After Kinkakuji, we walked toward Ryoanji Temple, which is 15 minutes away. It's getting close to lunch hour, so we were looking for place to eat along the way. This conveyor belt sushi place came into sight.
1. They charged 100 Yen (+ 5% tax) per plate except on special orders. Unlike the two previous conveyor belt sushi places we ate at, this one is really big. It can sit over a hundred people.
2. Customers sit around regular tables. The conveyor belt comes around each table. You can't see sushi chefs at work. But you can order things from the electronic console above your table. When your orders are one table away from you, the console will beep to remind you. Customer orders come in plates that sit on top of special red bowls, so you can tell which plates are customer orders. There are also plate chute at each table. After you put in 5 plates down the chute, you can play a quick game on the console, see if you win anything (little things like cell phone dangles). The console's display was all in Japanese, so we had no idea how to use it at the time. Later when we got to Tokyo, my brother took us to the same chain restaurant, that's when we finally knew what's going on.
3. Ryoanji Temple is famous for its Zen garden. The garden consists of raked gravel and fifteen moss-covered boulders, which are placed so that, when looking at the garden from any angle (except above) only fourteen or less boulders can be seen at one time.
4. Some building inside Ryoanji Temple.
5.
While searching for dinner later, we walked a long, narrow, cobbled alley west of the Kamo River between Shijo-dori (4th street) and Sanjo-dori (3rd street). Lit by traditional lanterns, the alley was dark and quiet, a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Shijo-dori. It was really cool walking there at night, almost felt like stepping back in time. There were many eateries along the way, all of them seemed expensive, and their menus completely in Japanese, making it impossible for us to know what's being offered, so we didn't eat there.
Note: Later I found out the area is called Pontocho. According to Wikipedia: "Pontocho is a district in Kyoto, Japan, known for geisha and home to many geisha houses and traditional tea houses. Like Gion, Pontocho is famous for the preservation of forms of traditional architecture and entertainment."
6. For dinner, we had some kind of hot pot dishes. This was Dave's set, which included beef, noodle, along with vegetables, mushrooms and tofu etc in a very hot pot, rice, raw egg (to be cooked in the hot pot quickly), pickles, and some more vegetables in a separate bowl. The set cost ~830 Yen. It was delicious.
(To be continued)
