I don't often post about our travel, but figured this was a good time to start.
As with most of our travels, they tend focus around food/drink and attempting to get to know the pace and life in the town. Often forgoing the tourist traps and long lines in exchange for the same coffee shop every morning and walking the streets. And, actually showing an interest in the folks who call it home will also get you a long way, even if you don't speak their language.
As I'm writing, we are only half way through our travel in Japan but I wanted to share a day in our life in Kyoto and how we like to travel.
Mapping out a few coffee shops before hand, we made this walk and passed this guy every morning, ending Arabica Coffee in the Higashiyama Ward. This street, among the majority of others is filled with history, below is one of the support beams of a small cafe showing the sophisticated joinery used on old building structures.
From here I'll just throw in some photos throughout the day and allow you to piece together the rest.
Ok, so I may have a bit more to say. I hardly ever use the term "best I ever had" but Akatsuki Coffee may have been it. We were told about this place from a friend who lives part time in Kyoto and we walked 7 miles round trip to get there.
Little, executed perfectly is far better than a lot done well.
The subtle attention to detail and thought put into simple design seem to be a good refection of the Japanese culture and way of life. Well worth the 7 miles walked in a cheap pair of Vans and three blisters on my toes.
By this point, and a few more corners turned, we decided our new tally of 10 miles walked in one day was enough, and jumped on the local transportation.
Let's throw in lunch at a random place that looked good on our walk. I ended up ordering one of the three choices, boiled tofu paired with some other items that I was happy to try and sashimi tuna, miso soup, fresh rice and a local Kirin beer, which seem to go down a lot smoother than in the states.
This day was also filled with great conversation along our many walks, but I'll spare the details and save some photos for later and end with a few shots from the neighborhood bar about a 100 yards from our cheap Airbnb.
Wrapped it up with a Negroni made from local gin crafted here in Kyoto.
Cheers
