Kyoto to Tokyo

The cab ride back from Nishiki Market to Kyoto Station was pretty quick. It was hot in the back seat, and I began to sweat like crazy as we sped down the back alley streets. My driver didn’t seem to have any interest in using the air conditioning (at least not in a way that emitted any cold air) so to make the best of the situation, I used my hand fan to cool off and listened along to the classical music coming from the radio.

We sped passed the curiously named “Tits Cafe” before emerging out onto Karasuma Dori, upon which we made a left turn and headed south, towards Kyoto Station. I had the driver stop early to let me out in front of the Yodobashi Camera store, just a block north from the station. It was new since the last time I had been in Kyoto and not really any different from any other Yodobashi Camera, but still, why not have a look, right?

I did a fairly quick walk through of the floors of the giant Yodobashi, ending my tour in the basement. Then it was out the connecting tunnel that leads into the underground Porta shopping area. I saw my beloved KYK Tonkatsu restaurant and bid it farewell until the next time. Then up the escalator and I was back outside standing in front of Kyoto Station in the rain.

The time was now about 4pm and my train was departing at 4:56pm. I decided to spend a few minutes in the large station entrance, having one last look around. It’s such a huge complex, the main open area feels like some sort of modern cathedral.

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Nishiki Market, Kyoto (part 2)

So, with my newly bought tea stashed in my camera bag, I continued on.

This house was just outside the market on a side street. I love the shape and pattern of the woman’s umbrella against the verticals in the house.

Continue reading “Nishiki Market, Kyoto (part 2)”

Nishiki Market, Kyoto (part 1)

 

It was raining today, and raining hard. The typhoon that had been working it’s way closer to Japan since I arrived was finally catching up to me. Today was also the day to leave Kyoto and head back to Tokyo. That being the case, it left me only a short amount of time to do anything before I had to catch my train out of town. I decided my plan then would be to just head to the Nishiki Market (near where I went the night before) to do some photography and buy some tea from a local shop in the market named Mr. Yamada and Tea (茶やまどしや/cha yamadashiya). I bought tea from them last time I was in Kyoto and it was fantastic! Continue reading “Nishiki Market, Kyoto (part 1)”

Kyoto Night Walk

The Shinkansen got me back to Kyoto, from Osaka, in 14 minutes. So nice.

I decided to have tonkatsu again for dinner, this time at another KYK Tonkatsu location in the Kintetsu Mall Miyakomichi that was located in the south side of Kyoto Station. This location was “fancier” than the one in Porta. The menu had different cuts of meat and sauces were different. However, it was still delicious!

After eating, I went to Aeon Mall behind Kyoto Station to pick up a couple things. I hit the Baby’s “R” Us for my daughter, Muji for my wife and myself( I bought a great business card case!) and then the supermarket to buy some food for the morning. I went back to the room to drop off my purchases and some camera gear then raced back down to get the rest of the night moving. By now, it was definitely looking like rain and as a result, the humidity was very high. I was a sweat machine again!

The night’s plan was to head over to the Pontocho and Gion areas and slowly wander around to see if anything fun was happening. I wasn’t out to chase Geisha and harass them for photographs or anything like that, rather just to soak in the atmosphere of the night. I decided to take a cab to save time in getting there since it was now about 9:30pm. The cab ride was a quiet one aside from the basic pleasantries exchanged with the cab driver. Continue reading “Kyoto Night Walk”