Okay, so tonight I am renting a computer for 1000 yen, and staying in a business hotel, in Iga-Ueno 伊賀上野. It is the hometown of Matsu Basho, the great haiku poet, and ninjas (according to wikipedia, that includes Hattori Hanzo, of Kill Bill sword-making fame, and I think i remember seeing something about that). I'm a little bummed not to be camping, but I'm making the best of it. But let's rewind (bwip bwip bwip bwip) -

Last time I posted I was talking about the river in Kyoto. By the way, this is the Kamogawa River. But I've been meaning to write about my haircut experience, which was awesome. I always get nervous when I go to get a haircut, about whether I can retain the look I want while having less hair. I have enough concerns conveying what I want in English, let alone Japanese. But I needed a haircut, so I asked the friendly staff at K's House where I should go for a cheap haircut. They directed me to a mall south of the station, and it turned out to cost 1000 yen. You pay at a machine, then wait in line with your ticket. They call you up, saying various keigo (very polite speech) phrases. There's a closet at each booth for your stuff, a little TV with the weather and headlines. The hairdressers all wear surgical masks and uniforms, and I saw them sweep all the hair from the previous guest into a vacuum suctioned hole along the wall. Then I sat down and he asked me basically the same questions I get in English. Do I want the ears exposed? 耳は、出せる感じ？Do I want the back up the the hairline? 後ろはぎりぎり？ I stuttered in Japanese, and then we got to work, although not until after I placed my glasses in a special box.

He worked quickly, and then proceeded to vacuum my hair. This was prefaced by a polite "I will now (humbly) vacuum your hair." In case you didn't know, hair that is not connected to your head is considered unclean in Japan. But you know, I didn't feel itchy afterwards. And my hair looks great.





Now I just need to shave, but I don't really want to.

Then I swung by the Historical Site of Rashoman Gate, which is now a playground. I guess it burned down a long time ago, but it's still ironic.



The next day I went to Kinkakuji, aka the Golden Pavillion. I know it's probably cliche or something, but honestly I think this is the coolest thing in Kyoto. There were a million schoolkids, and I got interviewed by some middle schoolers practicing their English.

Apparently each floor is done in a different style. And it was burned down by a crazy monk in 1950. I'm glad they rebuilt it. Actually, most of the temples in Kyoto were burned down at some point and rebuilt, although usually in the 1200s.
Then I went to an amusement park with Siena, but I didn't bring my camera. Bug her for pictures of the whole day. The rides were fun - there was a wooden coaster and a knock-off of the wild mouse, and I did a free fall for the first time. Hardly anyone was there, so we did all the cool rides twice.

Then yesterday I biked to Nara! I like Nara a lot. It's much quieter than Kyoto, and more laid back. Of course, I didn't spend that much time downtown, except to eat at a super fancy bar, the kind with tiny entrees for 8 bucks, but at least it was unique. (I went to マク McD afterwards for something to actually fill me.) That evening I did see Kusaga Taisha 春日大社, the grand shrine there, and the front of Todaiji 東大寺.

The first one is all about Lanterns,

and the second one is just totally sweet.

I went back the next day because there's a giant Buddha in Todaiji. Hey, that's today!

Then a bunch of stupid things happened involving me leaving my helmet in the bathroom and forgetting that I left it there. Finally I set out and had some glorious riding, with lots of hills and nature and not that many cars. Eventually I got to the suburbs, greeted by this:

Also I saw this on my way to the hotel.


And now I can go to bed.