Had the typical gut-busting breakfast and hopped into Doi-san's private taxi. We checked out the gold-leafed decadence of Kinkakuji and the Zen tranquility of Ryoanji. Well, as Zen tranquil as it gets given all the babbling tourists, crying babies, and the endless recorded announcement telling you to relax and sit in serene contemplation of the rock garden.
We drove through the bamboo forest and had soba noodles for lunch before heading up Arashiyama mountain. The weather was perfect so at Doi-san's suggestion we took the "Torokko" train (used to be an old coal locamotive, now it must be diesel) up to the top of the mountain and then grabbed the bus to the boat docks. We road the mighty rapids downstream, enjoying the lively banter and thick accents of the three boatsmen for the 1.5 hours down to the bottom of the river. Kind of reminded me of the Jungle Cruise, what with the snappy one-liners, polished delivery, and watery adventure, but it was more fun and significantly moister.
At the bottom Doi-san picked us up and took us back to Tawaraya. We wandered the neighborhood for a bit and had dinner on an outside balcony overlooking the river. Against Jenn's recommendation, I was in only my t-shirt, and as the sun set, the temp dropped. We ate and then walked back down the narrow Pontocho Alley, stopping for some traditional dessert before meandering back to the ryokan.
Here in the study, a cute Italian kid with exploding blonde curls lolled about at his parents' feet whilst his mom played with this computer for 20 minutes trying to get a browser open and his dad pawed his way through some architectural art books. Ah, Kyoto.
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