Obis and Kobe

We began our last full day here with a quick stop (our first, surprisingly) at the 7-eleven up the road to have some Japanese fast-food breakfast (i.e. nori-wrapped rice and salmon). When we returned to Ikoi no Ie, we looked forward to being dressed in antique kimonos and participating in a traditional tea ceremony.

Mari, our host for the morning, had us each choose a kimono to wear. C's had flowers all over a deep blue background, and I went for a sea green design. Then, Mari found a complementary under-kimono and obi, or sash, for each of us, and spent about 15 minutes wrapping each of us in these layers, each of which was tied with a different, smaller belt. By the time we were fully dressed, each of us wore 2 kimonos, 1 obi, 5 smaller belts, and 1 small pillow at the back. Bending over was not going to happen, but we were suddenly blessed with impeccable posture.

After this, we enjoyed matcha, or finely ground green tea powder whisked into a frenzy with hot water. There is a series of phrases and hand gestures involved in the tea ceremony, and both C and I struggled with the order, but did enjoy the whole process. The tea room itself was stunning and simple, with a tatami floor and beautiful windows looking out onto a traditional Japanese garden.

Once we shed our kimonos and said "Arigato gozaimasu, thank you very much," about a thousand times, we whipped out our JR passes and hopped a train to Kobe, hoping to enjoy some sea breezes and views. It was a nice outing, though we did not, in fact, eat the highest quality beef.

We spent our last night in Kyoto walking the river, and discussing things we've come to love about Japan-- from the careful job each shopkeeper does when wrapping a package, to the coexistence of past and present on each street filled with neon and shrines. We've also devised the outline of an itinerary for our next trip: (1) climb Mount Fuji (and yell BANZAIIII at the top), (2) relax at an Onsen and (3) take in a sumo match. But, for right now, our last Japlan is to take a shinkansen back to Tokyo, and change, for the last time, at Ueno station, in order to make our shuttle to Narita.