Emily woke at 6am, so we saw the dawn, and there were lots of crows and black kites for her to get excited about. I've been meaning to mention toilet slippers for ages, and we had a prime example in our hotel room. I really don't like the idea of wearing footwear that someone else has used. This footwear is purely for slipping on as you enter the loo and should not pass the threshold of the toilet. There are other slippers provided for wearing in the room itself, though we never do. The idea is to keep the tatami mats pristine.
After a decent breakfast we walked north along the riverbank about a mile. We were not alone: joggers, cyclists and dog-walkers abounded. There was plenty of bird life to see - ducks, seagulls, cormorants, wagtails, egrets and herons.
Kyoto has its share of homeless, some of whom live under the bridges in very neat huts of plywood and thick plastic. One even had a padlock on the door. First stop was Starbucks, which occupies a prime position on the banks of the river. It was surprisingly quiet in there, so we were able to take soft seats facing the water. I was glad of the comfort and view, as Emily had a long nap on me.
From there we took a train to Kurama, passing up a valley on a service that stopped almost every minute for the few miles to our destination. We thought we'd better get some lunch first. There wasn't much choice on offer in the little village, so we plumped for noodles. The restaurant was a bit dingey and the owner almost malevolent. The noodles were not very plentiful for the price but the cured herring served in the noodle broth was quite nice, almost sweet. Thankfully, Emily ate all her packet meal without resistance. Back outside we found that it was raining lightly, and it had become quite gloomy. Across the road and up the hill was the Kurama Temple complex: a series of shrines, torii and buildings scattered over the hillside. It was rather steep, and we were both out of puff; Nick more so, as he was carrying Emily. The Honden (Main Hall) was attractive, with two stylised tigers guarding the steps. We were running out of time, so had to turn back at this point.
Back down on the road we continued up the valley half a mile to the onsen resort, the rain coming on harder now. Here there are both indoor and outdoor baths. Nick wanted me to try the latter (rotemburo) so he volunteered to look after Emily. The bath was quite busy, with lots of walkers soaking their tired legs. It was partly under cover, but I chose to sit out in the now torrential rain. I was on my own, with about ten ladies huddled at the other end under the shelter. The water was the perfect temperature for me, and I sat happily catching fat raindrops in my cupped hands for a while before dragging myself back out. It seemed that there would not be time for Nick to go in as well, but he had been several times before. He'd been having fun with Emily as she repeatedly climbed the stairs indoors.
We took advantage of the free minibus back to the station. The train carriage was very steamy and I wrote Emily's name on the window, which she tried to copy. Her fine motor skills seem to be really coming on, as she managed to place the cap back on the water bottle several times. Back at the hotel she ate well again, but got upset when we put her in the bath. Again, she went to sleep straight away, enabling us to get down to dinner in good time. Tonight's meal was not as challenging for me and I ate most of it. The greeney-grey crab-brain tofu got the better of me though. We tried a glass of rose umesh (plum liqueur) which was very tasty. Not so much to our taste, however, was the endlessly repeated jazz version of 'Let It Snow' that had, indeed, been played on a loop the night before as well.
After eating I tried the second bath. This one was brightly-lit and all done out in white tiles, with a large mural on one wall to comtemplate as I sat in the hot water. It was a spa bath, and had two big balls of herbs floating in it, though I couldn't really smell them. I decided that sitting in onsen baths on my own is no fun - better to sit and chat with a good friend. Perhaps I am just not comfortable enough with my own thoughts for long. In the room, we tiptoed past Emily to eat a naughty cake in the dark anteroom, by the light shining in from outside. We were happy to be on our futons by 10.45.
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