Last night was our first night in a traditional style Japanese room. As we set up our mats last night, we discovered that there were no blankets… only mats and sheets. I was fine with the sheet at first, since the sake kept me warm for a while. Unfortunately, the sake wore off halfway through the night and it got very very cold! I ended up wearing two pairs of pants to try to stay warm, though I’m sure Charles was in heaven!

We slept in a bit (mostly, I just lied there and shivered quietly), before getting around to go sightsee around Kyoto. We walked to the nearest subway station, where we took a train for a few neighborhoods so that we would be closer to the Philosopher’s Walk. We had to walk quite a long way to get to “the walk”, so we stopped in a bakery and picked up breakfast to eat along the way. I have no idea what we purchased, but it was some sort of delicious sourdough roll filled with cheese, so it was hard to go wrong. Philosopher’s Walk consisted of a pathway along a canal, filled with lots of blossoming cherry trees. It was very beautiful, despite the chilling rain.

At the end of the walk, we made our way up the hill to check out the Ginkakuji Temple (still in the chilling rain), which was also very picturesque (despite said rain). After checking out the temple, we decided that we could walk to the Imperial Palace for our tour, which turned out to be over 3 km…. in the chilling rain. We got there early, so we had some time for a late lunch in a cafe, where we ate what we suspect is Japan’s take on French cuisine.

After lunch, we toured the grounds of the Imperial Palace (in the chilling rain), until I was certain that I would never feel warm again. Once the tour was over, we made our way back to the subway and then to the hotel to rest for the afternoon. When naptime was over, I sent Charles out to forage for our dinner in the chilling rain while I tried out the public bath.

I was a little bit tentative about the bath, since public nudity is not common in the U.S. The public baths are basically just pools of very hot, unchlorinated water available for public use, with shower areas along side where you are expected to shower and wash thoroughly so as not to contaminate the bath water. Fortunately, ours were segregated for men and women and, as it turned out, I was the only one there so it was like my own very large private bath. It was very very relaxing (very HOT) and the perfect way to warm up after being chilled for the whole day. I think Japan is on to something.

After my bath, I continued on my path to full relaxation by making use of the beer vending machine in the hotel lobby. I love this country.