Well…It has been a raining day in Japan, therefore to get the best out of every single day here we have gone to the downtown Kyoto to explore the heart of Kyoto as well as Japanese cuisine and shopping. A group of students including myself went for lunch to one of the oldest conveyor belt sushi restaurants in Kyoto. I am very adventurous when it comes to food, and I have strongly encouraged all my students to step out of their comfort food zone and try the most “strange”, “weird looking”, “unfamiliar” as well as authentic Japanese food. I am really proud of them. We have truly had an adventure. We have tried numerous sushi, and most of them were DELICIOUS except one that I happened to pick up. We are still guessing what it was. After consuming raw seafood delicacies we have rewarded ourselves with GREEN TEA ice-cream.
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We have also made some friends with 3 Japanese young adults who wanted to take picture with us. Our limitation in Japanese doesn’t allow us to be able to communicate to people as much as we would like to, however we have learned basic phrases and try to use them when appropriate, and we do get signs of appreciation and smiles back. To continue our adventure we visited Nikishi fish market, where you can find the most authentic Japanese food. We have walked by stands of Japanese vegetables, spices, fish, seafood, seaweed, sweets, and etc. Each one of us has tried… mmmmm… are you ready? Dried squid, dried fish the size of the half of the q-tip, fish bones, bean paste desert, and Japanese donuts. Japanese sellers were simply smiling and laughing at us tasting with all our courage traditional Japanese food. In the evening we have visited Gion, and famous Pontocho street, where I have found a little part of Russia hidden in the heart of Kyoto….Unfortunately most of you associate Russia with vodka, so yes it was Vodka Bar with traditional matreshka dolls in the window display. WOW…truly globalization! On the way back to the subway station we have seen a real geisha, that made our day, since they have become so rare even in Kyoto…So a great day of adventure despite the rain and clouds in the sky…Tomorrow Nara