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Well, I got through the night. The futon was OK, but I was in two minds as to whether to sleep on top of the thick quilt. At home my feet hang over the bed end. Last night they seemed to be in the way every time I want to turnover. And I left myself open for a mosquito that was hiding somewhere.

The alarm went off at 7.30am and I had to get up as I had a breakfast appointment with the hotel. Japanese people work on a principle of courtesy that, if you say a time, that is the time they will be ready. I got to the Dining Floor and my table for one was laid out ready for me. I should have taken a photo as it would be easier to explain, maybe tomorrow.

First of all, there was lots of it. The obligatory Tea, which I couldn’t stomach today, was poured for me and a glass of Iced Water.

The tray had a 3×3 compartment box, each held a small china bowl, each with its own pattern or shape. In each bowl there was a contribution to the meal. Here is my memory test. Seaweed, A wedge of Orange, A piece of Smoked Fish, Shredded Swede and Desiccated seaweed, Cabbage, Pickled Red Beans, a white vegetable (might have been shiitake mushroom) and pickled sliced onion. There was a plate with an Omelette with ginger and onion garnish, a bowl of Miso Soup, A cauldron for one which was steaming away when I arrived. This contained A block of Tofu, Ceps, White Cabbage, Spring Onions and a flat square disc of brown which was either a flavouring or maybe a label that had slipped off the inside of the steamer lid ? To accompany this there was a bowl of Salad, Sticky Rice and Layers of dried seaweed and a further small plate with 3 pickles. And some shredded cooked beef.

I made my way through most of it. Although I ate it I don’t really get tofu and I am not a fan of spongey omelettes. It was different.

So for today. The rain continues! I’m going to leave my computing in the hotel as well as my main camera and go in search of something to view with my little Canon Powershot.

I centre myself on Kyoto station and it is heaving with Japanese tourists enjoying Sunday and another day to catch the final Cherry Blossom. I look at the maps and decide on a train journey out to a place call Arashiyama is worth a go. The Tourist Information Office helped me with the best route and I was quickly on my way. The train was held up for 10 minutes at the start as a girl had dropped her bracelet down a crack in the seat. The guard with a screwdriver played the white knight.

Arashiyama is about 20 minutes by train and I had a simple map to get onto the route for the main Temple and the Bamboo Grove walk.

Arashiyama was charming. It reminded me of a cornish town in the summer, with people streaming down the roads. It’s buzzing with souvenir shops and small eateries, but all of them in place with the surroundings. A 10 minute walk and I am there. The Tenryuji Temple. With this one it was not so much the temple but its Gardens. The trees and shrubs were in bloom and you will see from the photos that it was very colourful. As I arrived the sun came out and it was starting to become a lovely day. Overall it was the coldest I have been while out in Asia and I was regretting not wearing another layer, but the sunshine masked that a bit.

Right next to the Temple is the famous Bamboo Groves. The bamboo shoots up 40 to 50 feet in the air and creaks as it sways in the wind. It is definitely from a scene of Crouching Tigers. It is no surprise that they use bamboo as scaffolding, when you see cane this big and thick. The wind was up so the bamboo swayed 20 to 30 feet from side to side. Deep green in colour it was remarkably calming.

I headed back into Kyoto with the intention of walking through the Nishiki Market again. On the way I stop for a caffeine top up at Starbucks. I got talking to a Fashion Designer, Ash, who was from Nottingham, but has family who live on the Warwick Road in Solihull and in Knowle. We shared our experiences of work life balance and it was a good break in the day to have a simple chat. He had a few hours to kill so I pointed him at the Nijojo Castle.

I made it across on the subway again to the Nishiki Market to see if the Australian lady had made it back to her friends, see my blog of yesterday, but as there were no flowers laid anywhere I guess it all ended up well. The Market was still alive with food merchants making their final push of the day. Halfway down there was a very strong smell of marijuana and I could see behind that there was a seller scraping what looked like long leaved tea leaves into paper bags. I could have got it all wrong but a bit of a coincidence.

Back to the Hotel and time for a shared Bath in the Ryokan. They had two hot baths in the basement to separate men and women. Shame. My Bath was empty so I wallowed for half an hour. I did feel a bit like this morning’s Tofu in the cauldron, so didn’t wait for it to cook completely. Very relaxing with piped japanese music. And I was thinking about what I will do when I get back home. Work no less! It was quite therapeutic being naked in a warm bath so nothing to do but think. I donned myself in my Kimono, so looked and felt the part.

Dinner was at 8pm and I had arranged for a traditional Japanese meal. I was in a small enclosed area of the Dining Room in the Ryokan by myself, being assisted by 3 Kimono dressed assistants. The youngest was about 70. Only one spoke a few words of English, but we managed to get through it. You will see from the photo’s the ingredients were all laid out and a pan was simmering away which had been prepared for my arrival. Finely slice beef, Light Cabbage and Large Spring onions were quickly blanched before dousing them into a couple of sauces. A tray of other things covered the table that had to be used as well. It was different and the textures were challenging. I wasn’t so sure about the Eel (well I think it was a type of Eel) as it has the crunch of a bit of gristle and was shaped like a large sliced olive, but the colour of raw lambs liver. I made my way through the the Beef and Cabbage, then through a plate of Sushi (Tuna, Prawns and Squid) and finally rice arrived to slop up the juices. A small prepared fruit salad gave me a great feeling that I was close to the end as I was very full.

So that’s me done with Kyoto. I have another DIY breakfast in the morning before checking out and then by Midday I will be heading back to Tokyo Airport to stay overnight before heading off to China.

My reflection of Kyoto is that I made a great choice and the cultural side of Japan has come through in bundles. I have no regrets for missing Tokyo’s bright lights as the two days in a Ryokan have give me more of an insight to the people and the way they live. For weeks now I have been tweeting about Values, Knowledge and Behaviours. The way these people live is very honest and endearing. Around Kyoto, your average city to look at it, they have found a way to live with their beliefs and have kept simple but important monuments and natural events central to the way of life.

I will come back again, some day.