Kyoto Days

[tomcat]

...SD and I visited for a week recently: throngs and hordes of foreign tourists and local high schoolers on field trips made visiting the temples and shrines challenging...only the bamboo forest (Bamboo Foresto in Japanese) offered a peaceful stroll as we arrived well before the masses were alerted to our presence. Otherwise, we ate very well, walked miles down alleys and side streets and were generally impressed with how tidy and clean the city was and how polite its citizens were. Everything worked without complication or bribe...from immigration to train schedules to taxis. We decided that our next trip might be to revisit Kyoto but without stopping at the infested temples but, rather, spending vacation time taking a look at the areas around they city...(the guy in the blue uniform below is an example of Japanese fastidiousness: a sanitation worker polishing the trash bin. The baby octopi were stuffed with quail eggs: SD said they were a bit chewy...