Kanazawa to Kyoto

We woke up this morning to pouring rain! We decided to walk anyway, but weren't real anxious to get soaked so walked halfway around the hotel/department store building and then took the pedestrian tunnel under the street which came up next to the big fish and produce market which is all under cover. We walked up and down the aisles watching the merchants set up their wares for the day. Our walk was a bit shorter than usual, but we did get some different exercise by walking up and down the stairs to the pedestrian tunnel. After breakfast we had to pack up our large bags which are being sent by truck to Kyoto and will arrive tomorrow afternoon. We packed for one night and one day in our small bags and then met in the lobby for our home host visit. We took our jug of maple syrup and our small album of family pictures. John and Lana had a package of a lovely burled cherry handmade pen, a decorative broach, a magnet of lighthouses, and picture cards of Niantic and Hole in the Wall beach. Kelly wrapped a box of key lime cookies in a map of Florida beach towel which was a real ice breaker as she could show them where Tampa (her city), Cape Kennedy, and Disney World are. Our hosts had taken their grandchildren to Tokyo Disney last year. The folks we went to visit have a lovely home in the city. The husband is 67 (we don't know how old the wife is) and they have two married sons and four grandchildren. He owns a local liquor/convenience store and two of the grandchildren come to their home after school each day. They were very gracious and he showed us around their rather large home. He is very much into collecting Japanese art and had many examples around the house. He also showed us his collection of ancient art scrolls. He was very proud and deservedly so of his collection. He and his wife allowed us to try on kimonos (see photo). Lana is wearing his late mother's silk one and I am in his wife's cotton one. His wife has 40 kimonos and they are kept in shallow drawers and wrapped in paper. They had recently renovated their kitchen and there were storage spaces everywhere including in a trapdoor space built into the kitchen floor! We sat on cushions in their living room at a low table where our legs and feet dropped into a space under the table (this space can be heated in the winter which would make it quite cozy. We were served green tea and soft rice cakes and then coffee and crispy rice cakes. He spoke English quite well - only occasionally groping for a word. She seemed not to speak as well as he. He showed us picture albums of his family and then some of their trip to Okinawa for their 30th anniversary. He was quite funny as when he was showing off the pictures, he would say, "and here is my wife: eating, drinking, shopping!" He said this several times - it was quite funny. He then showed a picture of himself with his head cut out of the photo and said, "my wife took this one". They were a lovely couple and we enjoyed our visit. As a gift to us, he wrote in calligraphy using characters, "Ichi-go Ichi-e", which means this is a once in a lifetime encounter - "treasure every meeting for it will never recur." He then put his name and address, today's date, and our names. The date was interesting as he used 22 for the year, which is the 22nd year for the current emperor. We then walked around the corner to his shop and treated everyone to a glass of top-notch sake (this one uses 45% of the rice - polished - and 55% is removed) and everyone agreed that it was very smooth. His wife then presented us with ceramic cups and we were waved off in our taxis to return to the hotel. We had a short time for lunch so we went to the basement of the department store where we picked up a banana and a pastry from the bakery. We ate in our room and then took our small bags down to the lobby to begin our next adventure. We took the train from Kanazawa to Kyoto. It was still pouring in Kanazawa, but gradually began clearing as we got nearer to Kyoto. About a half an hour from our destination, we passed the largest lake in Japan and just before reaching Kyoto, we saw a double rainbow in the sky. One of them was absolutely brilliant and at one point we could see both ends! I'm sure this is a sign of good luck for our stay in Kyoto. We got to the hotel and then after freshening up, met up again in the lobby for our evening adventure. We took the subway to the other side of the river and visited the pleasure district. We saw one geiko from the back as she was hurrying to a party, but then saw a maiko (an apprentice to becoming a geiko - see photo). Remember the book/movie, "Memoirs of a Geisha"? We then walked to our tempura restaurant. We had miso soup, salad with dried fish flakes, pickles, egg custard soup, rice, pickles, and fresh tempura: shrimp, mushrooms, fish, pumpkin, and broccoli. Dessert was green tea ice cream. We were all stuffed! Forget trying to lose any weight on this trip! As promised, I have included a picture from the food department in the department store. This is a box of chocolate candies - aren't they beautiful? The weather here is quite a bit cooler so I'm glad I packed my sweatshirt and fleece in the small bag. Tomorrow we will go on a city tour to see some of the highlights of Kyoto.