Day 347: Samurai and Ninja Museum — Cat Cafe — Pontocho Alley
Teddy woke up early to go to a Gold’s Gym we walked by the other day. Here’s his account:
Bought a day pass at Gold’s Gym this morning. It’s a place that is in some ways so familiar — like any Gold’s in the US and in many ways so different. They required a passport to buy a day pass — only time we’ve needed it in Japan so far. I had to run back to the hotel to grab it. The consent form made me promise not to show a tattoo — with a full explanation as to why it goes against Japanese culture. They also made me rent shoes — no outdoor shoes allowed beyond reception. Unsurprisingly the place was spotless. Each piece of equipment had a little hook holding a 8 inch by 8 inch black cloth that is to be used to wipe down your machine after use. There was also a whole rack of dumbbells with a sign “for women only.”
Meanwhile we got breakfast underway in our little room. This place is cozy. I’m kind of grateful for the super close quarters here in the last weeks of our year.
We decided to do school this morning in the room. Willa’s classmates wrote her letters, so she’s been dutifully writing each friend back, one by one. The goal is get all her replies completed before the class goes on Christmas break.
By noon we were rolling out into the chilly day with a loose plan: Get lunch, then have Teddy take the kids to the Ninja and Samurai Museum while I got to wander, then I’d take them to a cat cafe while Teddy got some time alone.
But first, lunch. We found a ramen spot near the Nishiki Market that had one little table for four in the back. We can’t seem to stop eating ramen. James has discovered gyoza. It was all delicious. When we walked out, there was a crowd of people waiting for one of the very few small tables, so we obviously just got lucky with a great place.
That’s when we split up — Teddy and the kids to the museum. Here’s his report:
The museum entry fee covered an all-in experience that included: browsing the first floor exhibits and answering 5 trivia questions; a samurai dress up and photo session; a 30-minute verbal history of samurais and ninjas from a guide; a samurai demonstration; and (the highlight!) tying on a ninja headband and playing with throwing stars and blow darts. Kids survived the 30-min verbal history and absolutely loved everything else.
Meanwhile I walked for two hours, going in and out of whatever shops and locations I wanted. Heaven! Wandering and “getting lost” are not part of exploring a city with small children. Glad to have the chance today for some freedom.
Funniest observation is that the vintage stores are really well curated and awesome — and they’ve gone crazy for the current 90s outdoors-y fashion trend. LL Bean, Patagonia, Carhart, flannel, chunky sweaters, pleated dockers, rain boots, etc. It’s like 8th grade all over again.
I actually tried on some things and got a 70s (80s?) dress. When you try clothes on in Japan you have to remove your shoes in the dressing room and wear a disposable face shield to prevent makeup from getting on the clothes. No chance of that happening here, but I did it anyway to be a good visitor.
When we swapped — and Teddy got to do his own wandering — the kids and I headed toward a highly rated cat cafe I’d found using Google Maps.
Cat Cafes started in Japan 20 years ago. You pay an entry fee to hang out in a small, quiet lounge area filled with cats you can watch, feed or cuddle. It’s meant to be soothing and/or satisfy some need for companionship.
The kids were amused by it. We bought “cat ice creams” — aka little mouse-shaped ice pops made of something cats like to eat (fish?) — and sat while they swarmed the kids and licked the ice cream.
We are SO not cat people, but the kids just think any furry animals doing human-like things (eating ice cream, batting a ball of yarn, etc.) are hilarious.
The crowd was all Japanese. Lots of giggling and photo-taking happening. There were mostly young women but at least two couples, I think on dates.
We ended up staying an hour and a half. By the last ten minutes, James’s eyes were bright red and itchy and he was sneezing like crazy.
It’s official: He’s allergic. Poor guy!
By now it was 5:30 and the smart thing to do would have been to grab somwthing easy — even a 7-11 rice wrap — and call it a great day.
But we had it in our heads that we wanted to walk over to the famed Pontocho Alley for dinner.
We walked the length of the cobblestoned alley in search of dinner. It’s a very narrow stretch lined with wooden houses, restaurants and bars. At night, it’s lit by paper lanterns, and there was a warm glow coming through from the windows. It was so quiet that we were whispering, despite it being busy.
The atmosphere was overwhelmingly charming. Reminiscent of Amsterdam on a cozy winter night. It felt almost fake, like a movie set.
After a few false starts (one place was too busy, another was closed), we stumbled into a total gem of a spot that I’ll probably always remember — not because of the food and certainly not because of the kids’ behavior — but because it was so damn cozy: Pontocho Suishin.
We removed our shoes and sat in a sunken booth. By then it was 7 pm and James was falling asleep in his seat and Willa was crying because we weren’t letting her read her book during dinner.
Things perked up with the food (shocker!). Tuna sashimi for the kids, plum and rice soup, tomato salad and cod tempura for the rest of us.
I love by the way that whiskey and soda — my cocktail of choice back home — is a standard menu item in every restaurant. It’s like, beer, sake or a “highball.” Aka a whiskey with soda water.
Two of those for the grownups, please!
We cabbed it home afterward. The cabs here can be summoned by Uber. In fact, the only “Ubers” are actual Kyoto taxis. The drivers jump out and open the doors for you and wear white gloves and suits.
We did a lot and the kids were beat. A shower for James to get the cat off him and some more Hobbit before crashing!
MISC:
For most of the year I’ve revolved my outfits between 4-5 pairs of pants and 5 or so t-shirts. It’s like I’ve just given in/up, because I have worn the same outfit now for almost three weeks. I have two identical pairs of black leggings from Kathmandu that I switch between. And I have this one stupid brown Icebreaker sweater. I just lay this getup out every night and put it on every morning. It’s comedy at this point. Not even trying.
Even though we’re closer than ever to the finish, we’re surprisingly more relaxed about that fact than we have been recently. Arriving in Japan was a good reminder: This trip is still very much happening. Just because we’re close to the end doesn’t mean it is the end. So our new mantra is: We’re not back til we’re back!
