Hot Town, Summer in Kyoto

During our first trip to Tokyo, way back in August 2011, we took a bullet train to Kyoto. In a city as massive and crowded as Tokyo is, it was so refreshing to experience a mass transit system that runs with such incredible efficiency (I'm glaring at you, San Francisco). Our train pulled to a graceful stop at exactly the time it was scheduled to, to the minute. The seats were pristine and free of excrement (again, I'm looking at you San Francisco), our fellow travelers so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

I should pause here to discuss one of my favorite things about traveling. It's not the exotic locales or  getting to sleep in the hotel's cozy "heavenly bed"; it's free hotel breakfast buffets. There, I said it. I am an unapologetic, over-zealous eater of food. I hate to be stuck wandering around a foreign city with no food in my belly. In our experience this doesn't end well. So, each morning of vacation, I always allow extra time to participate in the hotel's breakfast. And "participate" is the right word for it. I imbibe wholeheartedly and most times I take my share, and Christian's too. He is not a breakfast eater. We are a good team in this way.

Sometimes it's just stale bread, cereal, and cups of fruit salad. Sometimes it's a wonderland of help yourself bars of the salad, omelet, waffle, and fresh seafood variety. And the good ones always have a dessert bar. Rows and rows of pastries laid out cafeteria-style. Some of them are unidentifiable squares of pink stuff. They don't taste good; but like a school boy at his first coed dance, I am drawn to them not so much by their beauty as by their unlimited quantities. So, the morning we were to leave for Kyoto, I had to catch one last breakfast helping at our hotel because it was of the latter, wondrous smorgasbord variety. I chowed down on an omelet, granola, coffee, two types of juice, and stuffed a square of suspicious but delicious looking cake in my purse for later. Christian ate coffee and kept reminding me we were going to be late.

We weren't late, and Christian had a chance to score his ideal breakfast from a vending machine at the station. A box of dumpling flavored pretz, a plastic wrapped waffle, and a roll of chicken flavored potato chips. Oddly missing was a bottle of water to wash down all that sodium but who am I to nag? Back to Kyoto. We arrived at precisely the exact moment that was indicated to us on our ticket, and settled into our hotel. Kyoto used to be the capital of Japan, and is one of it's largest cities behind biggies like Tokyo and Osaka. It's also rich in cultural history and home to hundreds of beautiful temples that are nestled in the surrounding mountains. It is beautiful to behold. Kyoto is situated in a valley, so the mountainous surroundings make the giant temples seem dainty, like the whole scene belongs in a snow globe.

This was going to be a good time. But, future travelers to Kyoto, a little tip. Do not visit Kyoto in the summer. It is hot as Hades! I think I mentioned the temples nestled into the mountains? You have to walk to those. I think I mentioned that Kyoto is situated in a valley? It's a crevice of stifling humidity in 103 degree heat. We took in the fantastic temples while wiping sweat that dripped like velveeta down our faces and backs. In the searing afternoon heat we began to cast off temples that were too far away from our long list of 'temples to see'. So, we saw what we could until our legs began to feel like they were swimming in a boiling cup o' noodles. Dazzled as we were by Kyoto's sights, before we knew it, we were in a taxi heading back to the air con.

After a day of sweaty sightseeing, we decided to hit up Pontocho.  For centuries, there have been bars and restaurants along the Pontocho nightlife drag with decks overlooking the Kamo river. This is where geisha would traditionally entertain their clients. Hoping to see some real live geisha we headed out in the (thankfully) cooler evening air. Like all things Japanese, the experience was delightful. We walked by countless yakitori bars, stopped by a couple of whiskey joints, and bellied up to an Italian-fusion noodle bar that was surprisingly delicious.

I have never felt so far away from home than when in Japan, but I've also never felt more at home in a foreign city. In a land where it's not all that easy to get by without knowing at least some of the language (those three years of Spanish you took in high school are certainly not going to help you in Japan), we made our way around with ease and our pointing and motioning were accepted with a smile and we always got what we needed and where we needed to be. I thought Tokyo topped my favorite places list but Kyoto is right up there. I have no doubt in my mind we'll be back someday. If not to see the temples we missed because of the crippling heat, then for one more sampling of the ultimate  of ultimate hotel breakfast buffets.

Kyoto: We came, we saw, we sweated.

For more shots of our trip to Kyoto, you can head on over here.