Kyoto morning, day one

Well, I did not quite manage to defeat jet lag, despite a decent plan (sleep a little on the plane, stay up as late as I can to get myself on a good sleep schedule).

I woke up at about 2:30 at first, though I managed to go back to sleep until about 4. At that point I gave up and watched some YouTube until I got sleepy again around 5, and managed to doze for another hour and a half. But at 6:30 I decided to just get up and enjoy an early walk.
(I look ticked off but I'm just squinting from the light)

It was quite nice, although it was already 75 degrees out. I walked on a river path, and then down a smaller river path, just wandering randomly and occasionally buying iced coffee from the vending machines that are, no kidding, everywhere. The rumors are not exaggerated.

I finally got to a huge Shinto shrine that is apparently a big attraction, though fairly empty at that time of day.

 It was too early to see the gardens, but the shrine itself was pretty neat and I bought an overpriced tchotchke amulet souvenir.
Now it's 10:30 and I'm starting to feel the lack of sleep. Sadly I had to check out of the coffin hotel and can't check in the other hotel yet, so I am currently in a coffee shop drinking an "orange milk iced coffee" which is rather unique and tasty - the orange flavor includes the peel flavor so there's an interesting bitterness to it.
Hopefully it will keep me going until this afternoon when I get to dress up in a kimono and go to a tea ceremony with a geisha!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The beginning

Image
In a perhaps inauspicious start, my flight to San Francisco has been delayed by an hour.  Upside: because I am masquerading as a rich person today I can do my waiting with a free latte in the Alaska Airlines lounge. It's nice, though the chairs are honestly not much more comfortable than the average airport chair. But it's quiet and there's the aforementioned free coffee. Don't know that it's worth $500 a year, though... Downside: although I should have plenty of time to make my connection to Tokyo, I may not be able to infiltrate the Japan Airlines lounge which has free booze and Japanese food. Alas.
Read more

In San Francisco

Image
Made it so far! No further complications other than a woman allergic to dogs being seated next to a service dog, which caused some drama (it worked out okay). I must admit, it was nice not having to scrunch myself to avoid touching the person next to me. Again, not sure it's worth the extra money usually but if I was rich I'd go first class for everything. And it came with a fancy breakfast! So fancy. I do have time to enjoy the first-class perks after all...but the Japan Airlines lounge is closed until September so I am back at the Alaska one. No free sushi here. 😥 One other cool thing (to me): seeing a very clear view of the San Andreas Fault from the air. Amazing how obvious it is from above. (It was more obvious than this airplane window picture could show.) Next stop, Tokyo!
Read more

Hiccups

Image
Two things I had forgotten, and two things I did not know. The forgotten: 1. Because I booked the flight through Alaska but was flying JAL, the Alaska app hadn't provided a boarding pass. 2. The time of the flight is when they take off, not when you need to be there. The unknown: 1. In SFO, the D gates (where I landed) and the A gates where I was leaving from) are fucking far apart... 2. ...and require you to leave and re-enter security. For which I would definitely need a boarding pass meaning I couldn't just get one at the gate. I realized this at approximately 11:48 am. My flight left at 12:20. The panic set in as I waited for the train, and was full-blown as I desperately looked for the JAL counter. Tearfully I explained I was on the flight that was currently boarding. The lady was wonderful. She quickly radioed the plane, and assured me they wouldn't leave without me. She printed the boarding pass and walked me right to the front of the security line. I cut in front of
Read more