Our next mission was a trip to Kyoto. Before heading to Osaka, we made a reservation with the kimono rental shop Sensho Kitamura, so we had to wake up and head out early enough to make our 11am reservation. Luckily it's only like 45 minutes from Osaka station to Sensho Kitamura, but we got lost, so we were late anyway.

The process of getting dressed up in the kimono is completely bizarre. Apparently in the past, when everyone wore kimono every day, everyone could dress themselves, and they'd just shrug them on no matter how they hung on their bodies, tie on their obi, and get to work. Now, though, kimono are for getting dressed up fancy, so having the garment line up correctly with your body is important. Curves are no good for kimono. As the ladies at Sensho Kitamura kept telling us "Nice body" isn't good for kimono.

So how did they fix Laura's and my nice bodies? Towels. Lots and lots of towels padding our upper bodies so that the kimono would hang properly. Eventually I got used to wearing it all, but it was heavy! We also wore leggings and a sort of kimono-sweatshirt (like a "shrug" - are people still wearing shrugs? A short sweater that doesn't close in the front- with sleeves just short enough to be hidden by the under-kimono) under it all so we wouldn't get cold.

After we got all dressed up in our kimono (we're living the proverb I linked in the last post: 京の着倒れ、大阪の食い倒れ - Kyou no kidaore, Oosaka no kuidaore, "Overindulge in fine clothes in Kyoto, overindulge in food in Osaka"), the ladies at Sensho Kitamura also did our hair and we got to borrow a purse to take our valuables with us. Then we set out to explore the city.

We didn't get much exploring done, because it takes forever to walk around in kimono, and to find anything by bus when both of you forget your bus maps at the kimono shop.

But all kinds of people wanted to take pictures of us!

My hair

The back of my kimono

Laura and I in front of Sensho Kitamura

 People who wanted to take pictures with us:

(favorite picture of the entire day)

 Every single one of those high school boys wanted to shake our hands afterwards. It was the most confusing experience. Something about shaking so many hands made no cultural sense. Like, I think lots of Japanese people are like "I'm meeting an American! They shake hands there! Look I know that!" but you don't normally shake hands with people to thank them for a photo, do you? (the fact that I don't know the answer to this question scares me. Like how I can eat noodles with chopsticks but I can't eat pasta with a fork. My pasta skills have never increased, whereas my noodle skills have gotten a lot of use and improvement.)




We were like celebrities. Everywhere we went someone wanted a photo. Even if we were eating ice cream.

Here's the run-down of the sightseeing we managed to do.

In front of the entrance to Kiyumizu-dera

We stumbled across this really cool dragon procession thing at Kiyumizu-dera, but I have no idea what it was about. I bet you a quarter that most of the people watching didn't either.

Koi no ishi, the rock of love. Of you can walk with your eyes closed from this rock to another one a little ways away, you'll have good luck in love. Or something.

I made it. This means something.

I actually photographed Laura in action instead of posing afterwards, so her pics are cuter.

And Laura made it too.

There's the famous view of Kiyomizu-dera you usually see.

Kiyomizu-dera

The "waterfall" at Kiyomizu-dera. Supposedly drinking the water here means something (one stream is wisdom, one is strength, one is something else?) but Laura couldn't remember so I just picked one at random. And strangers photographed us.

Next we got lost in the bus system somewhere around Gion and headed for Heian Shrine. We made it there right as it was closing.

It was basically closed, so there was no one there. "Look how big it is!"

Walking back from Heian Shrine, trying to find the bus to Sensho Kitamura

So, after being lost on buses and walking about in kimono for many hours, Laura and I finally made it back to Sensho Kitamura, got redressed in our previous clothes, although our hair remained in its kimono style. The ladies at Sensho Kitamura took our flowers and hair sticks, but our hair spray, elastics, and bobby pins stayed right where they were. I'm pretty sure I heard someone who was sitting behind me on the bus back to Kyoto Station commenting on this. He had a good look at the back of my head, which, in it's updo, did not look like someone's everyday hair, and he was saying "Yeah, sometimes foreigners dress up in kimono and go to Sanjusangendo and stuff like that."

We overheard a lot of people talking about us in Kyoto, but it wasn't rude, like it usually is in Tokyo. It was interesting, though. When we were standing in front of Kiyomizu-dera, we heard some boys saying "Nanpa shite ikou ka?" which made us crack up because it means "Should we go try and pick them up?" Mercifully, they kept our distance. Waiting in line to drink from the "waterfall" at Kiyomizu-dera, we heard a group of girls glancing our way and saying "with us," questioningly in English. Laura looked over their way and was like "Shashin torou ka?" (Should we take a picture?) and they got really flustered but really excited that we could speak Japanese. They told us "later" in English and we met up after we had all gotten through the line. When we were leaving Sensho Kitamura, a couple who was walking stepped to the side so we could pass them, saying something like "Ashi nagai kara ne" (It's because they've got long legs, I guess) and I brightly told them that we had been wearing kimono all day so we could finally move our legs properly. They laughed and said we must have looked great.

My host family also told me that Kyoto people have the reputation for being really friendly, but that means they're terrifying when they're angry. Osaka people bluster and yell, but Kyoto people get quiet and stay friendly. Yikes.

