I got a somewhat late start sleeping into about 10 am at my hotel since it was my last night in that glorious bed. Then I checked out and headed to the nearby train station. From there I made my way up north to the city of Kyoto.
First I decided to eat at Mos Burger, a Japanese burger chain, that we actually have in Taiwan. I wanted to see what a difference in experience I would have. The menu items were slightly different, as were their uniforms, but overall it seemed relatively similar. I had a melon soda, teriyaki burger, and fries. Good lunch! Then, I located the hostel, where I dropped off my bags. I'll be staying at a smaller little place tucked in a back street for the next two nights.
I will admit I had no set plans for what I wanted to do today, so I stopped at a grocery store and bought a few things I had promised to pick up for people. I liked how stream lined the cash register was. The woman running it simply dumped the coins I gave her onto a conveyer belt in the register, my change came out the bottom and she handed it to me. They had a resting area there, so I sat and read my book for a bit, then decided to head to the main station to see what was going on there.
I wandered the department store basements for a little while first getting a shoulder massage as my back was killing me. Then I ate some ramen, followed by cheesecake. After this, I decided to take a break from eating for a little while.
I wandered up to the roof of the train station, where there is a garden overlooking the city, I'm sure in the spring time it is very beautiful, but unfortunately, it's a bit withered at the moment. Next stop was across the street to the Kyoto Tower, it's a smaller tower, located 130m over an 11 story building, and a bit run down looking. From here though I was able to relax, look out the many free binoculars, and ask the guide on that floor what interesting things were that I saw. I made a small list of things I want to hit up tomorrow.
Final stop after a day of lazy was the best decision of the day. I went to a place called Musashi Sushi that I had heard of. There you sit at a counter, while roll after roll of beautiful food passes you by on a conveyer belt. It was by far the best sushi I have EVER tasted. Yellowtail on a bed of wasabi and rice, shrimp mixed with avocado, onion, and mayonnaise...Salmon, cream cheese, greens, and sesame seeds. The freshest eel...all had amazing flavor, not one roll I tasted was bland. I was mesmerized watching the sushi chefs stand at their different stations. One making nori wrapped items, another hand rolls...all at lightning-fast speed, they made two rolls at once sometimes. I was too busy stuffing my face and watching with glee to take any photos though....sorry! It's so good though, I might go back again tomorrow!
After this, it was back to the hostel. Along the way down the road, I passed a group of monks singing chants and playing gongs quietly as they walked. Perfect final site to the evening.
