Today was our day trip to Ise to see the famous Ise Shrine. We met Don in the lobby at 7:45am and caught the Limited Express train to Ise at 8:45am in Kyoto Station. The train ride took a little over two hours to arrive at our destination, with one transfer along the way. I slept for the latter part of the train ride once it began to be less scenic. Once in Ise, we began by visiting the Geku Outer Shrine. This was a Shinto religious compound, but it did not hold the famous Ise Shrine. Photographs were not allowed within the main shrine’s walls, so we were only able to photograph the secondary structures and nature around the premise. It is amazing because all of the religious structures are rebuilt every 20 years on a site immediately adjacent to the existing building, and the craftsmanship is unbelievable. After visiting Geku, we took the bus to the Ise Inner Shrine, which was located about 4km away. By that time, it was a little past noon, so we decided to get lunch in the Ise street markets before entering the Ise Inner Shrine compound. The feel was Ise was much smaller than that of Kyoto, but there were plenty of new things to see and try. For lunch, I tried a shrimp and onion flavored fish cake on a stick for 250 yen and a beef-filled steamed bun for 350 yen. They were both amazingly delicious! The market was very small, but the city itself was surrounded by beautiful green mountains, a river, and lots of greenery.
In the Ise Inner Shrine, the structures looked very similar to the ones we saw at the Geku Outer Shrine. Before long, I couldn’t even tell them apart, but it was nonetheless, amazing. While within the first walls of Ise Shrine, we actually got to view a woman of high status be taken into the second layer of Ise’s walls. Don said it either meant she had a lot of money or was of a higher status. She followed the motions of a Shinto monk, and a crowd gathered to see the ritual. It was very short, but I was very impressed. Very few people are allowed anywhere within the walls, so it was definitely a rare opportunity. After we were done touring the Inner Shrine grounds, we wandered around the Ise street markets a bit longer, then took the bus back to the train station.
The train was very full, so the only seats Don could purchase for us on the Limited Express train were in the smoking car. It didn’t seem like it would be that bad, but as that train filled up on the journey home, it got very smoky in the car. My roommate and I feel asleep for the majority of the two hour trip, but we were all miserable by the end of it. Our eyes were burning, and our skin felt waxy from all of the smoke in the unventilated car. I really hope we don’t ever have to do that again!
Once back at Kyoto Station, Don let us do as we wanted for dinner since we were done with the trip. I hung around the station with two of my classmates, Scot and Zach, and we got Japanese food. I ordered a combination with tempura tendon, hot soba in dashi, and tsukemono. It cost 880 yen but was very very filling and tasty. The apartments we are moving to in a week are right near Kyoto Station, so I think many of us will be eating there a lot in the next couple of weeks. After dinner, we were able to figure out the subway system to take the two lines we needed to get back to that hotel. We were all tried out from a long day, and all I could think about was showering to get the smoke smell off of my clothes.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
30 March 2009
My first day of Japanese language class was this morning. I walked to the classroom with four of my classmates since we were all a bit unsure of the exact location of the building. It took 20 minutes to walk there, and we were perfectly on-time. The name of our Japanese language professor is Watenabi Sensei, and he is a very cute old man. He was Don’s language professor when he lived in Japan, so Watenabi Sensei came out of retirement to teach his student’s students. It is pretty cool, and the class goes by very quickly. We received two workbooks from him, and we are learning a lot in a short period of time. We are only in Kyoto for four more weeks, so we have a total of twelve Japanese language classes. It doesn’t really seem like a lot when I stop to think about it, but I hope I have enough time to learn a descent amount of Japanese. On the walk back from class, I stopped by Nakau and bought the medium bowl of tanuki for 290 yen. I still enjoy it just as much as when I first got here, and Nakau still has the cheapest prices I have found thus far in my travels. It is in a very convenient location as well, so I have a feeling many of us will continue to go there quite frequently for cheap meals.
