The Wandering Age

First Night, Feet, Intro to Day 1, Load-Out, Change (cash)

June 24, 2006 at 8:00 am (Japan)

During dinner I was starting to get hit with really tired spells, but we had to hurry back to Kyoto to get to my hostel on time anyway. After dinner we got on a train to Kyoto and made it to the hostel at exactly 10pm (when they close). They guy said they were full so I was pretty worried about how I was gonna find another place, but Eri talked to him awhile and it turned out he also owned apartments nearby and I could stay there for 1000yen ($8) more than the hostel. I took that and he drove me over to the apartment, which I’ve posted pictures of. I was on the fourth floor of a tiny apartment building with mostly young people in it. My room had a closet, a table, and a TV on a TV stand. I had to move the table to the corner and get some bedding out of the closet to sleep. It was pretty neat to sleep in a real Japanese apartment for a few days, but it was annoying that the only shower (and sink) was all the way downstairs and shared with an entire building. There was a toilet on the floor (complete with different flushing directions for “small” and “big”). I ended up staying there for three nights before the hostel opened back up and I switched over to experience that too and save a little money.

Now I’m not sure exactly where to go with my story. The next five days were very similar and my observations are probably more interesting than me talking about what I actually saw. Pictures are probably much more important than something like, “I saw Nijo Castle.” Anyway, I think I’ll look through my pictures and try to list everything we saw and I’ll try to remember thoughts I had and add those.

I slept well the first night but when I got up I was ready to go. My plan worked and even if I was a little tired when I arrived, as soon as I slept one full night there, I forgot there was a time change. This is when I started learning to take care of myself. I walked about a third of the way to Kyoto station to meet Eri and I realized maybe I should remember how to get back, so I walked back to the apartment and started over, this time being observant. I met Eri and Hiromi at the station and we headed off to see things in Kyoto itself. We got around mainly on foot, getting lost all the time, and sometimes taking buses. Hiromi was our guide mainly and Eri was really worried about the days Hiromi wouldn’t be there and getting us badly lost. That day was also very sunny and hot and probably what got me most of the tan I have now. I actually got about as close to burning as possible without actually burning, but it was fine and stayed as a tan instead of pealing (except it’s not under my shirt). I also noticed Eri and Hiromi just got a little red and then it just went away instead of tanning, which was a characteristic of Japanese people I didn’t know before.

There was a big break here when I was writing this (got busy with school and friends), and now it should be easier to write a lot of this because Eri has started writing this story in her Mixi blog. It seems like she remembers it really well and her posts are pretty detailed for each day so I can go off of that. I’m still slow reading super casual blog-Japanese though, so it’s not easy to read her version.

Anyway, the first day we went to Nijo Castle, The Imperial Castle (which was closed), Heian Jingu, Gion, Kiyomizudera, Yasaka Jinja, and Kodaiji. As you can probably tell, we walked a lot. This is why I got absolutely toasted and quickly wore holes in the tops of my feet. All I brought were flip-flops, because I knew shoes would just be a waste of space and I’d never use them. But I got some good strong and comfortable Columbia flip-flops before I left to be sure they’d hold up. They did great and were comfortable to walk on, but I they were new so I hadn’t formed the strap to my foot and it wore down the skin on the sides and rubbed a hole in the top of my foot. I figure a shoe would have done the same, just on the back of my heel. My feet would hurt a lot each morning (my legs did too) and everyday I thought I wouldn’t make it, but by the time we really got going either the pain stopped or I forgot about it (not sure which) and it never really bothered me or slowed me down. I still have the scars on the tops and sides of my feet which might not go away, but I figure that’ll be a neat souvenir from my trip if they don’t.

Now’s probably a good time to talk about how I was equipped in general. When I was in Kyoto I didn’t carry my backpack with me, which was awesome. Later I needed it since I never knew where I’d be staying the next night, and carrying it was a huge pain. Anyway, since I didn’t carry my backpack I utilized my shorts’ cargo capabilities and filled them with stuff. Anyway, here’s the colonel’s recommended load-out: Wallet in my back-left pocket, change and keys in the back-right (I sat down so rarely it wasn’t problem), camera in the top-front-right, the day’s collection of maps and tickets for the day in the top-front-left (umbrella also went in this pocket on rainy (most) days, DS Lite (dictionary) in the bottom-front-left, and passport and JR pass in the bottom-front-right.

The change part reminded me to talk about change in Japan. Unlike in America, change in Japan matters a lot. For one, the Japanese love cash and most places won’t take checks, debit cards, or credit cards. Most people walk around with huge sums of cash since the country is so safe and you always need it. We can’t even get a $1 coin going in America, but here the coins go up to 500yen (about $4). A lot of Americans have trouble adjusting to the fact that coins here are real money, but I’m very good at using them before breaking out the bills. One big reason change is useable here is that tax is included in all prices. You don’t know how refreshing it is to actually be able to buy something that costs 100yen with a 100yen coin. Because of this, you almost never see 1yen coins and even 5’s are very rare too. Pretty much the only place you can get (or use) 1yen coins is the 99yen store.