Morning started early for me today. After getting plenty of rest on the 24+ hour journey here, I only needed a few hours of sleep to get me through today...i thought ;)
We started today with a hearty breakfast in the lobby of the Super Hotel...fantastic food! Dr. V and I then went out to exchange some currency before we all met at 9am to leave for Kyoto. Needless to say I kind of held everyone up......it's not easy to find the post office when you're the only one who speaks english :) Though the Japanese were very helpful and went out of their way to help me find the post office to exchange my $ to Yen. 45 mintues later, we are heading to Kyoto (just a little late...no worries). First group photo in front of Otsu Station and we are off to the Aoi Matsuri Festival.
The Festival was great and everyone got lots of great pictures. After the festival we regrouped and headed for the Crafts Center where we were going to grab some lunch...turns out, a little too expensive and the food...not so good. Instead we stumble upon a great hole in the wall "Zac Baran" (Jazz and Japanese...could life get any better?). After that, we split into groups and ventured out seeking whatever comes our way in Kyoto.
After a few hours of wandering around we headed back to Otsu to the grocery store to stock up on a little food. It just so happened that a few of us that had broken into groups just ran right into each other...small country :)
After a brief rest a few of us went down to Lake Biwa (4 blocks from the hotel) to just enjoy the sights. After that another brief rest and we sought dinner. After being told "no" to two restaurants, Brenda pointed Shannon, James and myself to a quaint little restaurant...two tables and a bar with stools. Perfect dining :) The food was good and we were ready to retire for the night.
It was a great first full day in Japan and I am sure we will have many more stories to come within these three weeks.
Konbanwa,
Hunter