Thursday, August 11, 2011

1st Night in Kyoto During O-Bon Holiday

Nighttime on the Kamo River in Kyoto. Although cities in Tohoku held their annual Tanabata Festivals earlier this summer, Kyoto is having theirs now.

Sadly, I'm falling behind in adding text to go along with my photos. All I can say is that I will add a narrative to this post in the next day or two, along with a narrative to my previous post. I'll go ahead and type in some photo captions, which will have to suffice until I have a bit more free time and a reliable Internet connection...

This was my brunch after arriving on a JR sleeper train and checking into my hotel. This is proof that fast food doesn't have to be bad for you. It also only cost me ¥430 (US$5.60).

This place was a great deal for dinner. We ordered one draft Sapporo beer, and the four dishes pictured below. The total cost for two people was ¥2290 ($29.89 on an anemic US dollar). That's cheaper than some Japanese restaurants in Hanoi!
 
Consider yourself lucky that the noise these salarymen produced throughout dinner doesn't translate on the page. These guys need to learn how to control their alcohol. Same for the guy outside -- from a different party -- who was puking into a canal.

I know, I need a better transition from the last caption...but this is the sashimi and seaweed salad we ordered.

Wheat gluten on sticks with miso paste. The yellow one had a ponzu-like taste to it while the red miso one had a mellower sweetness.

Pesto covering the tops of sliced tomatoes and a vinaigrette dressing for all of it to soak in.

Salmon sushi with salmon roe and toasted sesame seeds. Unbelievably tasty.

Approaching the Gion district after dinner. It's nice seeing young people dressed in festival yukatas and kimonos.

A small, quiet alley off of another alley in Kyoto's Gion district.

Trees all decorated and lit up for the Tanabata Festival.

More of the same along the Kamo River.

Inside these straw-woven balls were paper-wrapped candles and written wishes hanging from paper strips.

Another shot of nighttime along the Kamo River.

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2 comments:

  1. The guy puking sounds gross. The salmon sushi you had looks delicious!

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  2. Hi Tram! Yeah, the guy puking WAS gross, though at least it was dark out and you couldn't really see much. Better than tonight on a main street where another guy was puking and...never mind. (It was bizarre. He was squatting by the curb beside a baby stroller with a thermos but no baby inside. Uh-oh.) But yeah, the food here has been awesome. I think it was too much drinking that did those two guys in. Me, I'm loving it. Thanks for the comment, Tram!

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