Japan Day 28 - The Red Carpet

Yes, we have arrived in Kyoto.

So far along, good ol' sis and I have stealth camped, legally camped, roughed it, stayed in bad hotel rooms, lived in fancy hotel suites, been welcomed into the warm home of strangers, and couchsurfed. Tonight we try something new.

I remember reading about Air BnB in some magazine a while back and thinking at the time, "what a great idea." I still think so. It's simple, if you leave town for a few days, or have a spare room, or are inbetween roommates, any situation where you have a free space and want to earn a little side cash, why not rent it out?Not for long, just one or a few days. For travelers such as we are, this all means cheaper than hotel room prices and a home rather than a room. Conceptually, the idea caught my attention if not for the realization that demand for short term rooms on the run will for ever be needed by travelers, then for the innovator's confidence to challenge the hotel establishment for a one or two night stay abroad. 

Not knowing what to do or how Air BnB works, sis and I managed to secure a room in Kyoto for the night. It's a great house, two blocks from the Imperial Palace at about quarter of the price for a hotel. 

That night we were oh so tired from the sprint that we cane in, put our things down, oversaw the nice room that had been made up for us, and slept in the middle of the living room floor. Opps! Well, we rested well, again, and awoke without any trouble. 

So what is there to do in Kyoto? Top of everyone's list: the Imperial Shrine and Gardens. Everyone needs special permission to enter. Tourists sign up months in advance, plan their whole trip around being in Kyoto for the day their name will appear on the list. 

Of course, we didn't. Most nights we are unsure of where we will spend the night, much much less where we will be months in advance. Oh well.

The room where we will sleep comfortably tonight. The living room where we slept this morning is behind this beautifully crafted paper screen door. 

Although we had no reservations (hello Bourdain), we decided to piss into the wind and try our luck at the Imperial gates.! I mean, if people plan these trips months in advance, and our schedule changes from day to day, then surely someone must have given up on a ticket and hopefully two. So we ride to the Palace, which was no small feat in itself. Not that it is far from our room, not at all. It is the gravely roads that make the trip, by bike, so difficult. Many times did my back wheel feel like it would slip out from underneath me and prize me with a wicked gravely burn. Luckily, along some straights, the daily cyclists have smoothed out their own wavy path leading to and fro some entry points that you see here.

You can see the gravely road behind sis, and the satisfied look to ride on a smooth surface again upon exit.

Why did we exit? Because the red carpet was rolled out for us. You see, one Tobar child's instincts is sharp. Either one of us can tell the time within fifteen minutes of the correct time without looking at a clock. But two of us together, and we cross the line into something supernatural. We got up that morning, brushed teeth, took out time, cycled around, and made it to the information desk with just the right amount of time and circumstance to be offered the very last two ticketed spots on the tour that day. We were right, people had cancelled. And not only that, I overhead a group just at the next window a few moments later that the tour was now booked for the week. Go us, we are winning in Life.

We stoped here, there rather, on the peninsula to eat a quick breakfast in mild celebration of our ticket acquisition.

We found a home made onigiri shop run by two old women. One the maker, the other the cash taker. A good pair, one of them shared style with Sister because I noticed they use the same color and motifed bandana. I love to help these food shops out. Spending money is as much a choice as which words to use when; and that makes each a small responsibility in my book. Spending money here won't garantee that Starbucks won't control their rent one day, and recycling doesn't necessarily mean the Earth will be saved. But you have the choice. 

After breakfast, we still had time on out hands before the 2pm curtain call back at the Imperial Palace. What to do, oh what to do?...market time! The famous Nishiki market will do =P

The man is not being rude by asking sis to wait just a moment, even though that's they way it looks. He's just making sure she wants one of each order.

One corn dog, one soy milk ice cream. The latter was actually quite dense and heavy to hold.

The market in all it's glory. 

It's a narrow space, not one most people do with their bikes, yet we were at the same time not out of place. 

So many stalls to look into, food to smell, and people to navigate through.

Just a small sample.

At the end of the market we are met with this corridor that I could just stare at for hours. 

Eventually, we had to leave the market. Not that we wanted to, I believe we could have stayed and tasted each treat with more attention. Time, however, demanded that we get our butts to the royal grounds. "Out of our way!" I joked all the way, "we have business at the Palace!"

We arrived just in time. As it turns out, surprise, the tour is guided and we could not "wander." A good size group of more than fourty people gathered loosely around the guide, listening to the History and facts about the architecture, roof work, and special guests the Palace has hosted over the years. Some of us wandered off to take photos.

Enjoy the Palace? As did we. The whole tour lasted an hour and a little more for last minute photos. 

After such a culturally rich experience, we did what any civilized person would do. We ate.

And that was that. A successful surprise visit to the Palace, we layed out the land of Kyoto, got our bearings, and now we will plan the two or three days we have here. Too many things to see and do! Now, we rest.

Much love,

-A

Ps. The screen doors here make for excellent silhouettes.