Bowing for Biscuits

 SWCJ Trip 2025

Nara and Kyoto

Monday, April 14, 2025

I went to the free hotel breakfast buffet.  They didn't take my ticket but asked me how many seats I needed.  I was shown a few tables for 4 and I sat down at one.  The family was taking longer than I expected, so I put my ticket down on the table and walked to the buffet to take a look.  When I returned, someone not in my family was sitting down at my table.  I guess they didn't tell him the table was taken.  Or he didn't pay attention to my ticket.  He kindly moved to another before V arrived.  We took turns getting our food before Bro and Miss O finally arrived.  Breakfast was delicious!  I had some Japanese breakfast -- ride, fish with a yummy sauce and vegetables, and tamago (scrambled egg).  I also had American breakfast -- pancake, pastry, and hash brown, and smoked salmon.  I also had matcha tea, which was from a latte machine. 

Breakfast

Everything was oishi (delicious).  Well, except for the spice that I tried from a cute tin that had no label.  It was very spicy, which I didn't expect because it looked kinda like ground black pepper.

We weren't really planning anything until Brady, at his dorm room in San Diego, sent a message to Miss O about a park where we could feed deer.  V was in.  I was in.  The Millenium Falcos were in (I shall now refer to them as MFs, but don't take that the wrong way.  They are lovely people).  And thus we came up with a time to meet the MFs at the subway station.  We went back to our rooms to get our stuff and met in the lobby.  We took pictures beside the rickshaw (I felt like I was too big to get inside.  I'm self-conscious these days, especially when I'm with all of these skinny folks).

At Gojo Station, we waited for a while, I think because we thought their hotel was equidistant from ours to the station.  All was well, though, and we met up with them on the side with no elevator where I had started my harrowing journey up the steps with my luggage the day before.  

Just a cute sign holder

On the train, we could see a lot of the countryside, including the Sakura trees.  We were there a bit late in the season, but a least this day, the weather cooperated, and the flowers were not droopy, and they were beautiful.  As we stopped at different stations, we could see that the platforms all had vending machines with drinks, and I wished they had those at the metro stations back home.

We got off at Kintetsu Station, and I got my first gachapon of the trip.  I got a meerkat with a fishing pole!  I was hoping for a hippo, but I like meerkats, too, so I was happy.  

Me and my teeny tiny meerkat

I think this was a store that wasn't open yet

Once outside the station, it was a bit of an uphill trek to the park, and the deer were abundant!  There were several stands where they sold packs of biscuits to feed them, and the deer followed all of the people with biscuits.  V bought some and gave a couple to me to feed some deer.  They were so cute the way they bowed their heads to ask for biscuits!  Some of them were a little aggressive, and one butted V as she walked away because she was empty-handed, having given away her last one.  It was hilarious.

Bowing for Biscuits

We found vending machines, and on the side of the machine was an ad for iced green tea, featuring Shohei Ohtani.  Bro told me that there was corn soup in one of them, which Bestie Mich had told me about.   So I bought one and it was cold, which I saved for later.  I also wanted iced tea, so I got Shohei's brand to take a picture with him.

Posing with Shohei

We found the public restroom, which wasn't great but at least it had Western-style toilets, and they weren't terrible.  This was one of the places without towels or hand dryers, which was a perfect example of why most Japanese people carry small towels with them.  I knew of this custom and yet, there I was without a towel.  When I exited the restroom, I saw that Miss O and Miss A were on their way to buy django at a little stand.  They kindly shared with us, and it was tasty!  I t was grilled mochi on a stick with a little bit of char.  YUM.

On the way to the temple, we passed the museum.  Outside, there were sculptures of big hands, and I practically yelled at V to get her attention because she needed photos with them.  Turns out that they were full-sized replicas of Buddha's hands, which we would see later.

The right hand of the Grand Buddha is called a Semui-in.
This hand means "taking people's fear".
The left hand of the Grand Buddha is called a Yogan-in.
This hand means "granting people's wish".

We saw a creek and Miss O and Miss A were trying to get a perfect picture of a deer, but it kept showing its but to them instead of its face.  Rude.  But then when we got in line to enter the temple grounds, there were 3 of them looking at us, and I named them Huey, Dewey, and Louie.  

Corner outside ticket booth entry

It's a turtle dragon!  Maybe?

Huey, Dewey, and Louie

We paid for our tickets and entered the temple grounds of Todai-J. Daibutsen (Great Buddha Hall).  We needed to descend a few big stone steps to get to the grounds and walk around.

My ticket

Miss O's Signature Pose

I asked V to take a photo of me washing my hands with the sacred water.  You could also drink from it, but I refrained from doing so, although it looked quite refreshing and it was nice and cold.  

