Parade, ryokan

Woke up this morning to see it pouring rain. Had to leave to transfer my luggage to the ryokan, as I was unable to book a second night at this hotel. Let's just say walking around with luggage and no umbrella does not make for a pleasant journey. If you ever stay at the Gion Fukuzumi, note that it's halfway between the Chion-mae and Gion bus stops, and that any bus going south from Higashiyama station stops at both. Also note that the north and southbound stops aren't across from each other.

Returning to the hotel, I watched the parade on television and checked their progress. The procession passes right by the hotel so I didn't have to go far. Outside, I ducked underneath trees and tried to take pictures in the rain. You might ask at this point why I didn't buy an umbrella but that's one of those rhetorical questions that doesn't have an answer.

I was impressed by the resolve of the men pulling all the floats and walking in the parade. Many had umbrellas, but they must have been very soggy still. Pulling a float that weighs several tonnes probably isn't a lot of fun either. The trickiest part is turning corners, especially for the larger, taller ones. It's too bad that the rain meant they had to cover everything with clear plastic tarps.

Armed with an umbrella that I bought at a drugstore, I went a block north to the Kyoto Hotel Okuda and ate lunch in their restaurant Belcanto. Not bad at all.

My coworker told me about the Nishiriki food market area so I went for a visit. Lots of vendors selling pickled and salted things. There was a vegetarian restaurant here that served local Kyoto produce with a writeup by a major US newspaper. It's reservation-only, too bad.

Headed towards the Yasaka Shrine area as that's near my ryokan. Lots of guys dressed in matching yukatas standing around. I think they were waiting for them to move the shrines down the street. There were a few food stalls set up and carnival type games including one in which kids used these old wooden guns to shoot corks at objects. The woman running the game just ran in front of all the kids who just kept shooting.

Gion Fukuzumi is a modern ryokan with up-to-date amenities like ensuite Western-style bathroom, television and even wireless Internet in the lobby. My single room was six tatami mats large. At night, they pull out a futon for sleeping. They have two public baths (one on the top floor) which alternate between men and women so everyone can enjoy the rooftop view. Sitting on the stools near the bath, you clean yourself with the provided shampoo and soap and rinse thoroughly before you step in. The water's incredibly hot. I was actually sweating when I got out. The "Let's Go" guide in the lobby suggests trying not to move, but I found that breathing changed my buoyancy so that didn't work too well.