September 24, 1990
It's hard to believe that I'm travelling again given that I left Austin a mere month ago. But, this being a 3-day holiday weekend, I asked myself, "Why not go shopping in Kobe and Kyoto?" I took the ferry on Friday, after work. It's about $70.00 round trip.
I landed in Kobe at 6:50 Saturday morning, stored my bag in a locker in a train station and took a subway to Shin-Kobe station (terminal for the Shinkansen, "bullet train"). From there I walked 20 minutes up a very steep hill to see Nunobiki Falls, said to be one of the 3 most beautiful waterfalls in Japan. The wondrous thing was that no one else was there! Walking down from the falls, this little old man took me in hand, literally, and walked me back to Shin-Kobe station. I was back downtown by 9:30, half an hour before any of the shops open. So I went to a German bakery and had some breakfast. I shopped from 10-4. I get tired very quickly. Maybe it was that I didn't sleep well on the ferry because these two old men got into a drunken argument which ended only when one man threw up all over the place. He spent the rest of the night alternately snoring loudly or screaming from his drunken nightmare. Or maybe it was the walk up to the falls. At the time I marvelled at how such absolute wilderness (well maybe it's more like a hiking trail) could exist just minutes from the Shinkansen station. Or maybe it was the fact that I resisted making reservations and didn't know where I was going to stay. Suddenly, my adventurousness seemed more like stupidity. Especially after a few replays of Mary and Joseph and "no room at the inn". However, I tried the main train station hotel and they had a room. It was a very small but clean Western style room with a bath, a shower and CNN. After a hot bath, I slept for two hours. Every muscle was throbbing and I had a bad headache, I think because I had lunch in Chinatown. I bet they're liberal with the MSG! I felt better upon waking and walked around a little more. But I spent most of the evening staring blankly at CNN. The world's in a mess. I've decided that it's nice living in a world untouched by the world: near-war, recession, inflation, budget deficits.
This morning I tried to take the train to Kyoto. Things were going well until I switched trains at Juso. Then I got on the wrong one, a fact I didn't realize until I got to the end of the line and discovered I was in Kita Senri, not Kyoto! I took the train back to Juso and finally got to Kyoto at noon (only 2 hours behind schedule).
But my luck improved. After emerging on the street level, I immediately spotted this shop I had read about that makes Japanese combs and hair ornaments. It's the most famous comb shop in Kyoto and there it was! I bought two barrettes made with lacquered Japanese paper (about $11.00 each) and a black wooden, I don't know what you call it but it looks like 1 chopstick and you stick it in your hair to hold a bun. It was $25.00. I really like it because it's Japanese in a subtle way. It's not lacquered or painted like the ones you see in the geisha hairdos, so it doesn't look like a tourist souvenir. It's simply stained black. But its shape is obviously Japanese. I found the ukiyo-e handkerchiefs that Linda wanted and got one for each of you. I also bought two wooden dishes in the shape of leaves -- only $3.00 each and very interesting. Also a bunch of books, a set of 5 chopstick holders, another set of 2 chopstick holders and some memento cookies for the guys in the office.
I really did enjoy shopping more today after a good night's sleep. I don't know -- I thought I was getting stronger because I've been bicycling so much. I planned better and I travelled lighter, keeping everything but my purse in a locker. Hmm. I think another reason I felt better today was that I ate Japanese food. Miso soup is warm and full of vitamins, minerals, and protein, but no fat.
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens
September 24, 1990
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This being a 3-day holiday weekend, I asked myself, "Why not go shopping in Kobe and Kyoto?"