kanazawa to kyoto

yesterday morning we packed up and walked to the DT Suzuki museum. Suzuki was an author who is credited with spreading interest in Zen and Shinto to the West. the museum itself is more of a small shrine to the man and to Zen than a museum -  there are a few documents on display in the first room, then a reading room with a handful of books, and finally a contemplation room overlooking a beautiful mirror pond.

we stopped at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art and picked up donuts from Mister Donut (review: fresh and excellent) on our way to the train station. we caught the Thunderbird shinkansen to Kyoto, then took a city bus to our nice, quiet little airbnb apartment on the third floor of a high rise.

we took advantage of our free bikes to check out a nearby tofu shop, run by "a 9th-generation tofu maker whose ancestors made tofu for the Imperial court in the early 19th century." B bought a square of fried tofu (chilled), which we ate in the big park surrounding the impenetrable Imperial Palace.

we circled back towards home, stopping at a fork in the river that seemed to be a fun family destination, with concrete blocks connecting the grassy areas on either side and a pack of big birds of prey circling just overhead (turns out they're kites). we got dinner at a nearby teppanyaki place that had been highly recommended by our airbnb host. the restaurant owners had a fun time trying to communicate with us, and the food was fantastic: pork + veggies, tomatoes + cheese, and a bottle of Asahi Super Dry.

bamboo grove near the DT Suzuki museum

contemplation room at the DT Suzuki museum

fake swimming pool at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art

these umbrella lockers are everywhere