After walking around Kyoto, we still had our half-hour train ride back to Osaka, and we were exhausted and starving. We weren't sure what to eat, but then I remembered a review I saw in the Japanese guide map I picked up at J-Hoppers. It was for Critters Burger, the representative burger of Kansai. They were open till 11:00 and they didn't look too hard to find, so we decided to go for it.

And oh boy, was it worth it.

I'm hungry for dinner now, mind you, but my stomach is getting happy just remembering the place. We had root beer floats, which were awesome because root beer is stupid-scarce in Japan, and oh man, the burgers. Our guide map had a coupon for one free topping, so I got an avocado bacon cheese burger but didn't have to pay for the avocado, and Laura did the same with an avocado burger. Even though Japanese bacon is just not American bacon, it was a dream.

Root beer float

I only wish I had more fries.

I should have taken a picture before the ketchup carnage. But they had American mustard! And there was butter on that top bun under the avocado. I never realized I wanted butter and avocado on bread so bad.

Here's the outside of Critters. I'll find you directions if you want to go there. Gotta find my Critters Freak sticker that I picked up at the register.

It was a beautiful, beautiful burger experience, and I wanted to share that with you all. I was moved by flavor.
The kimono thing was pretty cool too.

The next day in Osaka, Laura and I followed the recommendations of some of the J-Hoppers guests we met yesterday and headed to Minoh, a town in Osaka prefecture that's about half an hour away from Osaka city. We were on a quest for a beautiful waterfall and some hiking. Turns out it wasn't that simple.
We followed what we thought were signs to the waterfall, and they ended up leading us straight up a mountain towards an unknown destination.
Normally, I enjoy a good hike, but mountain climbing isn't exactly my forte. I've never taken so many breaks while walking. It was pretty pathetic how tired we were.

Taking a photo of another Hankyu train out the window of our train. I was trying to photograph the river we were crossing but all I got was train and land.

Notice how this map has a straightforward path with the waterfall at the top? Yeah, shoulda paid more attention to that.

Minoh meibutsu: Momiji Tempura! Yep, I ate fried maple leaves. They were sweet and crunchy and you're jealous.

Starting up our misguided hike up the mountain.

We were starting to realize what we were in for, but we were too giddy from the smell of actual dirt and trees to turn back. Tokyo will do that to you.

TREES

Yep. Hiking straight up a mountain.

And up and up.

And up and up.

There, that's the facial expression I was going for.

And we sit down on a bench for a while.

Our hike took us up to this pretty cool view of (I guess) Minoh city. So I guess that was worth it.

After our misadventure in mountain climbing, we turned back the way we came and started searching out a place to eat. We ended up at a chain cafe on the other side of the train station, but it was pretty good and not too expensive, and we could sit down, which were all huge pluses. Then we decided to head to follow the main road and assume it lead to the waterfall.

This was also a decently long hike, but at least the signage was much clearer.

There it is, a big red arrow pointing to "waterfall." You can't miss that.

And sure enough, we finally arrived at the waterfall. I should mention that I managed to get a blister on my foot and do something weird to my hip muscle before we left Tokyo. So this was some intense walking.

"Look at how big this thing is!"

After successfully scouting out the waterfall in Minoh, we headed back to Osaka. Osaka's a great place to stay if you go to Kansai (western Japan). You can take day trips to Kyoto and Kobe, plus cool places like Himeji castle (originally part of our plan but we heard it was under some serious construction) and Minoh, and you could even jot on over to Takarazuka to see the all-female revue on its home stage (though there's a Takarazuka theater in Tokyo too).

Our mission in Osaka was dinner. And what better place for dinner in Osaka than Dotonbori? Dotonbori is a street known for its wild signage and restaurants that used to be a theater district. It really only takes a brief trip to Dotonbori to realize that Tokyo may have big buildings and bright lights, but it doesn't have a soul. I think you'll see what I mean in a moment.

Welcome to Dotonbori.

This crab sign is one of the famous landmarks of Dotonbori, according to wikipedia.

It turns out the "Bikkuri Donkey" is a chain, but their name (Surprised Donkey) and signage amused me.

I like how this sign combines takoyaki and Universal Studios (the other thing Osaka's known for)

Fugu (blowfish)

There are four of these ramen places in Dotonbori and they're recommended on the internet, but I didn't come to Osaka to eat ramen... I came for okonomiyaki and takoyaki. So we never checked them out.

This place had all-you-can-eat okonomiyaki, so we ended up going there.

The giant tanuki on the sign above the restaurant.

Coolest glass I've ever drunk oolong tea out of.

Making okonomiyaki (kimchi-squid flavor)

Laura mixing up her okonomiyaki (I forgot what flavor)

Grilling the okonomiyaki

Outside the restaurant after dinner.

Laura and I with Kuidaore Taro, one of the famous landmarks in Dotonbori. My head got too close to his arm and he almost drummed on me. Yikes.

This is the front of the Dotonbori Hotel.

I wish I knew who these guys were. They're definitely creepy, with their little feet and big noses and no bodies...

It was delicious, and an interesting adventure. Lots of fun to look at all the signs and then stuff our faces. Next time, Kyoto!