May 28
Hakone was pouring.
We took the shinkansen (aka the “bullet train”) for part of the way, before changing to a local train which inched up the mountains. Endlessly. I was tired. And humid. And sweaty. And wet.
But the ryokan was worth it.
But we were tired.
But look at the food!
And this was only part of the dinner. The thing ig, it's all small, beautiful bites, so you don't feeel all gross.
Oh! What’s a ryokan? It’s a Japanese inn. Like a B&B. But not foofy. And you don't have to talk to anyone else at breakfast. The idea is that it’s for a little R&R. (Hee, B&B R&R)
You get there, have some tea, have several soaks in the hot baths (before which you scrub the hell out of yourself), eat a exquisitely presented dinner, sleep on futons, wake up, bathe/shower again, and then eat your breakfast. Pretty much this eating and sleeping was all we did, since it was positively lashing rain. There is quite a bit to do in Hakone, apparently, but we didn’t do any of it.
Because it was fucking pouring.
Besides, it’s really fun to get into the baths. I had tweaked my hamstring and IT band from running before we went on vacation, and I was looking forward to repeatedly scalding the shit out of my legs as healing punishment. It’s so much fun to shower and bathe when it’s such a pleasurable experience. Wait, that came out the wrong way. I just meant that when the water pressure is fierce, the bathroom is cool, and you don’t have to foot the water bill (well I guess you kind of are when it comes to your hotel tab), it’s not, like, an obligation.
Sidenote #Ilostcount: Every place we went to, from cheap to upscale, had terrific, unbelievable water pressure. So much so that when we got home we asked each other if there was something wrong with our showerhead. Nope. It just can’t blast a layer of skin off. And there’s something to be said for that!
And, then there was Kyoto.
Perhaps this is why there are no love hotels in Kyoto?
We really liked Kyoto. This surprised me. I expected a gross tourist Mecca lile Florence. I hated Florence. But it was really quite pleasurable and had a nice allotment of weirdness as well.
We wandered all over the freakin’ place. And laughed at signs and things. 
And ate grasshoppers and bees. No, really. I asked the chef at one of my favorite Japanese restaurants if she had any recommendations, and she came back with Okariba.
It’s an izakaya where the chef hunts everything he makes. Including fish. And wild boar. And, I guess, grasshoppers and bees. Which are candied. Kind of.
We didn’t order them, he just took a shine to us (because ahem, how could you not?) and brought out this platter. We couldn’t say no, could we? They weren’t bad. And really, aren’t shrimp and lobster just sea bugs? I actually can’t stand to look at a whole lobster on the plate; all I see is roach. You’re welcome.
Anyway, we had a great time, had some sake, met an interesting French guy who is a physics professor in Kyoto and who divides his time between Paris and Kyoto. Tough, eh?
More in a few.
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