6:49pm JST
Getting a quick bite to eat at the udon restaurant down the street before heading out to Osaka for a night of … well who knows what. I have a simple, inexpensive bowl of udon but good lord is that udon good!
7:15pm JST
I arrive at Kyoto Station with time to kill, so I graze in the book store, and hey, they have Doraemon volumes 2 through 42!
7:30pm JST
I begin to stare at my cell phone, pretending to be popular and busy, as opposed to frightened and confused in a big city train station.
8:00pm JST
Eric arrives and we decide to head down to Ponto-chou, another of Kyoto’s geisha towns, for sushi and sake. This relieves me of worrying about catching that “last train” from Osaka before the rail system closes.
8:30pm JST
After much wanderage, we settle on a sushi restaurant, other than the one Eric originally had in mind. Apparently that restaurant has closed and been replaced by who knows what. What we’re ordering tonight:
Cold Sake: “Momo-No-Shizuku” and “Super Dry”
Maguro, Salmon, Unagi
Tora-Maguro and Tora-Salmon
Specialty Unagi Tempura
Conger Eel Tempura Style
10:30pm JST
We leave the sushi restaurant and are back on Kawaramachi-dori within five minutes. Instead of walking a half a dozen blocks, I hail a cab and am in the hotel in another five minutes for only Y650.