the morning before leaving at 8:30am. 

Tokyo to Kyoto - March 19, 2016

It was one of those days that had a distinctly upward trajectory. Which, of course, means that this morning was a challenge. 

We needed to get to Kyoto to meet up with Mom and Dad. We have a house there for the next week, and will be using that as our home base for mostly day trips (plus an overnight down to Miyajima and Hiroshima).

Four of the six of us had a JR rail pass, which allows us to take both local and regional trains. We'd used it in the metro-like trains around Tokyo, and now it would take us on a near-bullet train to Kyoto. 

The train to Kyoto stopped at a station near us, so Valerie, Deanne, and I walked then took the train while the other three took a cab. No issues finding them, but the trip got complex once we asked about tickets. 

See, you can get on any train, but you can also get free reservations that will guarantee you a seat. For a two-plus hour trip, seats would be nice.

Sunday is Spring Equinox, which is a national holiday observed on Monday, so it's a three-day weekend. There were no reservations left until noon, and we had a temple to see!

Instead, we decided to go to the start of the train at Tokyo Station, a fifteen minute trip away, so we could stand in line and hope to get a seat. A good plan, right until we exited the metro into the throng that was Tokyo Station. Six people and their luggage was caught in the swarm. We headed to what we thought were the right gates, and were turned away (as twenty people queued up behind us) without really any guidance. 

But, we preserved, picked a line, found a different line, moved lines, reconsidered if we should have moved lines, and in general were stressed until the doors to the train opened. 

Deanne and I were a few spots ahead of everyone else due to the shuffling, and scored two sets of three seats right within the train car. The stress was now over. At least for the next two and a half hours as we ricocheted toward Kyoto. 

The slightly later arrival time meant that it would have been a tough, quick trip for all of us to get to the Golden Temple, which Deanne thought we could do while we waiting for Mom and Dad, who were getting in around 2:30 or 3. Since Ben was only around for the day and we couldn't check in until 4, he and Valerie took off while the rest of us had a nice relaxing lunch surrounded by luggage in a restaurant in the basement. I got the platter with ten different items - all were good (though the omelette and cabbage mashed potatoes aren't my taste). There were little fried fish that I ate whole - not actually realizing they were fish until halfway through. There were noodles, a sampling of the hamburger steak with lotus root that Grandma and Grandpa had, sweet flavored gelatin, some mushrooms in the miso soup... Definitely a sampling!

I also tried a ginger highball. I couldn't tell if the bite as the end of a sip was due to the ginger or the whiskey, but it was nice to relax and chat with the grandparents and Deanne.

Mom and Dad came and joined an hour later, and then Valerie and Ben came to find Deanne and were led to us. An easy taxi ride, and we were at our accommodations for the week!

The house is rented by a company that restores old houses in the Japanese style. Rattan mats cover the floors, all the doors slide, the shower and bath overlook the tranquility garden, and, best of all, there are two toilets and four different rooms! Luxury for the eight of us. 

We chilled, since our late lunch was carrying us into dinner easily, and maybe got started a bit late for trying to get to a temple light up that ended at 9. Daisuri is a large department store that was "two blocks away"... If you only count the major streets. It was an easy ten to fifteen minute walk with all of us.

Shopping inside the downstairs was fun. Each ring of glass-fronted counters held a slightly different delicious-looking sampling. Salads to fried stuff, rice balls to sushi, and including some booths with ice cream, cakes, sake, and non-Japanese food. I've been excited about rice balls, so grabbed a pair of those to eat with my avocado and broccoli salad. 

It was when we regrouped that the unlikelihood of our timing started to descend. It was 7:45 - a trip back and forth to the house, plus eating, then a ten minute bus ride and a walk... We weren't going to get to the shrine before it ended at 9. 

A new plan was formed; Ben, Val, and I would head straight to the shrine, since he is leaving tomorrow. Want to give him the chance to see at least a bit of Kyoto before taking the train back to Narita for his flight out tomorrow. 

I ate my salad, then we hopped on the bus. Immediately when we got off, we saw the hill with lanterns leading up. A bit of a festival-type atmosphere was at the bottom - booths with street food (yup - got us some yummy custard and red bean biscuit-pancake-bun things and a kabob for Val), lit up floats with moving parts, and some tables set up with geishas serving tea. 

We took a few pictures, then were interrupted by a pair of men holding lanterns making way for a masked woman in a carriage. We followed the fox-mask and her procession up a few windy blocks, before getting distracted by a pretty path up the side of the hill. 

We were lucky - without planning on it, we ended up at the Kōdai-Ji, a temple that had projections on its zen garden that included a dragon flying out of a gate, and spotlights on its cherry tree.

 I loved wandering the lantern-lined paths, with meandering stream beds, bridges over the reflecting ponds, and buildings with artifacts from the 1400s.

 A giant bamboo forest waved us goodbye as we sought out a "five story pagoda" that Val thought was another important thing to see. 

We walked for twenty minutes, up, up, up stone paths with wide stairs. Lining the pedestrian street were shops with food, toys, and porcelain. I have really enjoyed the attitudes of the Japanese - when we were in the temple, two friends were singing and humming under their breath. As we were climbing the stairs, a young man was helping an older woman, making louder and louder amusing huffs as they got to the top of a set of steps. Maybe it's just because it's a three day weekend, but everyone was in a jolly mood - especially the woman who served Ben his sweet ginger lemon tea. 

It was a quarter past nine when we reached a pagoda-looking building. After some Google searching post-hike, it was the Kiyomizu-dera - a UNESCO World Heritage Buddhist temple. Not sure if that's what Valerie was aiming for, but we got some very pretty pictures of the outside (the entrance was closed) before tromping down the same hill to get back to the bus. 

The bus trip was easy, since it just went down the main street we had shopped and ate on. We hustled back in the night chill to let ourselves in to the house and get to sleep. Deanne certainly has an early morning, but we all need to be ready to get to her graduation!