Kyoto

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After our visit to Nara we had two more days left in Kyoto. At the time I was doing my diploma we had an exchange student from Japan in our lab. We hadn’t had any real contact for the last 4 years, but he read our blog and contacted me via facebook. Therefore we decided to meet for dinner on the 24th.

When we arrived in Kyoto in the morning I had at first to get the address of a kendo shop at the tourist information center (Reason in the next kendo related post). In search of the center, we mixed up the Japanese floor ordering. In Japan there is no ground level, it is already called first floor. So we went to the third instead of the second floor, but this was a lucky accident, because we discovered the sky garden of the Kyoto station which gives you a nice view of Kyoto for no extra charge. In general the building itself is a fascinating construction.

After I got directions, we decided on renting bikes to travel around the city. Before that we had a quick ramen. A map was attached to the bike very conviently but I had some trouble with the orientation, because of which we weren’t efficient. But we found many interesting places along the way. In the end we arrived at the golden pavilion. It is nearly in every picture about Kyoto. At the time we arrived, the sun was shining directly on one side of the building and it reflected the light so brightly that it nearly hurt the eyes. The pavilion sits in yet another beautifully arranged park. But there were so many people that we had to move quickly and no time to quietly appreciate the garden.

With all our detours and my time at the kendo shop we had to go back to the bike rental because we were soon to meet with Keishiro.

He had planned to go to a quiet Izakaya for dinner. It was really quiet because we had a private box. These boxes come with a bell to call for a waiter and you are completely undisturbed. This is something I have seen in Japan very often. They created rooms where they can be completely on their own. Going out is not so much intended to meet other people, but to spent some quality time with those friends you already have. For the dinner we had a variation of different dishes and even Japanese pizza.

During dinner we discussed the past, the present and the future. I took special interest in his work, because he is aiming for an academic career, which gave me an opportunity to compare the systems. Austria and Japan have a lot in common and the troubles seem to be the same even in so different cultures.

We parted ways at the station and I hope we will be more in contact this time.

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