At 2:30pm, we met in the hotel lounge with Don for our first session of our Arch 480 class. We each presented our PowerPoint on a different aspect of Japan’s culture and shared stories about the new foods we have tried. The heater is always on in the lounge, so the presentations seemed to go on forever since the room was so hot! All of us seem to complain that our hotel rooms are too hot or too cold. Mine is too cold, but I’d rather have it be that way instead of too hot. After class, I borrowed Norio’s phone to call my Uncle Masaru. He was very happy to hear from me, especially since he thought I had acquired my own cell phone, but he was disappointed when I told him I was only borrowing Norio’s. He was familiar with the name Kobayashi-san, so I’m assuming my Grandma had mentioned Norio’s name to him many times. Anyways, it was a good thing Norio was close by since Uncle Masaru didn’t understand that I needed him to refax me the contact information he had sent me earlier. Norio resultantly explained it to him in Japanese, so I received the fax later that night.
In the evening, a group of five of us went out in search of something sweet to eat. We ended up getting crepes, which were absolutely delicious. Mine cost 650yen, and it had custard, peaches, strawberries, bananas, and whip cream in it. Yummy! If it wasn’t so expensive, I’d probably eat it way more often. The rest of the time was spent wandering around department stores and the shopping arcade. I still can’t believe how easily I can find my way around, especially since I haven’t even been here for a week! Something funny happened tonight though. The group of us was waiting around until it was 7pm to look for discounted bento boxes in the department stores. The first one we went to had discount sale stickers on them, and they had really low numbers on them, so we all filled our shopping baskets with food. When we went to checkout however, we realized that the amount was merely deducted from the original cost, and it was not the sale price of the item itself. The food therefore was not any cheaper than food we can get at convenience stores. It was very embarrassing, and we had to carry all of our goods back to the refrigerator section and put them back. It was quite the scene, and I’m pretty sure all of the Japanese people were confused. Now we know though, so I guess we learned something very valuable tonight.
For dinner, we found a small place in a basement that served semi-American food and yakitori. I ordered two yakitori and a side of tofu for a total cost of 250 yen. My friend Derick ordered French fries and a chicken pizza, and the pizza was very interesting. The fries were normal, but the pizza had the thinnest crust ever. It was equivalent to a crispy and thin pita chip, and it didn’t have tomato sauce on it. It was just a super cheesy pizza with chicken and green onion. I’m not sure I could eat an entire personal pizza like that, but it was something tasty and different to try. The rest of the night was spent on the massage chairs as usual. A Japanese lady was totally passed out on one of them, and she was snoring super loud. We were all laughing, and this probably went on for a good 45 minutes. It was awkward when she finally woke-up, since there was no one there when she first sat down to use them, but it was very hilarious at the same time. It was an amusing way to end the night. Tomorrow we travel to Ise to see some very historic sites, so I am very excited.
At 2:30pm, we met in the hotel lounge with Don for our first session of our Arch 480 class. We each presented our PowerPoint on a different aspect of Japan’s culture and shared stories about the new foods we have tried. The heater is always on in the lounge, so the presentations seemed to go on forever since the room was so hot! All of us seem to complain that our hotel rooms are too hot or too cold. Mine is too cold, but I’d rather have it be that way instead of too hot. After class, I borrowed Norio’s phone to call my Uncle Masaru. He was very happy to hear from me, especially since he thought I had acquired my own cell phone, but he was disappointed when I told him I was only borrowing Norio’s. He was familiar with the name Kobayashi-san, so I’m assuming my Grandma had mentioned Norio’s name to him many times. Anyways, it was a good thing Norio was close by since Uncle Masaru didn’t understand that I needed him to refax me the contact information he had sent me earlier. Norio resultantly explained it to him in Japanese, so I received the fax later that night.
In the evening, a group of five of us went out in search of something sweet to eat. We ended up getting crepes, which were absolutely delicious. Mine cost 650yen, and it had custard, peaches, strawberries, bananas, and whip cream in it. Yummy! If it wasn’t so expensive, I’d probably eat it way more often. The rest of the time was spent wandering around department stores and the shopping arcade. I still can’t believe how easily I can find my way around, especially since I haven’t even been here for a week! Something funny happened tonight though. The group of us was waiting around until it was 7pm to look for discounted bento boxes in the department stores. The first one we went to had discount sale stickers on them, and they had really low numbers on them, so we all filled our shopping baskets with food. When we went to checkout however, we realized that the amount was merely deducted from the original cost, and it was not the sale price of the item itself. The food therefore was not any cheaper than food we can get at convenience stores. It was very embarrassing, and we had to carry all of our goods back to the refrigerator section and put them back. It was quite the scene, and I’m pretty sure all of the Japanese people were confused. Now we know though, so I guess we learned something very valuable tonight.
