We awoke in Kameyama ready for a vigorous hill climb, up about 300 meters.  We climbed the hill in about an hour and a half and reached a massive tunnel at the top.  Then we began a 60km slow descent to Kyoto.  The kilometers flew by as we passed wonderful features of the industrial, natural, and social landscape. Here’s another vacant pachinko and entertainment center. Some rural houses…   Cement factories… Interestingly named businesses… And finally we entered greater Kyoto.

Then, as I was wheeling ahead, Callum lost a spoke in his back tire.  I sipped a machiato at Starbucks next to Kyoto station and waited for him to arrive by Taxi while iPhone Google helped locate bicycle repair shops.  We had planned to reach Osaka, but this would mean I would have to Cycle late into the evening while callum caught a train and repaired the bike in the morning in Osaka.  So we decided to repair the cycle in Kyoto and spend a night there.  I called numerous Ryokan, including a wonderful one I had stayed at over a year ago.  

 They were all booked.  In fact, because of a festival in Kyoto the next day, everyone was completely booked.  We finally found a vacant room next to the Shinkansen station called “El Inn Kyoto” which lacked a southwestern/Mexican feel despite the name.  Callum fixed his bike and tied it up next to mine in the back parking lot.  As it grew dark, we sought a meal.  Up until now, we had eaten Don Katsu in Tokyo, Miso-Katsu in Nagoya, and now Kyoto was known to specialize in Kim-Katsu, which was thinly sliced pork, fried with different flavors at the center.  

The restaurant recommended to us, was also known to be “especially popular with young ladies”, which confused and intrigued us.  As we waited for a table outside, we saw no less than ten school girls with stylish backpacks and nike shoes exit the establishment.  Welcome to Kyoto I guess, home of hip katsu loving school girls?

 We sat down and ordered a variety.  Cheese, Garlic, and something with green vegetables in the middle. 

 It also came with unlimited cabbage, which you should know by now is my weakness.

Here you can see the layers of the Katsu.

 Callum’s proud the bill hadn’t reached last nights unexpected levels.

And then there was none… We walked around Kyoto for a bit and popped into the Sent James Club for some single malt. I watched the bartender expertly mix frozen drinks while Callum chatted outside on the phone. From there, we bounced around a bit and found ourselves in a tiny basement bar with Alien Vs. Predator playing  on a gigantic projector.  The barkeep was dressed with hip flair and a trucker hat, and gave off marvelous vibes.  Kyoto is a surprisingly great place on a Tuesday night. We had been searching all night for a famous but secluded bar called “Hachimonjia,” a name with no immediate meaning owned by a local photographer who had been living and shooting photos in Kyoto for decades.  We asked everyone we saw but no one knew it.  After writing the name in different combinations of Kanji and Hiragana, we located it on google maps and made our way up the stairs.  The bar smelled foul and looked like it hadn’t been cleaned.  Ever.  It was empty except for the owner and a young fellow wearing a green hat with yellow lettering explaining a leftist Japanese political movement.  This fellow had purchased a gigantic bottle of Sake and was pouring the clear liquid in his class over gigantic rock-like pieces of ice.  The center of the room held a table which was stacked high with tons of black and white photography books by the owner.  His most famous series is the following:

 We didn’t feel comfortable shooting photos in the bar, so Callum snapped one in the bathroom.  Rank and excellent.

So Callum and I sat down, sipped ale, and flipped through the mans amazing books picturing Kyoto city life and the women that walk them.  The owner, Kai, shared stories of each photo and his loving and open aura spilled onto us.  Kai drank sake as if it were water, toasting with us often.  Callum bought a book, and I think the title is “Kyoto Without a Map.”  After laughing with Kai and his patron for a while, we headed home and practiced some break dancing in the Hotel Hallway.

 Sometimes I think what I perceive as natural and important to be exceedingly strange to normal people.