This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @japon: Retour vers Kyoto et Typhons, des rencontres et des retrouvailles
As my primary language is not English, there are probably some mistakes in my translation.
Remember that the person that speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but @japon, a French guy.
This morning I leave Osaka to return to Kyoto. But before that I really need a coffee. I leave my hotel and start my quest to find one. Everything seems closed, yet it is 9 o'clock in the morning. But it's raining a lot. I'm really fed up with this rain ...
I arrive in what seems to me to be a shopping street, even if all the shops seem closed: Shinsekai.
I finally see a bar that seems open. The decoration seems to date from another time. At the back of the room, a young man says to me in Japanese: "You are French, are not you? "
I replied with a broad smile, and replied that yes, I am French. I then ask him why he so quickly found my nationality. "Because you are elegant," he answers me! OK ... Yet with my raincoat dripping and my hair stuck by the rain I should not be very beautiful to see. Maybe he was laughing at me?
We chat a little. He explains to me that he is the son of the owner of the café. I order a breakfast and we keep talking. Another client arrived and mingled with the conversation. I explain to them where I come from, what I do in Japan, where I go next ...
It was a beautiful meeting, at a time when I felt a little alone in this rain that does not finish. It's time for me to come back to Kyoto because I have to find a friend.
Sometimes there are amazing coincidences in life. While I was planning this trip to Japan a few months ago, a friend from Bordeaux phones me and asks me when I'm leaving. He tells me that he too will be in Japan at the same time. He is a translator for "Bonsai Focus" magazine and has to report on Shikoku Island. Originally his stay was only a week, but he extended it for one more week to come to Kyoto.
So here are two Bordeaux friends who meet together in Japan! Astonishing, isn't it?
Before finding him, I will drop my luggage in my ryokan. I find with pleasure the district of Higashiyama, its small streets, its wooden houses.
I meet my friend Patrick at the Nishiki market. It has been almost two weeks since I arrived in Japan, we have a lot to tell. And what better than to do that around a dish. I order tempura and noodles.
We walk into the Nishiki market and meet a small group of Japanese, who asks us to say a few words in English. I had already been there when I was in Kiyomizu-dera. They are also teachers and students but they are part of an association that helps tourists. They want to improve their English so they can better understand each other and help them better.
It was another interesting meeting, which we immortalized by a group photo.
The rain seems to calm down a little. With Patrick we try an exit. In a street parallel to Nishiki there is a small temple: the Honnō-ji. A temple as there are hundreds. One of these temples completely unknown to tourists but in which there is this small atmosphere that we appreciate. This mixture between tranquility and melancholy.
The day ends quietly. We did not visit other places as the weather was really atrocious. Fortunately the return of good weather is announced for the next day. After the storm, the sun comes back!
It is therefore with great hope and pleasure that I return to Kyoto.
-- @japon
01: Travel diary in Japan, by @japon
02: Tokyo, overcrowded city? Really? by @japon
03: Are the Japanese too disciplined? by @japon
04: Going to Japan without speaking Japanese? by @japon
05: Ueno, more than just a big park in Tokyo, by @japon
06: Asakusa, diving in the heart of Tokyo's historic district, by @japon
07: Ameyoko, Ueno's colorful market, by @japon
08: Tsukiji, the largest fish market in the world, by @japon
09: Climb the steps of Atago Jinja Shrine in Tokyo, by @japon
10: Hama Rikyu, an exceptional park in the heart of Tokyo, by @japon
11: Jimbocho, old books and tempura, by @japon
12: Shinjuku Gyoen Park and the best burger in the world!, by @japon
13: One night in Shibuya, by @japon
14: Takeshita dori : this little street dedicated to fashion (and good crepes), by @japon
15: They lie to you about Kyoto, by @japon
16: The temples and secret garden of Higashi in Kyoto, by @japon
17: Kinkaku-ji, the temple of the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, by @japon
18: Ryoan-ji, the amazing stone garden in Kyoto, by @japon
19: The Ninna-ji Temple and its extraordinary gardens, by @japon
20: Kyoto Gyoen, the Imperial Palace Park, by @japon
21: Nishiki Market: A Must in Kyoto, by @japon
22: Ginkaku-ji, the temple of the silver pavilion in Kyoto, by @japon
23: Meditate on the path of philosophy, by @japon
24: Nanzen-ji, its impressive gate and two gardens, by @japon
25: Heian-jinju: the big shrine and its garden that I almost missed, by @japon
26: Eikan-do, the temple of the momiji maples in Kyoto, by @japon
27: Kodai-ji, a Kyoto temple dedicated to a woman's love for her husband, by @japon
28: Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka, the streets of Higashiyama, by @japon
29: Kiyomizu-dera, the temple of pure water in Kyoto, by @japon
30: Tofuku-ji: the maple lookout point, by @japon
31: Makis, Yasaka-jinja Shrine and Maruyama Park, by @japon
32: Nijo Castle and its fabulous garden, by @japon
33:Departure for Osaka and its castle, and announcement of a typhoon, by @japon
34: Osaka, the garden Keitaku-en under a torrential rain, by @japon
35: Doguya-suji, the kitchen market in Osaka, by @japon
36: Dōtonbori, the bustling district of Osaka, by @japon