For dinner, we found a small place in a basement that served semi-American food and yakitori. I ordered two yakitori and a side of tofu for a total cost of 250 yen. My friend Derick ordered French fries and a chicken pizza, and the pizza was very interesting. The fries were normal, but the pizza had the thinnest crust ever. It was equivalent to a crispy and thin pita chip, and it didn’t have tomato sauce on it. It was just a super cheesy pizza with chicken and green onion. I’m not sure I could eat an entire personal pizza like that, but it was something tasty and different to try. The rest of the night was spent on the massage chairs as usual. A Japanese lady was totally passed out on one of them, and she was snoring super loud. We were all laughing, and this probably went on for a good 45 minutes. It was awkward when she finally woke-up, since there was no one there when she first sat down to use them, but it was very hilarious at the same time. It was an amusing way to end the night. Tomorrow we travel to Ise to see some very historic sites, so I am very excited.
29 March 2009
Today was the latest I have slept in so far. I woke-up at 9am and went out with three classmates to explore the area north of my hotel. We are beginning to realize that most eating venues do not open until 11am, so that makes finding breakfast very difficult. After walking for many blocks along the river, we came upon a bakery where I found the square Japanese sliced white bread I have been looking for. It was 220 yen for six thick slices, which seemed reasonable enough since it will be my breakfast for the upcoming week. All four of us ended up purchasing some bread in some form or another. Afterwards, we couldn’t find anything reasonable in price to eat for breakfast so we ended up eating at Nakau for the second time this trip. I have a feeling that many of us will be eating there many times since the food is good, they open early, and it is cheap. I ordered tanuki again since it is my favorite. While sitting and eating, we saw Don walk by alone, and my friend Derek secretly photographed him from across the street. We thought he might be headed to the Mister Donut so we jumped up and attempted to follow him. Don walks faster than anyone we know though, so he was down the street and around the block before we could catch him. He didn’t go into Mister Donut though, so we did instead. I got a six pack of six different flavored donut holes, and it only cost 100 yen. The lion character, with the donut for a mane, is now my favorite character.
After the morning outing, I spent the afternoon in the hotel uploading photos and Skyping with my parents again. It is always nice to have breaks in between my daily outings and explorations. In the late afternoon, I ventured out again with my classmate Jeff to further explore the Kyoto shopping arcade. Jeff and I split an order of cheese takoyaki, and I liked it a lot. It cost 250 yen for six pieces, and it seemed very popular with all of the locals. On the way back to the hotel, I bought another large can of Coca-Cola and a larger bottle of my favorite royal milk tea. The soda was 100 yen, and the milk tea was 120 yen, which are both the best deals I have found thus far for the volume of liquid you get for the cost. I am somewhat stocking up my fridge so I have alternatives to water whenever I feel like it, and I want to take advantage of the deal before the vending machine runs out.
The remainder of the daytime was spent in the lounge with the majority of my other classmates. We were working on our two assignments due on Monday: one was trying a new food, and the other was documenting an aspect of the Japanese culture. My partner was Trudy, and we were assigned to investigate American fast food in Japan. The specific chains we looked at were McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. In order to complete our investigation, one of us had to try an item from an American fast food chain in Japan. Trudy refused to eat anything at McDonald’s, so I accepted the task. That night, I went to downtown Kyoto McDonald’s with my classmates Jeff and Derick to try an item on the menu. The menu at most American fast food joints is very similar to the U.S. with only a couple items that are different. At first, I tried to order a McHotdog, but I was informed that that is only a breakfast item that is served until 10am. Strange! I resorted to ordering a Shaka Shaka Chicken, since that was on the 100 yen menu, Japan’s form of the Dollar Menu. The Shaka Shaka Chicken was comparable to a large chicken finger, and it came in a bag with a packet of powder flavor. I chose spicy garlic flavor, since it sounded more appealing than black pepper or ranch flavor. So, in order to “shaka shaka”, I poured the flavored powder into the bag, “shaka shaka-ed” the bag, then opened and enjoyed. It was extremely tasty, since I like friend chicken, and it is definitely something I will order again in the future. There is also a teriyaki burger and green tea McFlurry that I want to try as well. We wandered around a bit more, but most places close around 9pm anyways, so we headed back to the hotel to study our Hiragana and Katakana for our first Japanese language class tomorrow.
