Some Kyoto Photos

We went on a nice stroll through a neighborhood on the outskirts of the bamboo forest of Arishiyama. Bamboo, oh so nice.

Unagi (eel) Mmm. Barbecued eel is a popular, expensive dish in Kyoto. Bethie and I splurged for lunch one day, and gave it a try. Yummy, yummy. It's a little bit sweet, a little soy salty, a little fishy. Just nice. Mine came with a bowl of eel liver soup which was basically a light broth, a small piece of tofu, and an eel liver, which looked a lot like a human liver, but about the size of a date. The eel liver, in case you were wondering, tasted exactly like you'd think it'd taste. Like the filtration organ of an eel.

Meeting folks from around the world--one of the gems of traveling. This was our little family for one night at a Japanese Ryoken, which is something like a home-style inn. Manami, our Japanese host, cooked a veggie and noodle soup on a grill right in the center of the table. We were joined by Dee and April, a mother and daughter from Northern Australia. April was about 16 years old, and was practicing Japanese, which she is taking in school. The other couple is Francois and Alexandra, a French couple who worked in Spain as teachers, and were enjoying a 2 week holiday in Kyoto. Alexandra is worried about the state of the world, but is hopeful that Mr. Obama will make a difference. Francois loves old American blues and has recently started creating his own classical pieces on the guitar. What a fun night. We spent hours exchanging stories about our own neck of the world.
Have you ever seen references to older actors that do advertising in Japan to make a little extra money? You know, like the film Lost in Translation? Poor Tommy Lee Jones knows what I'm talking about. We saw him on just about every street corner, representing Boss canned coffee. Keep up the good work Mr. Jones.