I first woke up at 7:00. I had the option, of course, to fully wake up and do some writing, but I rolled over until 7:50, just as my alarm was about to go off.

Apparently, I used the last of the wifi to log money transactions because when I tried to read Facebook notifications on the dozens of photos I posted last night, not only was I not able to load them but I spent 20 minutes just trying to log off my account.

I showered, got dressed, and packed up. While eating the remainder of the Starbucks panini from Nara yesterday, I discovered it had chicken in it. I don’t eat chicken. I’m not sure how I didn’t notice at all yesterday, or why Starbucks chose to call a chicken panini Spinach and Cheese. I washed the very few dishes I had used — a bowl for the eggs, a water glass — and took photos of the garbage in case there was any doubt that I had complied with this listing host’s very exact, and exacting, instructions.

The host sends messages through the Airbnb platform before check-in and checkout, reminding guests to follow the rules in the house manual. The checkout message includes a warning that a fee will be assessed if the guest has not departed by 10:00 on checkout day. I was glad to leave the apartment at 9:50 and messaged the host that I was out early. The space was very large by Japan standards, and the location was superb. But the house manual that seemed at first to be a well-organized and helpful guide came to feel very micro-manage-y, and the poor wifi had a severely negative impact on my stay overall.

I was already cranky about the wifi in the listing, as well as being so difficult to find anywhere in Japan, when I walked 10 minutes to the subway station and wasn’t seeing the line I needed on the signs. Turned out I was at the wrong Namba station. There is Osaka-Namba, Namba, and Ninkai-Namba. I needed the middle and I was at the latter. Japan so frustrating!

I walked a bit to Namba Station. I was down to the last ¥100 on my ICOCA card, and I topped it up with another ¥2,000, both to ride the Midosuji line from Namba to Shin-Osaka and to have funds to get around Kyoto. At Shin-Osaka, I reserved a seat on the next shinkansen to Kyoto. I had about 15 minutes to grab some food and opted for another smoothie drink and a cinnamon roll (though sweets aren’t really my jam).

It’s about an hour by car from Osaka to Kyoto, but the shinkansen is only 15 minutes! It was 11:30 when I arrived, and I spent a half hour standing in Kyoto Station, trying to connect to the station wifi to decide my next move, as listing check-in wasn’t until 16:00. With a weak connection, I looked up where to go for a better wifi connection, which apparently was Starbucks. Until Nara yesterday, I had ignored all the Starbucks I’d seen on my trip, but it seems that for all the trouble I’ve had finding wifi in Japan’s public spaces, Starbucks was the answer all along.

I exited the shinkansen area of Kyoto Station, only to realize I needed to go back in to connect to the subway. Most transit signs are in English, but the directional arrows are different than I’m used to and not always clear, so I was constantly walking the wrong way, and here I literally walked in circles. With no elevator or escalator option, I carried my suitcase and backpack down 3 separate flights of stairs and arrived on the platform just in time to miss a train. Such a frustrating morning.

I rode the Karasuma line from Kyoto Station two stops to Shijo Station and walked, in the direction of where I’d be headed to the listing, 5 minutes to Starbucks. I ordered a grande chai latte and got situated with my bags in a corner of the shop. The wifi required registration once per hour, but it was free and it worked. I spent 2 to 3 hours catching up on journaling, with notes in blog drafts as opposed to full posts; successfully reading and responding to those Facebook notifications; and reminder-researching Kyoto to make a plan for this evening and the next 3 days. While reviewing an email I received from a friend, I realized that I could see one of her dinner recommendations across the street from where I was sitting. Cool!

When it was nearly time, I walked 7 minutes to the listing for check-in. The room was very tiny, but I knew that when I booked it. I would mostly be out exploring Kyoto, and it was in a great location. I unpacked and charged my laptop and went out to explore at 17:00.

One of the most famous destinations in Kyoto was just a block away. Nishiki Market, also known as “Kyoto’s Kitchen”, is 5 covered and narrow blocks of over 100 culinary stalls, offering samples and selling fresh fish, produce, tsukemono (pickled things), wagashi (sweets), and knives/cookware. It’s 400 years old!

I wandered and observed until the market seemed to grow much larger and was no longer selling food. Why is there a shoe store here? Ah…. there are several covered markets, and I had wandered into Teramachi and Shinkyogoku, both of them high-ceilinged and wide, with the feel of an American shopping mall (save for the occasional Shinto shrine!).

I made my way back to Nishiki, where the stalls were beginning to close up. Pre-dinner was a shrimp and green onion fish cake on a stick for ¥ 450. I walked to the west end of the market and kept going until I reached Ippudo, the ramen restaurant across from Starbucks recommended by my friend Tammy, who ate here last year.

I was seated at a counter running parallel to the kitchen. I ordered a vegetable ramen with egg and a large Suntory beer, watching the chefs as I waited for my food, which took no time at all.

At 19:00, it was dusk and I walked about 15 minutes back through the markets and on to the Shijoo Bridge over the Kamo River, a lovely and lively scene as sunlight faded in the sky, the street lights came on, and the moon rose.

On the east side of the river is the famed Gion, known as the geisha district. Evening is when tourists may catch a glance of geisha between their teahouse engagements, but alas, it was not to be for me. Still, I enjoyed strolling the quiet streets with their wooden townhouses and izakayas.

At the east end of Gion is the Yasaka Shrine, which I’d read was lit up at night. It was crowded when I reached it, but I was patient and managed to grab a photo with no people in it. I later learned that I had not actually visited the shrine, which is lit by lanterns, which sounds lovely. I would have needed to walk into the grounds; what I had seen was the lamp-lit gate to the shrine. Japan is hard.

On my way back to the west side of the river along Shijo-dori, I passed by a sweets shop called Nana’s Green Tea. While I don’t generally go for sweets, the pretty menu of green tea lattes and parfaits caught my eye, as did the display window. I talked myself out of getting anything, but I was given a second chance when I found another location near my listing.

There were about a dozen gelato flavors to choose from: matcha, of course, and also things like red bean and black sesame. I wanted something not too sweet and tried the black sesame. I liked it but opted for the classic matcha, after which I wished I’d gotten the black sesame, which was a bit sweeter! 😜 I found seating upstairs (with wifi!) and enjoyed my gelato with a view over Shinkyogoku.

I arrived back “home” at 20:45 and embarked upon laptop time: I logged money, messaged Anthem Blue Cross regarding an incorrectly processed claim (grr), and deleted work emails. I showered in the tiniest bathroom that ever was and washed my hair.

I had planned on an early morning to arrive at some popular tourist stops as early as possible, but it was pretty late now and I thought perhaps I would do Arashiyama on a later day. With that, I slept at 1:00.