David: First day in Kyoto, Japan

Let me just say this: I love Japan. Love it. I've been here a week, and it's hard to know where to begin, so I will just tell you about my first day here, and try to be less wordy and more pictorial...

We arrived at the Kyoto Station in the early evening. What an impressive train station!

After using the public bathroom, Allan asked me, "Did the toilet freak you out?" I hadn't even noticed it, since I went "#1" So I went back to the restroom and looked at it. Oh my.

Here's how you use it for "#2". (Allan is probably horrified that I'm blogging about such things...but hey, I talk a lot about food, and it's the next step, right? And yes, I have had the opportunity to use one! It wasn't that bad at all...)

(Speaking of public toilets, nearly all of the public restrooms do not have soap, towels, or hand dryers. Not sure why, but this means you leave the restroom with wet hands. Many people carry a towel in their back pocket to dry off with, as I have started to do. How they curb the spread of disease with no soap, I'll never know....)

Once outside the train station, we got in a cab, and gave the pre-printed directions to our apartment to him, which were provided by the rental agency. He had to study the map for quite some time before getting us there--and it was only 10 minutes away. Oh great, I thought, if he can't find it, how can we?? But as you can see from this photo of our street sign, many of the street signs are small--and for us, not in English. (The street sign is under the row of 3 lights.)

Plus, apartment and house numbers are not necessarily in order on a street. Often times, they are numbered based on when they were built on the street. So navigation is tricky, even for locals. Here's the street our apartment is on:

And the front of our building:

And the apartment inside (me blogging away):

And as for the toilet inside, no worries, it's practically an appliance! Not only is the seat heated, but when you're done, a stream of warm water cleans you off (and it has expert aim, I must add) and then dries you off as well with a built in butt-dryer! (sorry, Allan.) The toilet paper roll is ingenious--no messing around with spring loaded doo-hickeys. And when you flush, you can wash your hands in the little sink above the tank, and that water will flush the next load....so to speak. If you are planning to renovate your bathroom, this is the toilet to get! Toto

The nifty control panel on the toilet:

Additionally, the bath/shower has a heated tub, so after you fill up, it won't cool off. Is that great, or what?

Anyway, we dropped off our things, and decided to go out looking for a nearby vegetarian restaurant that the tourist office at the train station told us about. Clutching our map, we meandered through the small streets, with people, cars, and bicyclists whizzing by. Vending machines seem to be every 20 yards, so at the very least, we could get coffee...

At this point, I was really wishing I had some popcorn to leave as a trail, but Allan is like a human compass--he always knows what direction he's heading, regardless of how many twists and turns in the road, or if we enter a building and exit on a different floor and/or door. Eventually, we made it to Mikoan, with the help of one young woman to point the way. You enter by going down a long pathway between buildings, and the cafe is about as big as most peoples bedroom. There is only a counter to sit at, and we took our seats at the end. It is the epitome of a "hole in the wall", with every inch of the place wallpapered in old posters, postcards, wrapping paper, photos...you name it. Every bit of space on every shelf and the counter are loaded with trinkets, many of cats. (There are also a few cats lying around the place, which would horrify my sister Cindy, and I can tell that Allan is not all that pleased either. But I whisper that cats mean no mice, and I'd rather have cat hair in my food than mouse---well, you know.) In minutes, the place was full, and we were greeted with a small glass of water. A mother/daughter team works the whole place. The music playing was old American standards from the 50's like Sinatra and Peggy Lee. I find that so interesting, since no English was spoken, written or apparent anywhere. We pointed to what the two gals next to us were having (which we assume is a "dinner set" of about 6 different items), and hoped our gesture was understood. Fortunately, one of the gals next to us (the only other non-Japanese person in the cafe besides us, who is German, I believe) confirms that we ordered the best thing. After about 20 minutes of watching the daughter behind the counter cook on what looks like two card tables, the mother brought the plates, and we proceeded to take cautionary tastes of the various dishes before us. (We are each served different things, except for the rice and soup.) We decided that we really liked everything! As we went to pay for our meal ($10 each), the German gal said, "When you want to pay, say gochi-sosama desh'ta. It means you enjoyed the meal." (photos courtesy of a blog we found, Vegetarian Dining in Japan. http://vegjapan.localeats.net/index.php (we forgot our camera!)

On the way home, we stopped at a convenience store to buy a few groceries...Wow. Where to begin? Slowly we recognized cold cereal, but where was the soy milk? We looked for something familiar, and eventually decided that a box with a picture of small yellow beans on the front must be a good bet. We still had some coffee from Cairns, so we were good to go for breakfast.

We made it back to the apartment just fine (Allan already brave enough to try different streets!), and went to bed. It had been a long but exciting day.

In the morning, I made myself some coffee, and sat to meditate. Suddenly it hit me; I was in Kyoto....a dream I'd had for many years had come true. Tears started streaming down my face, and I wept in silence. I wanted to wake Allan, and share my mix of joy, awe, gratitude, humility, and wonder...did he know what this moment meant to me? How happy and grateful I was? But I just couldn't move. The moment seemed so huge, so unfathomable...undeniable proof that dreams do come true. (So if you have a dream, don't let it go!)

I've been fascinated by Japanese asthetic since I was a little boy. I remember writing my first Kanji on the side of the door to our basement when I was about 8. I took a magic marker and drew the symbols for human and tree...if my memory serves me. It was amazing to me that a drawing could mean a word! In Portland, one of my favorite places to go (especially if someone is visiting from out of town) is the Japanese Garden in Washington Park. It's extraordinary.

So that was my first day, and every day since has been a wonderful adventure of discovery and learning....I'll post again soon.