Teramachi

I started to get hungry as I walked farther south. Most restaurants have food models, or pictures to make it easier for foreigners to see what is available, but nothing grabbed me. I came to the entrance of Teramachi street, a covered shopping district. I'd been there a few times before, but never on a Saturday evening when everything was open and so many people were out. There are shops of every kind. Clothing stores, touristy stores, jewelry, antiques, restaurants, fast food (see the KFC?), galleries, electronics, video, music, fashion, you name it, you can probably find it. As you continue along, there are also cross streets, some which are covered and extend into the distance with the same variety and density of stores. One street I went down turned into a farmers market of sorts, food stands, seafood, vegetables, butchers, grains, rice, teas, and pickled foods (kinda liked this one, they had a tray out to taste from).

I ate in this area at a nice sushi restaurant. This was not a conveyor sushi, or premade sushi, so I had the chance to watch the sushi chef in action as I sat by the bar. As a gaijin in Japan, I get a lot of attention walking into restaurants, and this was no exception with the hostess rushing to seat me, get a menu, and talk in broken english. Her speech was actually pretty good, though she didn't think so and apologized multiple times, gesturing to the displays outside the shop. But I could read enough and knew enough about sushi to order a mixed selection of nigari and a beer without the hassle of walking back outside and pointing. The tray that arrived had a selection of all sorts, from roe and eel, to salmon, tuna, some whitetail, octopus, and others. I took my time eating and it was delicious, then I ordered two pieces of tuna shashimi after (though the sushi chef did not understand what I was ordering, so I must have been speaking incorrectly).

Finished eating and feeling good, I hopped on the subway and went north a few stations. Took me a little while, and I had to ask directions, but eventually I found Funaoka Onsen, an (apparently) very old public bath. The entry-way was all wood, they had a nice open air section with a little water feature, and the tubs were nice and big. I had my fill and left feeling good, my legs especially all relaxed and rubbery after walking all day. Purchased a cup of sake and enjoyed it on my walk.

When I came into Kyoto for the day, I expected to go back for a good night sleep and get an early start the next day, but by this time I was feeling really good and wanted to stay out longer. I knew there was a popular dj, Shinichi Osawa, at Club World that night, with some friends going, and abandoning all thoughts of sleep, I headed that way.