Day 348: Golden Pavilion — Bamboo Grove — Arcade — Shabu-Shabu at Hanahana
Chilly morning and the coldest day we’ve had here in Kyoto. I went out about 7:15, walked past Nijo Castle, jogged through the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden that surrounds the Imperial Palace. The palace grounds are really nice. Spotless, obviously, and just so peaceful. Even during morning rush hour this city of 1.5 million is silent — it’s really incredible.
I joined the fam in the room for breakfast and then did school. Yesterday we all did school in the room and were reminded why we’ve separated the kids all year — they just constantly distract each other. I took James to the lobby and we had a productive day. The typically small table and chairs were perfect for him. I let him set the schedule for school and we played math card games, watched some science videos on my iPad and wrote a journal.
The Trump Impeachment vote was happening at the same time on the other side of the planet, covered by BBC on the TV right behind us.
We packed up and headed out, first stopping by the Fiveran bakery next door for a little lunch. Willa and James both got these fancy hotdogs with cheese and tomato sauce and neither really ate much of it.
We called a taxi on Uber and headed out to Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion temple. Taxis are expensive here but the service is first class. Check this guy out. He opened the door for us, was super polite and friendly, taxi was spotless. Laughable to compare this to the taxi experience in NYC.
Kinkaku-ji is a striking building, probably the most famous temple in this city of 2000+. But unfortunately the day had become overcast so we didn’t get to experience the blinding golden light and pond reflection that everyone raves about.
We got back in a taxi from Kinkaku-ji and headed about 25 minutes southwest to the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. This is also a popular spot — and probably the most tourist-heavy place we’ve been in Kyoto, except maybe Nishiki Market.
This is one of those spots that would be incredible if you were there early in the morning before the crowds — and, admittedly, if you hadn’t already seen multiple incredible bamboo situations in the same year. This is how spoiled we are: when it’s the 3rd or 4th bamboo forest we’ve been to in the last several months, it’s going to take a lot to impress us!
The crowds thinned out as we walked further from the main part of the grove and we strolled through a cute little neighborhood as we headed towards the train station. We stopped for tea, coffee and cake at Sagaro Kaede Cafe and then happened to pass a playground nearby. The kids took off running without even asking if we could stop.
While at the playground, four 13/14 year olds showed up on bikes with their gloves and a baseball. It’s nice to be reminded we’re in baseball territory again. And despite it being about 40 degrees, all four were snapping curveballs and throwing splitfingers after about 5 minutes. Apparently no need for warmups in Japan!
Also fascinating that all four kids had the same distinct pitching motion as all the Japanese big leaguers… collapsing back leg, big long arm circle.
We walked another 10 minutes or so and then caught the JR train to Nijo Station. Few places James and Willa feel more comfortable than on a train surrounded by commuters.
The 3rd Planet Arcade was in the building next to Nijo Station. Now *this* was an arcade. We had gone to one near Nishiki a couple days ago that would have been awesome for the US, but it had nowhere close to the variety of this one. There were drumming games, horse racing games, fishing games, and every other possible arcade imaginable. Each kid had 7 or 8 100-yen coins in their new coin purse that they could use however they wanted. After 45 minutes James looked like a cracked out addict on a 5 day bender in Vegas.
Also funny: James and Willa have yet to accept the fact that the “games” where the claw comes down to (almost but never) pick up a toy are a complete ripoff. I remember those days. It’s going to take them another 500 yen or so to come to this conclusion.
At 5pm we hit Hanahana for shabu-shabu (hot pot). Such a gem of a restaurant / bar. Yuta the host / server / part owner spoke perfect English after spending a year in Australia. He walked us through the menu. We got a hot pot with wagyu beef and then they added noodles to the broth for a ramen course. So. Damn. Good. The kids loved all of it. We washed it all down with ginger ale (Willa), pineapple juice (James) and whiskey highballs (grownups) — which seem to be a staple on all drink menus here in Kyoto. A perfect meal in a cozy spot on a cold night.
Bullet train to Hakone tomorrow.
