After I left my capsule hotel, since it was still very early morning, I decided to go back to Kyoto JR station and store my luggage in the coin locker so I don't have to walk around Kyoto lugging 20kgs worth of luggage. As I mentioned previously, since no Kyoto subway station had elevators nor escalators, the staircases were my only option. Unfortunately, by the time I got to Kyoto JR, my luggage handle somehow became stuck at the ejected position. So I had to force it back down with strenuous effort, which I managed to but now it won't lift back up again. Never mind that, I said, I'll deal with it later. So I just put my luggage into the coin locker and went elsewhere.
It was release date (for Mayu's photobook) so the first order of the day was going back to the Tsutaya I ventured to last night. However, I seemed to forgot that it was around 8:45am. Rush hour. I learnt that the hard way as I boarded the JR local train. As I boarded, I thought I would be the last person that would be able to realistically fit into that train, as it was already rather full. Then suddenly, around 10-15 other persons started boarding after I did. A couple of them tried to squeeze through the already packed crowd, ending up ramming me in and I almost crushed a few hapless young schoolgirls who, because of the crowd, couldn't really see anything. The packed feeling was worse than any train I've boarded; worse than Beijing's metro subway in the morning (but at least I felt more secure here in Tokyo than in Beijing), and even more crushed than on the infamously packed Tokyo trains (Yamanote, Chuo-Sobu and Keihin-Tohoku lines in particular). I even felt some hands (most likely the schoolgirls behind and around me) trying to tug on my belt for support - strangely awkward. Luckily, I intended to get off the next station, giving me some space to breathe.
Unfortunately, by the time I arrived there, it was still too early morning and Tsutaya hadn't yet opened. So I decided to have breakfast and coffee at the nearby Starbucks. No canned coffee today, not that Starbucks coffee is any better.
Feeling a little frustrated, I went back hastily to Kyoto JR station and, walking around (throughout Porta and The Cube), I noticed a few other bookstores. However, they too didn't have the photobook in stock. So I went to the nearby Kyoto Avanti shopping mall which, incidentally, had not only a bookstore but also an animate store. That didn't open until 10am, but by the time I arrived, since it was close to opening time, I decided to wait it out. As soon as the doors opened, I bolted for the bookstore floor and, lo and behold, the photobook was on sale. So I quickly grabbed it, paid and left the mall. After hours of walking and visiting various bookstores throughout Fukuoka, Hiroshima and Kyoto in vain, I finally nabbed a copy. Dedication, they call it.
Next stop was Gion. Admittedly, the area hasn't changed since I last visited Kyoto two years ago.
I had two objectives here in Gion: buy some green tea for back home, which I managed to, and have lunch at a special restaurant.
Recall this short segment of Yuihan (Yui Yokoyama) in Bakusho Show Battle last year, where she did a cover of Kimagure Romantic (Ikimonogakari) whilst essentially showing the best of Kyoto.
See those sushi looking like intricately designed balls (around the 1:15 mark)? Yeah, I went there (thanks to this show).
And yes, they really do look like that, and that small too. Tastes pretty good as well.
I ordered the lunch set, which also came with a few other dishes. First, the entree - or rather, entree platters.
If there was ever a fine demonstration of local produce crafted to portray the different flavours of spring, this must be it. Every one of the little dishes were unique and flavoursome in their own ways.
Next was a sakura mochi, but not as you (nor I) know it.
First of all, it was savoury (so no red bean paste filling, just the leaf wrapping around glutenous rice). Secondly, it was in a soupy mixture and garnished with a bit of root vegetable.
There was also a grilled bamboo shoot, the layers so thin yet so crisp and almost sweet thanks to the caramelisation.
Dessert was green tea served with some sort of mochi. The green tea definitely does couple excellently with the sweetness of the wagashi.
All this didn't exactly come cheap - at 5000¥, it would end up being my most expensive meal for this trip. Quality doesn't come cheap. For some reason, all my most expensive meals I've ever had in Japan have been in Kyoto...
After that wallet-raping meal, it was time to board the train to Tokyo, so I went back to Kyoto JR. The luggage handle still didn't want to lift up, meaning I had to resort to cramping my back and using the smaller, fixed handle instead. More effort required, and the luggage kept smashing into my feet, but I had no other choice.
At Tokyo, after a few change of trains at Tokyo and Akihabara (and struggling to haul my luggage through the packed crowds at each station), I managed to arrive at my final hotel for the trip. Definitely felt much more relieved now that I can dump my luggage somewhere and not have to worry about it for the next couple of days. Good, clean hotel with ample space (as far as Japanese hotels are concerned), and Akihabara was literally 20mins (total travel time) from my hotel room, since my station (Asakusa-bashi ekimae) was the next stop down the train line.
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| (bonus points if you can guess what my iPad wallpaper is) |
Surprisingly, that station also didn't have any escalators nor elevators, so more heavy lifting was required. But at least I have Akihabara on my doorstep so again, I did all my grocery shopping (and obviously otaku shopping) there.
Since it had just been released, the Hakata truck had been passing through the streets of Akihabara a few times.
Didn't know what to have for dinner, so I went for some good ol' tonkatsu don - only with some added kimchi in.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful, although I did manage to catch up with another fellow AKB48 fan from online. At the AKB48 Cafe, Mariyanuu's tiramisu tasted quite good, too.
Both of us had a laugh at what our randomly-selected drink coasters were though...
The staff must be clearing out the stock.
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