After the morning outing, I spent the afternoon in the hotel uploading photos and Skyping with my parents again. It is always nice to have breaks in between my daily outings and explorations. In the late afternoon, I ventured out again with my classmate Jeff to further explore the Kyoto shopping arcade. Jeff and I split an order of cheese takoyaki, and I liked it a lot. It cost 250 yen for six pieces, and it seemed very popular with all of the locals. On the way back to the hotel, I bought another large can of Coca-Cola and a larger bottle of my favorite royal milk tea. The soda was 100 yen, and the milk tea was 120 yen, which are both the best deals I have found thus far for the volume of liquid you get for the cost. I am somewhat stocking up my fridge so I have alternatives to water whenever I feel like it, and I want to take advantage of the deal before the vending machine runs out.
The remainder of the daytime was spent in the lounge with the majority of my other classmates. We were working on our two assignments due on Monday: one was trying a new food, and the other was documenting an aspect of the Japanese culture. My partner was Trudy, and we were assigned to investigate American fast food in Japan. The specific chains we looked at were McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. In order to complete our investigation, one of us had to try an item from an American fast food chain in Japan. Trudy refused to eat anything at McDonald’s, so I accepted the task. That night, I went to downtown Kyoto McDonald’s with my classmates Jeff and Derick to try an item on the menu. The menu at most American fast food joints is very similar to the U.S. with only a couple items that are different. At first, I tried to order a McHotdog, but I was informed that that is only a breakfast item that is served until 10am. Strange! I resorted to ordering a Shaka Shaka Chicken, since that was on the 100 yen menu, Japan’s form of the Dollar Menu. The Shaka Shaka Chicken was comparable to a large chicken finger, and it came in a bag with a packet of powder flavor. I chose spicy garlic flavor, since it sounded more appealing than black pepper or ranch flavor. So, in order to “shaka shaka”, I poured the flavored powder into the bag, “shaka shaka-ed” the bag, then opened and enjoyed. It was extremely tasty, since I like friend chicken, and it is definitely something I will order again in the future. There is also a teriyaki burger and green tea McFlurry that I want to try as well. We wandered around a bit more, but most places close around 9pm anyways, so we headed back to the hotel to study our Hiragana and Katakana for our first Japanese language class tomorrow.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
28 March 2009
I slept in a little bit later today and got up around 7am. Some of my classmates purchased a wireless router last night, so we all pitched in 300 yen to cover the cost and are now able to share the wireless internet in the lounge. To take advantage of my early rising, I went down to the lounge after I got ready to begin uploading some photos and Skype with my parents. The wireless internet was very convenient, and it was the first time I had access to internet on my computer since the LAN line input isn’t working on my laptop for an unknown reason. So all morning, I uploaded pictures to my Picasa webpage and caught up on emails and Facebooking. At 4pm, we met Don in the lounge once again to begin our day trip to Osaka. He figured since it was a Saturday night, we’d be able to see the “night life” in the Osaka area. To get to Osaka, this once again required the hour long train ride on the Keihan Expressway Line, and it was incredibly crowded. Luckily I got a seat after about 30 minutes since I was beginning to feel motion sick.
Upon arrival in Osaka, we began our visit from the outskirts and worked our way inwards. Our main goal was to see a couple of Tadao Ando’s projects. At first, Osaka was very much like any American city with freeways and high rise buildings. Once we got to the city center however, it was a completely different world. There was a maze of small streets everywhere, and I would’ve never found my way out if I wasn’t with a group. There was an abundant amount of good architecture, and we ended up only finding one Tadao Ando project since the streets were so confusing. Ando’s Galleria project was very amazing, and his simplistic design in concrete was as impressive as always.