There were several steps to climb to get to the entrance of the hall.  A lot of people stopped outside the entrance, and I thought it was because they really wanted the incense to cover them.  But it was actually because it was the best place to get a full shot of the Great Buddha.  Buddha is HUGIGANT!  Like HUMONGOUS HUGIGANT!  It's almost 50 feet high and weighs 500 tons.  

Great Buddha

Great Buddha different view

There were some other statues there, as well as a model of the temple grounds.  V, Miss O, and I made personalized coins like the ones you used to be able to make at Disneyland, but more solid.

Buddha to the Great Buddha's right

Warrior Statue

Model of the temple grounds

Model of Great Buddha Temple

You can see Great Buddha inside!

Buddha to the Great Buddha's left

I saw that people were in line for something and went to the front of the line to see what was going on.  People were trying to thread their bodies through a hole in a pillar.  I looked for V because I needed help doing the coin thing, then showed her the line.  She just kept wondering why they were doing that. I kinda wanted her to try it because I knew she would fit, but I also forgot that she had shoulder issues, and that would have really messed her up, because people were contorting themselves to get through.  We later learned that the thole was the size of one of the nostrils of the Grand Buddha, and "Anyone who can pass through it will have a long and prosperous life and is guaranteed to find enlightenment."  (Thanks, Google!)

As we were leaving the temple, we took some stalker photos of the rest of the group before meeting up with them for actual group photos.  Miss O and I lagged behind to get a couple of trinkets from the souvenir stand.  I found a way to get around the whole stone step thing back to the main pathway, and then bought a couple more little things.  I just couldn't get over the cute deer and their biscuits!  

We were hungry and some of us had spied a crepe place down the road, so we made our way there.  Well, this place was absolutely charming!  Some of us ordered tea, for which each of us received a big tray with a pot, cup, strainer, cream, and a time so we knew when it was done steeping.  The crepes were delicious, as well as the tea, and I loved the cute heart-shaped cups.  

We then had nice full bellies and therefore enough energy to go to the shopping center near the train station.  We bought some cute stuff like a wood-carved hippo.  We saw a vending machine with macarons!  I refrained from getting them, but I was very tempted.  We saw a photo place where you could rent kimonos like this deer.

How did they get the kimono on the deer?

Mmmm....macarons

Kawaii Nara Deer

V needed to take photos with giant beer taps, which just started today at the train station.  Mom MF and Miss A shopped for Kit Kats.  I got a cute drawstring bag that was Nara-themed out of a gachapon machine and was really excited that it was the design I wanted.  

We walked back to the train station to get back to our respective hotels to rest a little and freshen up.  Then we met up with the MFs in the same building as the Pokémon Center to get dinner at a bar.  I tried to order in Japanese, but I either mispronounced or said the wrong word, so the server needed to clarify.  there was some unlabeled seasoning that I was too scared to try because of what happened in the morning.  

My order was chicken on a stick with some mild dipping sauce, and it was tasty.  We marveled at the very realistic-looking food in the display case before heading upstairs to the Pokémon Center.

Pikachu with Parasol

Top of Pikachu's Parasol

I'm not a Pokémon collector, but I had recently seen one that I liked.  So I asked Miss O to help me find Rapidash, which is a unicorn with pretty colors in its mane, and is an evolution of Ponyta.  Have I confused you, or do you speak Pokémon?  V and I got cute Pokémon Center pressed pennies of Pikachu, too.  

We had walked in a little bit of rain before dinner, and it had mostly dissipated by the time we walked back.  I watched a Japanese game show where in the celebrities (I think) tried to list stuff in the category they were given, kind of like $100K Pyramid back home.  Then I watched other TV until I fell asleep.  

Next up:  KYOTO

Hello, Japan

SWCJ Trip 2025

Kyoto Arrival

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Upon disembarking the plane in Tokyo, a Japan Airlines (JAL) agent was just outside the jetway and offered to rebook me for my connection to Osaka.  We had landed at 6:15.  She offered me a 7:30 flight.  But I would still need to go through customs here in Tokyo, so I opted for the 8:30 flight instead.  All this was done on a tablet and it was very convenient.  

Thanks for getting me here safely!

The Shohei ad photos start!

Good choice, Sher.  Although there was a very efficient advance custom declarations online, there was still a long, yet moving quickly, line in the airport.  Even if we had a QR code from online, we still needed to have our fingerprints taken with our photo.  My photo is stupid because the camera was much higher than my face, so I'm looking way too short and like I'm wondering what the weather is like up there.

When I got to baggage claim, an agent from JAL was overseeing the bags for the connecting flights.  She told me I could check my bag up to 1 hour before the flight, or check it at the gate.  The line was too long, so the next agent gave me a free pass to take the monorail to my terminal.  At first, I thought I had to get in line to exchange my pass for a ticket, but then I showed my pass at the monorail gate and he let me in.  I took the monorail to Terminal 1, and was able to get a new boarding pass and check in my luggage.  It was nice and chill at that gate.  I actually wish I could have stayed longer so that I could calm down from all the confusion. 

