In an effort to not completely freak our moms out, I’ve delayed this post …
Starting about midday on Wednesday, we started getting Typhoon alerts on our phone. When we booked tickets, we knew we were in shoulder season and that typhoons were possible (one of the reasons to always, always, always book travel insurance).
The tropical typhoon was set to hit land overnight and arrive in Kyoto by 9am or so. We obviously know nothing about typhoons, but research shows it could be a problem so we stocked up on things we could eat in the hotel if we ended up being trapped for the day while it passed through.
Spoiler alert so our moms stop panicking — we are fine.
We woke up to just some light sprinkles as the storm wasn’t moving quite as quick as anticipated, and it has changed course just slightly. So we got dressed and ran out to explore before it hit. Now in case you were wondering if the temperature changed in light of the typhoon — the answer is yes, it’s the coolest it’s been (mid 80s) and the humidity is the highest its been (95%). So net net…. Still wet the second you walk outside.
We figured out the bus system, so we didn’t have to walk as much which helped a little, though the area we wanted to explore was still a bit off the bus route, so we still had some walking ahead of us. The Gion district in Kyoto is the historical section of town most known for it’s tea houses and the Geisha that entertain there in the evenings. We arrived before most places even opened, so no Geisha sightings but we did get to see all the beautiful old wooden houses [machiyas] after walking up the iconic hill for the view of the Yasaka Pagoda.
As we waited for the next temple to open, we stumbled upon the Ryzen Kannon Temple that had an insanely large statue of Kannon, God of Mercy. We didn’t go in, but instead wandered to a building that had Buddha Nirvana painted. After bowing to Buddha thanking him [and appreciating the air conditioned building], we set off through a mini bamboo forest to the Kenninji Temple. I wanted to go to this one specificially as it the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto and has a zen garden – Choontei Garden. It was really peaceful to walk through both the temple and the garden. For the most part we were barefoot as usual, but there were a couple of areas that we were provided slippers. An example of Kevin the Giant here wearing shoes meant for people who naturally are a foot shorter than him. The irony was not lost that he was wandering through a zen garden in shoes that are four times too small — a test of zen perhaps?
Now we are starting to get spittings of rain and we are officially sweating to death, so it’s time for some inside air. One of the foods we knew we needed to try is the famous Hamburg Steak which is kind of like a meatloaf served with rice, and is served in Western Japanese fusion restaurants. We found one that had a line wrapped around the corner of what appeared to be all locals, so we joined the line. It did not disappoint thought the appetizer of just a cold tomato with dressing served on tuna salad was a bit much…
Next stop was the Nintendo Store — yes another one. Nintendo was invented in Kyoto, so of course we had to go to the OG location. They even had a rooftop photoshoot:
Last stop before heading back to our hotel since the rain is coming, we wandered through the Nishiki market. Now normally you should go there hungry, but we had just ate a really large lunch. So we just wandered instead of sampled – but there was everything you could imagine in this market. It’s actually the kind of Asian market you see in the movies. Lots and lots of people, lots and lots of stalls. If we were in Kyoto another day, I’d go back to sample next time.
Back towards the hotel with another quick stop in Don Quixote looking for some anime trinkets and we decided to grab Burger King as quick and early dinner. The food prices here really are unexpected — double cheeseburger, six nuggets, fries, apple pie and a drink for just over $6.
Now to await the typhoon [which turned out to be a glorified thunderstorm for our area]…