Next we decided to grab a bite to eat since all of us were very hungry by that time. Don chose a small restaurant that specialized in okonomiyaki. I ordered the pork okonomiyaki while most of my classmates ordered stir fry noodles. My item costed 700 yen but was actually one of the cheapest items on the menu. After dinner, we proceeded to enter the mile long shopping arcade that rant through the heart of Osaka. Once in the city center, it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. The buildings were completely lit by advertisements, and it was exactly like you see images of Japan’s cities. The amount of people in that exact location was inconceivable, and everything was embodied in bright lights and hustle of the masses. It was truly and wonderfully overwhelming. Before leaving, Don lead us into a Dohtombori Gokurakushowtengai, which is a indoor imitation of the Osaka downtown area. Everything inside was life size, but on a smaller scale, and they served foods similar to what we could buy on the street. Don said to think of it as an elaborate food court; this I found very interesting. I didn’t really like the feel of the indoor city, but it was definitely a memorable experience since there is nothing comparable to that in the United States.
That was the end of our adventures in Osaka for the night. We had to option to stay longer and explore on our own, but the trains and subway stop running at midnight, and it was already 9pm. It once again took us over an hour to get home, and almost everyone fell asleep on the train ride back. It was another day involving a lot of walking!
Upon arrival in Osaka, we began our visit from the outskirts and worked our way inwards. Our main goal was to see a couple of Tadao Ando’s projects. At first, Osaka was very much like any American city with freeways and high rise buildings. Once we got to the city center however, it was a completely different world. There was a maze of small streets everywhere, and I would’ve never found my way out if I wasn’t with a group. There was an abundant amount of good architecture, and we ended up only finding one Tadao Ando project since the streets were so confusing. Ando’s Galleria project was very amazing, and his simplistic design in concrete was as impressive as always.
Next we decided to grab a bite to eat since all of us were very hungry by that time. Don chose a small restaurant that specialized in okonomiyaki. I ordered the pork okonomiyaki while most of my classmates ordered stir fry noodles. My item costed 700 yen but was actually one of the cheapest items on the menu. After dinner, we proceeded to enter the mile long shopping arcade that rant through the heart of Osaka. Once in the city center, it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. The buildings were completely lit by advertisements, and it was exactly like you see images of Japan’s cities. The amount of people in that exact location was inconceivable, and everything was embodied in bright lights and hustle of the masses. It was truly and wonderfully overwhelming. Before leaving, Don lead us into a Dohtombori Gokurakushowtengai, which is a indoor imitation of the Osaka downtown area. Everything inside was life size, but on a smaller scale, and they served foods similar to what we could buy on the street. Don said to think of it as an elaborate food court; this I found very interesting. I didn’t really like the feel of the indoor city, but it was definitely a memorable experience since there is nothing comparable to that in the United States.
That was the end of our adventures in Osaka for the night. We had to option to stay longer and explore on our own, but the trains and subway stop running at midnight, and it was already 9pm. It once again took us over an hour to get home, and almost everyone fell asleep on the train ride back. It was another day involving a lot of walking!
Friday, March 27, 2009
27 March 2008
I woke-up very early today around 6am. I think my roommate Trudy and I are both off a bit on our internal clocks, but we got up and decided to explore more of downtown Kyoto. I assumed that most eating venues would be open around 7:30am since many people are going to work at that time, but my assumption was wrong. We finally found a small noodle shop called Nakau to eat breakfast at. It was one of the restaurants where you buy your meal ticket out of a machine and then sit down to eat. It was much easier than trying to order due to our strong language barrier. I ordered my favorite udon dish, tanuki, and it was only 200 yen. Thinking about the meal cost a bit more however, I realized that even if I spend 500 yen on every meal, that would add up to 1500 yen per day and 10500 yen per week. My goal is now to eat as cheaply as possible without being ridiculous. Food is just very expensive here, especially fruits. I saw a melon that cost about $50! It indeed was very perfect in appearance, but it was nonetheless ridiculous expensive. Later that afternoon, we met Don at 1pm to visit the locations of our studio classroom, Japanese language classroom, and explore the downtown a bit more. Our studio will be held in the Kyoto Community Center, and our Japanese language class will be in a small little townhouse that was built over a hundred years ago. It felt like we were walking forever, and everyone seemed to be pooped out, but Don was like the Enigizer Bunny. After it seemed like miles and miles of walking, we ended by walking through the shopping arcade which had