Wednesday night, March 21 - Arrival

The head baggage loader is on the right

Arrived Wednesday night at the Nene House shortly after midnight, to a smiling Wes.   There was snow in Seoul and that delayed my connecting flight enough that I missed the last Huruka (fast train) from the airport to Kyoto by a WHISKER.  I was running, the ticket officer had his bullhorn out for last call and as he shooed me in he said – "Just pay cash on the train."  I didn’t have cash.  First lesson in Japan:  have cash on you.  When I went down a level to buy a bus ticket from the automat it also didn’t take a card – only cash.  Cash for the taxi too.  So now I have cash.

Waiting for the tour bus style bus to Kyoto I watched there were three gentleman whose job it was to load the luggage into the cavern at the bottom of the bus.  Once the bus before mine was loaded and everyone was on, the door closed and the head-man bowed deeply to the just-closed door and driver inside, and then the bus pulled away. 

During a formal meal with servers, when the First Handaikan (food server) sees that everything is finished after the meal, she bows to the Jikijitsu to indicate that all’s well, and the Jiki rings a bell and leads everyone out.  I love those moment of silent communication during Zen ritual.  And here’s someone else speaking that same language. 

My taxi driver was jolly – he’d never heard of Nene House but found it thanks to Google.  Talked to me through Google too.  He spoke some Japanese and Google told me:  “It rained a little earlier.” and “Could you please walk from here – the street is very narrow.”  Indeed.  Nene House is on a lovely little house on a little winding street in the southwest section of Kyoto.  I was asleep the second my head hit the pillow.


My room at Nene House


Scroll and flower arrangement I wake up to


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