On the plane, the atmosphere was also chill.  The flight was only 45 minutes long, but they still served drinks on a cart.  They had a menu for people to point at their drink of choice.  I had just seen a purplish drink being poured for someone, so I chose that one.  It was Sky Time Peach and Grape Mix, and I loved it.  Bro told me later that this is JAL's own line of drinks, which explains why I couldn't find it in the vending machines or convenience stores.   

When we landed, I asked the lady at the Information booth about the airport bus, and she told me where to go.  I got a bus ticket and stood in line for about 5 minutes before the bus arrived.  The drive took about an hour to get to Kyoto Station. 

Outside Kyoto Station

I wandered around to see if I could figure out stuff for myself, but ended up asking for assistance at the Information desk.  They told me that Gojo Station was one stop away on the subway, and that my luggage size should be fine.  

At the Subway Platform

So there I was, on my first ride on a Japanese subway train!  When I got to Gojo Station, I took the wrong exit and had to haul my bag up lots of stairs because by the time I realized it, it was already too late to go to the other side where the elevator was located.  Perhaps I should have paid attention when the announcement said something about the elevator, like "take this exit and not that one".  Sigh.  Anyway, when I got to the street, I used Google Maps to guide me to the Holiday Inn, which was closer to the other subway exit.  UGH!  I walked to the hotel as a sprinkle of rain began.  I requested to leave my luggage there until check-in, and left my bag with a bunch of other ones, like all of the other tourists who wanted to explore before check-in time.  The desk clerk told me that it was going to rain a bit more, and he helped me get my umbrella out of my backpack.  I also inquired about Bro's room, and he said we had rooms on different floors.

Once I got outside, it started to sprinkle a little bit and that's when I realized that my umbrella wasn't opening properly.  So I went to a couple of stores to find a replacement.  I walked into a stationery store and found other stuff to buy, including pens.  I love the different brands from Japan: I have several at home and also brought a couple for journaling.  My favorite is the Uniball Jet Stream.  They had one with Mickey and Minnie, but I preferred the pretty periwinkle Uniball Zento, so I got a couple of that kind.  I also love the pretty plastic file folders and found a couple of them that had maps of the country of Japan, so I bought those to hold souvenirs from the trip.

I stopped in at a Family Mart, which is one of the several chains of convenience stores ("konbini") in Japan. "Konbini" is one of the words I actually remember from my Duolingo language game, so I will probably be using that word instead of the long English phrase throughout the Japan trip reports.  It's actually "kobiniensu sutoa", but they commonly use the shortened version.  I had heard that the konbinis in Japan had lots of good stuff.  I got a ham and cucumber sandwich and some kind of soy sauce-flavored corn snack.  I searched for the peach-grape sutff that I had on my flight, but didn't find anything close.  After paying, I decided to eat my sandwich there because they had little stations next to the window.  Then I saw a sign that made me unsure if I was supposed to be there.  I didn't think I was doing anything differently than the other people sitting there, but my translation on Google Lens was confusing, so I just ate one third of my sandwich, wrapped everything up, and went walking again, this time with an umbrella that I had bought at the konbini.  

The sign at the window in the konbini

I was still hungry, but it was too early to check in to the hotel, so I ducked into a cute coffee shop called "Komeda's Coffee".  I asked if I could sit down at a table because there was also an area for folks just getting coffee to go.  So I took a velvety-plushy seat at a table next to a window to watch the rain come down.  I asked for an English menu and once I had decided, I rang a bell on the table and the guy came over to take my order: their Komeda Blend Coffee, Toast with Ogura (sweet red bean) spread, and a Kuro-Neige for dessert.  

All of their tableware was made for them, from the cups to the little towels, to even the little Espresso Bean packets.  

Towel to clean my hands

Glass of water

Cup of Coffee with
Teeny Tiny Creamer

Cute Package of Espresso Beans

OK, so when I opened the packet, I did not know what it was.  I was, like, is it sugar?  But I also had actual sugar.  So I decided to put one in my coffee to see if it would melt.  I wonder if anyone saw me and wondered what the heck I was doing.  I also loved the teeny tiny container for the syrup to pour over my dessert.  Back home, when I go to 99 Ranch Market, I often buy their red bean toast, so I hoped my toast spread would taste like that.  Oooooh, I was in heaven!  I got to control my Ogura portion (I didn't really exercise any actual control), and it was delicious!  OISHI!  The coffee was tasty, and I had my own surprise at the bottom with the candy bean that should not have been in there.  Sadly, I needed to leave my cozy coffee nook, and ventured outside once the rain had let up to a sprinkle.  

