Makes you appreciate not being a monk. Shoveling snow suddenly seems easy.

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Fushimi Inari temple of 40,000 Tora's. The big orange is a Tora.

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Foxes keeping guard


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'Bridge to Heaven'... they didnt let us through.

Well overall a mellow couple days. Yesterday mom went to visit an old friend and see some wild pottery and kimono exhibits. Unfortunately for me, I had to go running, sure missed out on that pottery. So I did a long run along a big Kyoto valley but decided it was time to double back when red signs depicting angry cobra's started to line the path. We later met up, but I was short on energy and the whole need to be fed every 30-40 minutes becomes waring. 

With high ambitions we set off for the Fushimi Inari temple of 40,000 Tora's and due to a national festival were greeted with a spectacular street of vendors. Though we limited ourselves to sushi and dried persimmons some were marketing salted snakes. Imagine a snake, all curled up. Now imagine it salted, dead in a bag, but still all curled up and intact, less a flattened head. Tasty.

We then planned a day trip to the opposing coast, but turned out to be $200 round trip, so saved that for another day. Then in the true Gillespie, and possibly backpacker stle we headed to the pub. Nothing polishes off a day like giant bottles of brew and anonymous unnamed delicacies while receiving a Japanese lesson from the cook. 

After an english menu and several rounds we found ourselves back at the hostel where an interesting thing happened.

Mom has some friends, Pat and Dave Prescott who she used to be good friends with but has lost contact with in the previous years. Last she heard they were in Perth then Brunei, but had no way of contacting them. So tonight when we came back I was having a read and she decided to head into the common area where she struck up a conversation with a kiwi (New Zealander) and found out the woman worked in Brunei. Mom-"I've been to NZ, and got some friends from there who used to live in Dunedin, then moved to Perth and then took work at a university in Brunei" Random kiwi-"Oh you must be talking about the Prescott's". Weird. Anyways so this lady who my mom completely randomly started a conversation with just happens to work closely with a family Jan hasn't talked to in 10-15 years. Small world.

So next time your somewhere and you think, what the hell I'll never be here again my reputation doesn't matter. Think again.

Eel sandwiches with green tea ice cream for dinner!