On to Kyoto

Our last day (for now) in Tokyo was pretty low key. Ren and I went to Yoyogi Park, and just enjoyed being outside. We watched some teenage girls practicing their dance routines, listened to birds who seemed to caw “hello”, and found dozens of preschool kids admiring the few cherry trees in bloom. Ren was fascinated by the groups of kids, who all wear colored caps to identify themselves (blue group, yellow group, pink group, green group, etc). Some of them appeared to have arrived by crib, and we’ve seen local daycare or preschool kids being pushed around as a group of six or so in a crib with large wheels. They all carefully posed for group photos under the blossoms. Kawaii!

After the park, we walked over to the Ota Memorial Museum of Art, which is home to one of the best collections of ukiyo-e (woodblock) prints in Japan. Their collection rotates, and the current exhibit was called “Kawaii: cute girls in Ukiyo-e“. I could have spent much longer here if I was by myself, but Ren did a good job looking quickly at the prints, and describing what she saw, “Mama, baby bath!” or “brush hair!”, with a lot of enthusiasm. 

We hit another playground that evening, and three local girls (maybe ten years old) adopted Ren and took her up and down the slide. Dinner was memorable for Ren, since we met up with Grant and went to a sushi place where you ordered via iPad, and your food zoomed to you on little tracks. If all of her meals could be delivered that way, she’d be in heaven.

The next morning, we packed up and met Adam to take the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. Great way to travel, and of course a really fast train ride was approved by Ren. Here in Kyoto, we booked a traditional machiya (townhouse) via Airbnb. It’s down a tiny dark passageway, and has plenty of space for all four of us. We’re all sleeping on Japanese futons (floor mattresses), even Ren! Thankfully, she has had no problem adapting to this, although this is the first time she isn’t sleeping in a crib.

The house has a lot of character: tatami flooring, a steep ladder-like staircase that we’re all kind of crawling up and down, sliding doors, and only heaters in two rooms. Luckily, once you snuggle under the blankets it is warm enough, and we’re hanging out in a room with a kotatsu (table with a built in heater underneath, and a comforter draped around it) when we aren’t asleep. 

Our neighborhood is Southern Higashiyama, and every few feet there is another temple or shrine. Perfect location for sightseeing strolls. Kyoto is a great city to walk around, and we’re working off everything we eat!