Ron finds an unexpected snack ally

Japanese things I have gotten the gist of:

• Tokugawa Shogunate was a military government that existed between 1603 and 1867, according to Wikipedia.
• The Shogunate put together some nice buildings but we have to take our shoes off to tour them, which gets to be a hassle after awhile.

• Samurai is a word that comes up often, as does Shogun.

• Patience is an important virtue in many of the stories Shizu tells.

• Things were often timed by the period it took to burn a stick of incense.

Now let’s move on.

Ron finally found both a donut and a donut comrade, which is a huge relief.

We started our day at Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. This place will be forever marked in my mind as the place my trusty Panasonic camera took its last picture. All pictures from here on out are from Ron’s iPhone 7, which I have commandeered.

Here’s the start of the walkway:

We strolled for awhile and came down to this lake:

Then Gate One had arranged for us to ride some human-powered rickshaws, which was as awkward as it sounds. Ron and I got a quiet guy who spoke very little English, other than to say Ichiro and Starbucks when he heard we were from Seattle.

Sam, Cooper, Mikey and Grace got these super-outgoing mover/shaker types who were way more fun:

Then Shizu took us out for yet another inedible lunch. I thought about taking a picture for you of yet another blob of slimy tofu but I just didn’t care enough. This food is really getting me down – more so than any other trip I have taken. When I made my 1000th comment about the food, Ron pointed out that I was aware of this before I booked the trip. And he’s right – I was – but I just didn’t realize how hard it would be.

I think it would be hard to live in such an ordered and proscribed society. It’s even hard to visit, on some levels. I want my meals a certain way, I want to special order a drink, I want to hand my payment over directly instead of using the tray…etc. Last night, I wanted to go swimming at the hotel pool. First, I handed over the swim coupon incorrectly. Then, I started walking in without the required bathing cap. Once I had the bathing cap, I was called back because I had forgotten to take my shoes off and lock them in a shoe locker.

Once I had my shoes in the locker, I was allowed to move 10 feet forward to a second set of lockers – these ones for my clothing. Why oh why can’t I put my shoes in the same locker as my socks and underwear??????

We took our two sets of keys and finally got in the pool. We arrived at 7:45, thinking we had plenty of time. But even though the pool closes at 9:00, if you have not arrived by 8:00, you cannot enter at all.

It makes me wonder what it would be like for a Japanese person to travel to the US for a week or two. But enough. Back to my report.

We headed over to the Kinkaku-Ji temple, also known as the Golden Pavilion. It was the retirement villa for some shogun and then became a temple in about 1400 when the shogun died. That’s all I recall, other than I got a vanilla ice cream cone here.

Our last stop of the day was Nijo Castle from 1600. It’s gorgeous but no pics were allowed inside and I can’t find an easy way to include a link. Sorry.

Tomorrow is our last day on the tour. I’ll miss this group of people. They are, by far, the best group I’ve ever toured with.