Kobe Conference Day 3...Kyoto Day 1

Today, we only had sessions in the morning so Michelle, one of her homies, and I went to lunch together afterwards. Then we all parted ways. I headed to Kyoto. On the train I received a text from on the guys who lives in the next city over. He and a girl in m building both have forms of pneumonia and they had been discussing the possibility of asbestos in our apartments. After sending emails up the food chain, he found out that the do have asbestos and the board of education isn’t going to do anything about it…WHAT!!! I made up my mind to focus on that after my vacation had ended. My goal is to see all the places on my list in a matter of 24 or so hours. Here’s the list of must-dos:

Get a Maiko (geisha in training) Make-over
See Kiyomizu-dera

See Fushimi Inari
See Kinkakuji
Eat at Yojiya Café, Tsujiri, and Rokusai Satei
Buy a purse from Ichizawa Hanpu

Here are the other things to do if I have time:
Take a picture in front of the sign in the lobby of the Nintendo Headquarters
Eat Kitsune Udon
Take a picture of Amanohashidate

This afternoon, I was able to get a few things done. For starters, I checked in and jumped on a bus to find my purse and I made time for foolish photos as usual. I walked around Gion…the Geisha district and I think I saw two real maiko. The first one entered the street from a narrow alleyway and I asked her if I could take her picture. She very politely excused herself and scurried up the street to a building that appeared to be having an event. From a few meters up the street, I saw another come from the same entrance and head to the same building like she too was on a mission. I feel so special. I may have seen two of the few remaining Geisha…or Geisha-to-be. I had the Grand Poobah of Japanese parfaits at Tsujiri, a maccha (green tea) dessert restaurant in Gion. It started to pour after I got on the bus to head to the station so that I could go to Yojiya Café, so I went back to the hotel ot get my umbrella. When I got back downstairs, there was not a drop of rain. Thanx to the incorrect listing for the hours of operation of Yojiya Café, it was already closed when I got there. So, I came back to the hotel and had some Starbucks instead.