We caught a bus to the temple we were going to visit today. As we walked through the streets, we looked for a place to have breakfast and found a very nice cafe that had big windows that faced beautiful gardens. It was a great place to have breakfast. We sat at a round table that we shared with a young couple. I had French Toast, which may have been the very best French Toast I have ever eaten.
That figure in front of the house is a quite popular figure in Japan. It is a racoon-dog statue.
Lots of kimonos everywhere
There were lots of activities at this temple area and several tents with people helping visitors make crafts. Eva and I participated also, making wooden snowflakes. The snowflake started as little pieces of wood in a bag and it was up to us to position those pieces of wood into a snowflake - with their help, of course.
We had lunch at an Italian restaurant that would have been a nice place at which to eat outside on the patio but since it was raining, it was more comfortable to eat inside and stay dry.
Dogs are definitely loved here.
We went back to the big temple today that was closed yesterday. I loved the zen gardens.
It started raining while we were in this part.
This evening, we went back to the area we had been earlier in the day since the plan was to have dinner at a restaurant that Fernando and Eva had eaten at before and really liked. Since it was still a little early, we decided to walk along a tree-lined canal called the Philosopher's Walk. It was a very beautiful and relaxing walk in the cool weather and the mist falling. We saw some open shops along the way and went as far as heading in the general direction of another temple but we just didn't have enough time to visit it. So we headed back and walked by the restaurant we were going to go to. It still seemed quite early, so we decided to go back to the shops we had passed and check them out. After doing that, it was more a decent hour to have dinner so we then went into the restaurant. It really was a good restaurant so it was a perfect place to have one last Japanese style meal. Then we caught a bus back to the apartment.
November 4
Took a bus to the train station, had lunch there, then Guillermo and Fernando took the bus back to the apartment because I forgot my retainer there.
When they got back we caught a train back to Tokyo and then back to Eva and Fernando's apartment.
We visited one last temple this morning
Ok, trip is basically over. Time to walk to the bus stop and catch a bus back to the apartment and check out.
After we checked out, we caught a bus to the Kyoto train station. While on the bus, I realized I had left my retainer on the pillow back at the apartment but it was too late to go back and get it. Once at the train station, we had lunch and then the decision was made not to go visit another temple in the south of Tokyo. Instead, Guillermo and Fernando were going to go BACK on the bus to the apartment to get the retainer while Eva and I waited at the train station with our luggage. It took about an hour and a half until they got back. Then we went to buy our tickets for the trip back to Tokyo and for a few minutes there it looked like all seats were sold out on the trains until Fernando asked about getting an unreserved seat and so they sold us unreserved seats. We worried that we wouldn't get a seat on the train and would have to stand for 3 hours but everything worked out. We got good seats and were comfortable the whole way back to Tokyo. As we approached Tokyo, the skies were dark and stormy. Then it was 3 different trains from Tokyo to Kashiwa and then we were back in the shopping mall that is by the Kashiwa Train Station. We ate dinner at the food court there and then walked in the dark to the apartment!
What a wonderful trip we took with Eva and Fernando - we just loved it all. Now we have one more full day with them. That's it.
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