03-04-2025 Walks

Woke up with more not-so-great news. Ann was congested in the night and is coming down with something, probably a cold. She's being a trooper about it, but it's going to dampen the fun. It was really raining in the morning, and cold, so there was no way I was going to run in those conditions. We waited out the rain, then walked a fair distance over to the Kaleidoscope Museum of Kyoto. It was still raining, so we stopped at a 100 Yen store, and I bought an umbrella for about $5. Kept me much drier, and we also walked through the covered markets. It was pretty cold, and I could have used another layer on top. The museum itself was interesting and fairly quick to get through, my kind and I think Ann's as well. There were some really beautiful designs, but it got repetitive after a while. We sampled all the ones on display, then started heading back. It was getting to be lunch time, so I found a small vegan place, Veginny, down in a basement location. They had the Closed sign up when we got there, but the server came out and welcomed us in. Food was a delight, I had falafel that was first-rate in a bowl with lots of other veggies. The server was very personable, originally from New York, where he had met the owner and cook. It was a serendipitous find, maybe the best meal I've eaten on this trip. From there, we walked back in misty conditions to the Airbnb and warmed up (at least for me). Later in the afternoon, we walked by the Zenkyo-an Temple to get to the grounds of the Kenninji Temple, where we paid for admission, took off our shoes, and walked through the lecture hall, where was displayed the folding screen of Fujin and Raijin, the Wind and Thunder Gods, by Tawaraya Sotatsu. It was impressive, but I'm not sure if it was the original or a reproduction. Canon had sponsored a video nearby, so I'm suspicious. There were other artistic wall screens throughout the area, a number of them reproductions. The ceiling painting of the Twin Dragons in the temple itself was also cool, done recently. The golden Buddha in the temple was also pretty to look at but kinda far away. Walked back from there, successfully avoiding more rain. I made eggs and toast for dinner, then we walked over (pretty far) to a bar that advertised table magic. Unfortunately, the magician bartender, who is also, interestingly, a former jockey, was not there. We had a drink and walked back, stopping at another bar that featured magic. It, however, was packed, so we couldn't get in. Back to the flat after that, a little disappointed. It was a quiet rest of the evening from then.