Japan on my mind

Is a private Japanese Inn. I think it has facilities for eight people, meaning there are four or five suites. There are eight chairs in the dining room. I have two rooms, each one is square with six tatamis. My bed, in the center of one room, is two fairly thin futons; not like we get at home. The pillow is filled with some kind of seed. Two duvets cover the bed. They were deliciously warm; the house got quite chilly overnight. A large wall calendar with a picture was the only decoration in either room. No plumbing, except for a basin and mirror, were attached to the room. Two toilets, one western, one Japanese, along with what I think are urinals, are in a separate room that also had a basin. Another pair of rooms had a shower and hot tub, with a basin in the room next to it. The shower room looked like it had no drain. I was afraid to get water on the floor, but finally figured out that was what had to be. Plumbing here is certainly different than ours.

Dinner was wonderful: sukiyaki, prepared as I watched.

This is where I sat to eat dinner.

The woman who runs this kind of bed and breakfast. is called Numi. Although she speaks little English we managed to communicate over dinner. I asked questions about the food, and we seemed to develop a kind of rapport. I’m trying hard not to be a pain in the ass.

Breakfast, served at a real table with regular chairs in the combination dining room kitchen, was the best yet. The little fish was wonderful. There was a very rich miso soup with tofu and mushrooms, rice and two other kinds of tofu, one baked with a very slight outside crust and one a little slimy. I hate to use that word but I can’t think of another that would be as descriptive without the pejorative aspect.

When I returned from my days outing I found all my stuff had been moved to another set of rooms occupied last night by a Japanese couple. Poor Numi, having to shlep all that stuff. These rooms have the advantage of having direct access to the bathroom. I was also given a little chair, about a foot off the ground. It’s easier to get into than going all the way to the floor, but just as difficult to stand up. The main room is larger with eight tatamis, two alcoves, a tokonoma and a TV.

It is also decorated with a large piece of calligraphy, a folding screen with embroidered panels and flowers in the tokonoma.

The ubiquitous calendar decorates the bedroom. Otherwise these rooms are empty. It’s amazing to me that people could live this way, supposing this is a typical Japanese house. However, the kitchen is another story. It looks like mine would look if it were my kitchen. So much for neat and orderly.

Dinner was shabu shabu. I’ve never had it before and I loved it. It’s the same thinly sliced beef as in sukiyaki, but cooked in a broth, instead of fried then dipped in one of two sauces: a sesame mix or a thin soy sauce with lime juice. I feel in love with the lime juice mix. Have to look for it when I get home. It could give me a whole new meaning to cooking.

Tomorrow morning another great breakfast in a real chair. You should have seen me putting on my stockings while sitting on the floor. I’m very glad I was alone. Then another expensive taxi ride to the next hotel. I’m hoping that will be the last taxi until I leave Kyoto.