the feel of a busy marketplace. Most of the foods and goods being sold were handmade, and I really had to watch out for dead fish since they were plentiful as well. Before retiring to our accommodations, we had traditional ramen at a tiny ramen house. There were ten of us, and we couldn’t be all be seated together since only eight of us could be seated inside. There were only four types of ramen on the menu, so I ordered the “normal” one which was plain ramen with a little bit of pork and green onions. The dashi was much thicker than any ramen I had ever eaten, and the noodles were very skinny. It was really tasty, and I ate the whole thing. I even tried putting some red peppers and fried crispy rice on my ramen, and it was good as well. Since that bowl of ramen was much larger, it cost 600 yen, but it still didn’t seem unreasonable for such a large and authentic bowl of noodles. Afterwards, I noticed that my hair and clothes still smelled like the dashi, and it made me laugh. I ended my night with an evening of sitting in the free massage chairs at the hotel to relax after a long day of walking.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
26 March 2009
I landed at the Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan today around 11:40am. The time difference is somewhat surreal, since I theoretically skipped March 25th completely. I flew out of LAX at 12:30am on March 24th and had one 3 hour layover in Seoul, Korea at Incheon International Airport. The food provided by Asiana Airlines was surprisingly tolerable. From LAX to Incheon, I had a [small] steak dinner with potatoes, carrots, a salad, pesto penne pasta, a roll, and cake. I slept for 12 of the 13.5 hours of the flight, so that was very satisfying; ear plugs are amazing! Upon arrival in Seoul, it was still day break, so the glass airport façade was brilliantly lit from the interior, and the glow of the immense structure was quite a welcoming site. During the layover, I slept and accessed the free wireless internet for a short while. From Incheon to Kansai, I ate a bento box assorted Japanese foods. This was even better than the steak dinner I had previously. The Kansai Airport was absolutely beautiful. It was designed by Renzo Piano, and my favorite interior spot was the upper-most level for departures. The suspended ceiling was so elegant.
My professor, Don Choi, met us after customs, and we proceeded to take a train and two subway lines to get to our hotel. The trip from Kansai to Kyoto took over two hours! The view from the train was practically overwhelming since we were travelling for such a long time, but it never felt surreal that I was in Japan. The hotel I am staying at is called The Higashiyama Sanjo Hotel, and it is located on Sanjo Street. It is very nice, and the rooms are quite small. There is a lounge with wired internet and a massage chair room, all free of charge.
My first evening in Kyoto, I ventured out to explore the Central Kyoto downtown strip with my classmate Karen and Professor Choi. Don introduced us to a large department store called The Loft, and it seemingly had anything you could possibly need from bikes to cosmetics to furniture to clothes. We also visited a Japanese bookstore to check out the small section of English books that they had to offer. Finally, we sat down at a rice bowl venue to enjoy some delicious rice bowls for dinner. I ordered a beef rice bowl, and I was surprised that it was only 295 yen.
I think the most surprisingly thing so far is that I have not experienced any culture shock. It is a bit uncomfortable that I cannot communicate to my maximum potential, but I do not feel any less a minority than at any other time in my life. I am curious to see if this continues as time goes on, but for now, I am enjoying the new experience. My first impressions of Kyoto are positive, and I look forward to more adventures in the future.
My professor, Don Choi, met us after customs, and we proceeded to take a train and two subway lines to get to our hotel. The trip from Kansai to Kyoto took over two hours! The view from the train was practically overwhelming since we were travelling for such a long time, but it never felt surreal that I was in Japan. The hotel I am staying at is called The Higashiyama Sanjo Hotel, and it is located on Sanjo Street. It is very nice, and the rooms are quite small. There is a lounge with wired internet and a massage chair room, all free of charge.
My first evening in Kyoto, I ventured out to explore the Central Kyoto downtown strip with my classmate Karen and Professor Choi. Don introduced us to a large department store called The Loft, and it seemingly had anything you could possibly need from bikes to cosmetics to furniture to clothes. We also visited a Japanese bookstore to check out the small section of English books that they had to offer. Finally, we sat down at a rice bowl venue to enjoy some delicious rice bowls for dinner. I ordered a beef rice bowl, and I was surprised that it was only 295 yen.
I think the most surprisingly thing so far is that I have not experienced any culture shock. It is a bit uncomfortable that I cannot communicate to my maximum potential, but I do not feel any less a minority than at any other time in my life. I am curious to see if this continues as time goes on, but for now, I am enjoying the new experience. My first impressions of Kyoto are positive, and I look forward to more adventures in the future.
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