Blurry Toast with Ogura and Butter

Kuro-Neige with Teeny Tiny Syrup

I saw some folks walking down a street between the big buildings, and strolled down the same narrow street, where some folks were walking around in traditional kimonos.  I turned onto one street and saw some traditional buildings with Japanese architecture, one of which was a temple that had some trinkets for sale.  So I got some of those and the lady helped me pay with the coins I had because I clearly did not know what to give her.  I found my first tenuki - a raccoon dog sculpture that Bro and V told me about after their first trip to Japan.  There was also a shrine for pets!

Shrine between Buildings

I think this is a street sign

Tenuki at 
Byodoji Inabayakushi Temple

Shrine for Pets

Figurine at Shrine

Messages of Thanks
After People are Cured from their Illness

People's Wishes / Prayers
Paper is Strong!  These are wet.

I heard music and walked toward it, and discovered another temple plaza where they were having some kind of festival.  I wished that it hadn't been raining, because there were several sakura trees and they probably looked glorious when they weren't drooping with rain water. 

Sakura at the Temple

 They had some tables for kids to do fun stuff, and I was a little curious about the snacks, but then I got distracted again by the music.  There was a guy on stage playing his guitar, along with someone accompanying him.  He spoke Japanese and I didn't understand.  But then he began playing the next song, and it turned out to be The Monkees' "Daydream Believer"!  I giggled to myself and sang along to the chorus which was sung in English, as opposed to the verses that were sung in Japanese.  During the song, I realized what was happening:   I'm in Japan, fulfilling a dream.  I'm so happy!  And I'm singing "Daydream Believer" with all of these strangers, without a care in the world.  I gave a silent prayer to God for this wonderful blessing, as my eyes filled with happy tears.  Then I went back to singing again.

Performer on Stage

Singing in the Rain

I left the temple and walked around, noting the fascinating juxtaposition of the traditional Japanese buildings next to the modern ones, and then realized that I might have been taking photos of people's homes.  I hope they weren't offended.

Above Temple Entryway

Guardian at Temple Entryway

Probably someone's residence

View of same place from across the street

Memorial to Orphans of War

Road signs in Japanese Characters
and my grocery bag

I looked at the time and figured out that I could check in to the hotel.  But when I got back to the main street, it didn't look familiar to me.  I used Google Maps in my phone, which said I was a 12-minute walk away.  After about 10 minutes, I looked again, and I was still 12 minutes away!  I walked and walked and turned and walked, all of this while the rain had started coming down again.  I saw a Holly's Cafe and thought it was a good landmark until I saw another one.  And another.  Uh oh.  I was completely lost.  I wasn't sure if I wasn't following the directions properly or the app had gone haywire.  But I was determined to walk to the hotel before Bro got there, and was also determined not to take a taxi, mostly because I was so frustrated that I couldn't remember what I had read about using taxis in Japan.  I finally found a hotel with a valet service and asked one of the valets how to get to my hotel.  I showed him the address and he told me to "go south".  Mind you, he was clearly not a fluent English speaker, but we made do.  I asked him which way was south and he pointed for me, and I relaxed a bit and walked in that direction.  But wait.  You know I can't just have a leisurely walk without incident, right?  There I was, trying to recover from being lost, wet, imagining what my heel looked like because I could feel a blister forming.  Then a car hit a huge puddle and what seemed like a tidal wave of water splashed onto me.  If you have watched "Friends", think of the episode when Emily meets Ross after having a horrid time getting to Rachel's apartment.  I was Emily.  Too bad there wasn't a Ross of some sort at the hotel.  So I worried that my whole trip would be like that moment, and felt sorry for myself, but not for too long because there was a light at the end of this very wet tunnel.

I finally got to the correct street and found the hotel.  The lovely, dry, Holiday Inn Kyoto Gojo.  I checked in and got my bags, then went upstairs to relax.  My heel wasn't pretty, and I had Monica Hair.  (I told this to the BFF who watches "Friends", and she said I could get braids.  I did not.)  Good news was that my sandwich had stayed dry!  So I had that for dinner because Bro and fam were going to arrive late to the hotel, which I told the desk clerk.  

I took a much-needed shower and put on the pajamas provided by the hotel (instead of a robe).   I was very happy that they were nice and roomy because I was afraid they would be too small.  I wonder if I could have exchanged them for a bigger size if that had been the case.  I mean, I had brought pajamas, but wanted to wear theirs. I finished re-watching Andor Season 1 to prepare for SWCJ as I got ready for bed.

Jammy Jams and Slippers

Ah, Familiar Shower Amenities!

Despite the wet and the getting lost parts, I had a good first day in Japan.  Emotional, but mostly on the positive side.  The adventure has begun! 

Step count for the day:  17,459, mostly from me being lost in Kyoto

Next Up:  Feeding Deer in Nara