Japan - day 6 - wonderment, reflection, and toilet humour

Today was emotional.

It is quite extraordinary that something so pleasing to the eye can stir such emotion. And I'm not talking about the rather handsome young men pulling the rickshaws either, although that has nearly brought a tear to my eye too.

The day began with gremlins. You know the ones, trying to persuade me to stay in bed, not to go running, that I'd already seen Philosopher's Path and why would I need to go again?! Well, you and I both know I won that argument as I eluded to that fact in day 5's blog. I love running. In fact, I wish I had the legs to run everywhere, all the time. Somehow you're no longer part of the world you're in, you're just a passenger, watching the world go by. My route was pretty straight all the way to my destination, the kilometre-or-so blossom-lined path I went to yesterday, but I inadvertently took a wrong turn and ended up seeing sights I would otherwise have missed.

Yes, I got some funny looks. A gaijin? Running? On her own? Apparently not so common it would seem, if expressions are anything to go by. But I dished out some funny looks of my own this morning, with accompanying thoughts of "just take the frickin' dog out of the buggy and let it use its own legs, it's blatantly eager to!". Apparently it's a 'thing' here, dogs in buggies. Poor things.

Anyway, it was worth heading up to the path so early...

Smug.

It was a completely different atmosphere this early. It seemed like we were all seeking out tranquility somehow. It sounds corny, but I don't know how else to explain it. There wasn't as much chatting, or as many photographs being taken, it was just peaceful.

An hour and twenty minutes later, I returned to the hotel, showered, got my stuff together and headed out in search of the laundry place that Manabu had found for me. And as if by magic..!

Looks complicated, turns out to be simple. Open door. Place clothes inside. Close door. Choose programme. Insert money. Wait indicated time. Open door. Retrieve clothes. But here's where I'm putting my incense stick firmly back in my pocket - it was 1800 yen!! That's over £10!!!! Granted, the washing machine takes 16kg worth of laundry, so if you fill it up it's probably worth it, but for my little bag?! Anyways, went for breakfast while the laundry program was executing. Now, here's an observation I've made... Whenever I order something in a restaurant, the waiter/waitress always looks expectantly at me and when I indicate that that's all I'm having, they say "just?" as if I should be ordering something else. Yes, JUST this starter, these two main courses, and this extra side... kudasai.

Another thing I've noticed is the Japanese toilet humour. And I don't mean they crack mean poo jokes (though I'd love to know if they did - somehow I doubt it), but they have a sense of humour when it comes to their toilets. Enter the lavatories of an establishment and it's 50/50 whether you'll be sitting on a heated toilet seat or pissing on your own shoes. I know which I prefer.

My dry, fluffy washing retrieved, I headed to the first of my sights for the day, the Kinkakuji Temple.

I cannot describe to you how absolutely incredibly beautiful this place is. I couldn't help blubbering a little from the sheer joy of witnessing something so awesome, but once the emotions had subsided somewhat, I figured I'd treat you to a picture of it. Unfortunately someone photo-bombed it.

(Note the new beret)

Next up, the Ryoanji Rock Garden (Google for pics). Also strangely emotional, even though in itself it wasn't particularly stunning, or interesting, but for some reason just sitting there looking at it made you contemplate life.

Then it was a fair ole ride to the bamboo groves, which were magnificent. I'll treat you to the picture without the swarm of humans...

After that I pretty much milled around the area (Arashiyama) getting my bike in people's way, watching an American guy do basketball tricks while making the crowd howl with laughter. As I said to him afterwards, no idea what he was saying (he was talking Japanese) but it was very entertaining.

Food wise, it's been the complete opposite of yesterday and Laurence would slap my wrists if he knew what I'd eaten today, so we best not tell him (toast, jam, egg, sweets, handful of nuts, dango (Google it), more sweets, ice cream, and a burger). Ssssshhhhh....

And finally, having pretty much been outdoors all day in the sun/rain/wind/etc, I decided to eat at the hotel and have an early night. Tomorrow is an 85km ride, and it's IMPERATIVE that I get to my destination before lunch, so it's as early a start as possible for me. Wish me luck!

 

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