the Kamo River and Pontocho

Having had a full first day in Kyoto, and having accomplished everything on my to-do list—

Okay, that's a bald-faced lie. I didn't accomplish everything on my Day-One-of-Kyoto itinerary. There was one thing I missed.

Do you know what kaiseki ryori is? No? How about kawayuka/kawadoko (down at the bottom of the page)? Not ringing any bells?

Someday I intend to write my memoirs, and then I'll have the pleasant privilege of explaining in great detail what all these things are, instead of lazily linking you elsewhere; but for the sake of brevity, I'll just provide links and you can peruse them at your leisure.

Since Kyoto seems to be famous for kaiseki ryori (tea ceremony food) and kawayuka (rickety-platform-over-running-water dining), I figured I had to try 'em both while I was in town. My hotel (the Karasuma Kyoto; that's my own review down there on the left of the webpage) was centrally located. I wasn't very far from anything, including Pontocho. Pontocho is a narrow alley running north-south from Shijo Street to Sanjo Street, one block west of the Kamo (Duck) River. Apparently they do kawayuka dining there a lot in summer, running a platform out over the river and letting the water cool people off as they eat. Plus there's a lot of kaiseki ryori restaurants there. Two birds with one stone. So I waited until the dusk was falling and strode out of my hotel.

...in the completely wrong direction.

Soon I realized my mistake and turned back east. After quite a bit of walking (the alleys were longer than I reckoned), I made it to the Kamo River. A quick right turn before the stone bridge put me onto Pontocho. It was, if I may speak plainly, one of the most charming little corners of the Earth that I've ever seen. I cursed myself for leaving my bulky Canon Rebel behind. This would have been one sweet opportunity for a picture. Running parallel to both the alley and the river a block away was Takase Canal, a narrow waterway utilized by merchants to bring their goods in off the Kamo and offload them. It wasn't used for much except urban decoration now, but it was still mighty pretty. If you can picture the low-hanging branches and green leaves of the cherry trees by the canal; the birds twittering and the cicadas buzzing; the waters gurgling; the sinking sun reflecting off the surface; well, then you might get close to what I paused and witnessed that night.

From Wikimedia Commons. Obviously this was taken in broad daylight in springtime, when the cherry trees were blooming. But hey, it gets the point across. Pretty, eh?

A lot of the restaurants along the canal had menus posted out front. Unfortunately, they also had prices. Turns out my little idea of eating kaiseki ryori would have required a $40-$60 bill. If I'd been with Miss H or a group of friends, that wouldn't have been a problem. But by myself? Nah. The evening was too romantic to dine alone. I resolved to bring Miss H back some other time and dine kawayuka style with her. Maybe in late summer. And we'll hang around until fall, when the leaves start to turn. I bet Kyoto's really pretty then.

Chagrined, I turned around and headed back to an izakaya I'd noticed earlier, just a few yards down from my hotel. I had some galbi and side dishes and beer, and retired for the evening.

I probably should have waited until autumn to see what I saw the next day, August 5: ARASHIYAMA AND TOGETSUKYO BRIDGE.