Whilst more compact than Osaka’s Kuromon Ichiba market, the Nishi market certainly had the variety of sweets, pickles, fresh shaved bonito (which I kept mistakenly called bonobo), and of course mochi. Anna picked up a string of delicious semi-dried persimmon, and I’d managed to find the CD soundtracks for Neon Genesis and Ergo Proxy.
Heading down towards the Kamo River (鴨川), one wonders why in Australia we turn our pretty waterways into big concrete drains. One only need look at what was the Moonee Ponds Creek following the Tulla Freeway to see the attitude. Pretty? Pah! I did hear a farmer on ABC local radio complaining that the recent Australian floods were all due to plants growing in the waterways. Yeesh.
An oddity did occur as we crossed the bridge – a Japanese TV crew wanted to interview us (presumably as to what foreigners were doing in Japan when most expats had been told by their respective governments to flee – one almost expected to be accosted by former PM Rudd with his sleeves rolled up rescuing his Aussie maaates). They only wanted to interview residents, not tourists, so we missed out on our 15 seconds of fame.
The Ponto-cho alleys were historical geisha and entertainment areas. Whilst the alleyways and the restaurants looked nice, the modern iteration seemed to yell tourist trap to me. Apparently they look nice all lit up at night but we didn’t get the chance to return after dark.
After a lap around Niomon Dori to discover that our preferred Yakatori meal was shut on Mondays and that the only other option was pizza or Maccas, we landed on the doorstep of this fine establishment (whose English name I do not know) and decided on the banquet for four. Warm sake was a revelation for me (I don’t normally like Chinese rice wine either as it reminds me of window cleaning solvent), but this was nice.
The many many small courses which in Cantonese might have been called dim sum, not only warmed the heart but filled the stomach. Or perhaps it was the warm sake…
A bit of a walk around at sunset to clear the head. The Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art was right over a canal from us, so we had a little walk around to check the not-quite-yet cherry blossoms
Japan’s extensive & generally user friendly rail system was the best way to get from ‘a’ to ‘b’. Underground, it’s a little difficult to tell which direction is which, but we found a few shops (eg: ‘cube’ subway entrance next to Juicer Bar) with which to gather our bearings.
Elevators and escalators also abound, but only if you go towards the correct exit. What are the chances of zigging instead of zagging and getting stairs every time? Probably quite remote, so I suspect some intergalactic deity is toying with our little lives…