Kyoty - a Fantastic Week

Frederic at the Golden Pavillion - but I did not take the picture...

It is 20.30 on our last night in Kyoto.

I have spent the day visiting both the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji) and the Silver Pavilion (Ginakuji) - and doing the Philosphers´Walk. However, I have been alone, because Frederic has been busy. Of course I want him to meet as many Japanese as possible, but it has been a bit of a lonely day.

During this week, Frederic first spent a day sightseeing with Tamar, whom he met in Shiretoko and who lives here. He then spend two days with Marina from Furuoka, and yesterday and today he has spent time with Sakura (which means cherryblossom), who is 16 and herself going to be an exchange student in Canada from November! Obviously, the two communicate very well - and I can see that they have enjoyed each others company.

But the morning runs in KYOTO were special. Frederic loves to sleep in, and I need to get out!

Only top hotels offer fitness centers, and our budget does not allow for that. So – I am always on the lookout for an alternative to exercise on busy and polluted streets. In Kyoto I found a wonderful alternative: the river bed! I descended the 10-15 meters on one of the many staircases to the 70-100 meter wide river bed, and either biked or ran along the paved path under countless bridges from the train station to the mountains slightly uphill all the way. You remain surrounded by city all the way – but you can hardly hear the traffic.
In September the river bed was extremely green and lush – with long legged white cranes wading through the low slow moving river.

This is what I also met on my trips:
- An eagle (!) sitting in the middle of the river bed;
- an older man exercising his voice under another bridge – not singing or shouting – but some other form of deep and strong voice exercise I have never heard before;
- an excellent saxophone player practicing a wide repertoire;
- a few homeless men in cardboard box makeshift dwellings under bridges, and
- a lady walking her pig. The pig did not enjoy the exercise and she was busy pulling, pushing and persuading. I was running, sweating and – enjoying.