So, I had planned to be at the station 25 minutes in advance to get my suitcase out of the koin rokkaa (lockers), but when I tried to unlock the door, my coin got stuck. I fumbled a bit, but nothing moved, so I went to get some guy in uniform who came with me, went back, came back with some tools, fumbled a bit... Then I told him (in japanese) that my train was leaving in 5 minutes, and he got really stressed, and ran back out. At that point, there was already some crowd watching the event and discussing what my options would be, when some man started playing with the lock and a plastic knife, and managed to open the door with all the public cheering around him. As I ran in the direction of my train, I was met by the guy in uniform, accompanied by three more guys who were also coming to help. And so followed by half the train station personnel, I made it just in time to write this note on my train.
I am exhausted!!! I have been walking soooooo much in the last few days that I cannot feel my feet. Today, I have walked from my Ryokan (which is around the train station) to around Kyoto University, and of course taking the least efficient route, going up and down stairs to so many shrines and temples. Kyoto is a beautiful city, but I think I'll have to come back a few times before I can get a grasp at what's going on here. For now, I have mainly stayed in the eastern part of the city. I am staying at a small ryokan managed by some nice old lady, and I had my first real japanese breakfast there this morning. Very good, but it will take time getting used to, I'm just not used to eating seafood miso soup and garlicky pickeled vegetables in the morning. I mainly ate junk food in the streets today, and of course, i had some delicious green tea ice cream. I also met a guy who makes smoked cheese and was selling it in the street. After chatting a bit, he told me that cheese was really a side job, and that in fact he was a manga (geki-ga) artist.
I think after this, I will need to take it easy for a few days...
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