11/3 - An Evening in Kyoto

We got on the bus to head to Central Kyoto. After a few stops, it was really crowded. It looks like everyone was going to the middle of town tonight. It was a national holiday after all. We managed to nap a little on the bus because we were fortunate to have a seat. We got to a major intersection in the middle of town and got off the bus and wandered. However, I was so tired that I had no idea where we were heading and N was apparently just following my lead.

We eventually found one of the shopping arcades that N was looking for.  N originally wanted to visit the Nishiki Market [錦市場] in the morning in order to get some extra fresh fish for breakfast.  But it just didn't work in our schedule.  We wandered part way down the Nishiki Market.  Most of the shops were in the process of cleaning up for the night.  There were a few places selling some things, but there was not much left.  All I could do was get a photo op and say that we visited the Nishiki Market.

We then went over to Teramachi [寺町] which is another long shopping arcade in Central Kyoto and is just perpendicular to Nishiki Market.  One of the famous sites in this shopping arcade is that there is a stone torii [鳥居] that is literally embedded into the buildings on either side.  They managed to preserve a piece of history, but I guess the builders didn't care if they encroached on that piece of history.  Right across from the torii, was the entrance to a street temple.  The temple looked much bright and exciting with the dozens of Japanese lanterns that decorated the entrance.

We went up and down Teramachi for about half an hour and we were really hungry.  We originally wanted to have dinner at Watami [和民], but the restaurant was all booked with business parties.  N didn't really want to eat any Western food while in Japan, but I kind of wanted to try some.  We came across a French restaurant called Paris 21e.  It was on the second floor of a building along the Teramachi shopping arcade.

I ordered a glass of Suntory Half-Half beer to start.  It's basically a Japanese version of a Black and Tan.  So half dark and half light.  In this case they took Suntory's dark and light beers and mixed them together.  We don't get any Suntory drinks in Vancouver, so I thought this was worth trying out.  Even N liked it and she really doesn't like dark beers. 

For our food, we ordered a salad, charcoute, and a seafood paella.  The salad was really good.  It had a mix of egg and shrimp.  The charcoute is an Alsatian dish of sausages and veggies in a pot.  This dish wasn't bad, but it was a little salty for our taste.  Then there was the seafood paella.  It was not what I expected.  The sauce was really weird.  I can't even begin to describe the flavour.  I was expecting more of a tomato flavour.  In the end, the salad was the best and dinner seemed to go downhill from there.  At least I had my Suntory to wash down the food.  And like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation says:  it's Suntory time!

After dinner, we took the bus back to K's House Kyoto.  We got into our spartan guest room for two.  We dropped off our gear and went downstairs to finally get some Internet access.  While N was checking her messages, I noticed that the bulletin board had an introduction to a sento right across the street.


A sento [銭湯] is a Japanese bath house where you pay to go in.  The sento is divided into men and women's sections and we paid around ¥300-400 for the one we went into.  We took advantage of the tiny sento across the street.  The showers at K's House Kyoto are shared, so we might as well do the Japanese style of bathing.

Honestly, I had no idea what I was supposed to do.  All I knew was that I must wash completely before bathing in the actual baths.  The man at the bath house spoke no English, so it was a little hard to figure each other out.  I really had to mouth out to myself the cost that he had quoted me for admission.  It wasn't all that busy as far as I could tell.  The man had a television running on the men's side of the sento. He was watching the Japan Series, the Japanese baseball championships, between the Yoimuri Giants and the Nippon-Ham Fighters (mmm...Ham Fighters :P).  Fortunately, there were a couple of other men who came in with me.  So I just followed their lead.  The men had their own towels and wash basins; whereas, I had to borrow from the bath house.  Thankfully the towel, soap, and shampoo were all complimentary. 

As I took my seat on a stool by one of the many faucets along the wall, I peeked out the side of my eyes to see what the other men were doing.  They would fill up their wash basins with the gloriously warm water.  It was a bit chilly tonight, so the warmth hit the spot.  Both men had brought their toothbrushes and shaving kits.  So they were brushing their teeth as they used their wash towels and wetted their naked bodies.  They would then lather up their hands with shampoo and wash their hair.  The body was next.  So foreign me just followed their lead minus the brushing and shaving.  The best part is when I fill up the wash basin with the warm water again and just pour the whole basin over my whole body. 

After a thorough cleansing, I got into one of the two baths.  The introduction at K's Kyoto House had already warned that the baths are usually hotter than what foreigners are accustomed to.  They weren't kidding.  Holy smokes!  It was really hot.  I had to really ease myself into the tub slowly.  After the bath, my whole body felt warm and pulsating.  I bought a bottle of milk, which is apparently one of the things to do after bathing in Japan.  I thought wtf at first about drinking the milk, but it felt very refreshing to drink the milk.

When I walked back to the guest house, the wind just didn't have the same chill anymore.  I was warm all over and felt as bright as day.  So if you don't mind bathing totally naked in front of complete strangers, I would highly recommend partaking in a sento.  It was a glorious feeling and I felt more connected to Japanese culture by just experiencing it. 

And that was the end of our first full day in Kyoto.  And what a full day it was!  The sento really helped to usher me into a wonderful slumber for the night.  Tomorrow would be another busy day with an early start again.

[sento image from pingmag.jp and originally from "Sento - the Japanese Bathhouse.” © Julia Baier]