Japan: Old School Style

August 6th, 2007

Today was a wonderful day in Kyoto; it was also the last day with my friends in Japan. Yumi and I took the train to Kyoto. This is a place within an hour from Kobe and Osaka. It is an ancient place and feels that way too. In fact, the town has laws in place to protect it from losing its distinct historic features.

Kyoto is famous for its old houses and zen gardens. The roads are extremely narrow compared to other parts of Japan. Amisdst the history from ancient times, you can however find the modern blended in. For instance, McDonald’s is here but the sign is a dirty, muddy brown to blend in rather than stand out as the normal fire hydrant red.

Our first stop was for lunch in this old, Kyoto-famous house. It looks inside and outside like the old-style Japanese homes. And yes, we had to take off our shoes! I always am up for barefoot opportunities! :) The buffet inside was very good. My lunch consisted of miso soup, salad (eaten with chopsticks), rice, bean sprouts, and fried chicken nuggets. The view of the quaint little enclosed garden was so charming and calming too.

After lunch, we headed down to two more old houses. In Japanese, these old houses are called “machiya”. Our first home included a tour. It was built in the early 1900s and had carved wood panels inside near the ceiling. It was interesting to me that this home included a Western sitting room. My how different that room was from the rest of the home. The second home was free to go into and included a guest sign-in book I enjoyed both signing it and reading it’s global entries.

After the third home, Yumi and I headed back via train to Osaka. We both met up with one of her college friends and headed for sushi. (I definitely didn’t want to leave Japan and not try true sushi!) Our dinner was in a sushi bar/restaurant known for excellent sushi. We shared conversation and wonderful sushi. Dinner was roast octopus tentacle, cucumber roll (seaweed, rice, cucumber), roast salmon, salmon roe, tuna and and avocado roll, raw tuna and rice, roast tuna and rice, red and spicy ginger, soy sauce, and grapefruit juice.

With a belly partially full, I headed back alone via train to Kobe. I decided to get a Japan-only McDonald’s meal. So, I bought an EBI McFillet burger (shrimp burger). It was excellent, and I enjoyed eating it on the street watching the diverse street crowd. I walked down Dining Street, a street filled with all sorts of restaurants. The KFC has different menu items as the McDonald’s does. Then, I walked back to my hotel reminiscing of my first night in Japan and finished up packing. Finally at 2:30 AM, I went to sleep for my last wonderful night in Japan. Sayonara. :)