two groups are sometimes better than one

This morning we all woke up quite a bit later than previously, I’m still not sure if Paul was sleeping or in a coma as he was out for a good 15 hours - this is the same guy that stated ; “ Jet lag does not exist!” . 

Soon after some leftover pizza breakfast we all parted ways for the first time since take off.

Samantha, Zak , Colin and Jazz embarked on their journey to Toji Temple where they took part in traditional Japanese worship. Meanwhile, myself and Paul where headed to the city side of Kyoto, we stopped at the Nishiki Market and sampled some delicious strawberry desserts on sticks , stopped ourselves from purchasing the whole of Pokémon Centre and soon later met some real life Pokémon’s in the otter cafe back at Nishiki Market. Our furry friends put on a mesmerising swim show and climbed on our shoulders for a selfie whilst eating from our hands. 

Back at Toji Temple , the guys were intruded by another group of tourists awkwardly glamourising the worship for Instagram , and Jazz then tasted a tuna seaweed parcel-like snack which quickly ended in hysterics.

Later in the day Paul and I joined with the rest of the group to find Jazz in a clothing catastrophe after shrinking the majority of her tops, and Zak almost choking on some ice cream mochi. After, we soon turned ourselves around and headed back out for some authentic Japanese Katsu, we arrived at a very pleasant looking little curry house with generous portions and courteous staff, we ate until we couldn’t anymore and Colin dared the hottest spice on the menu - although he was feeling the heat ,the plate was left clean! 

Following that , we stopped off at a local brewery called Craft Kyoto and enjoyed a pint of various ales and IPAs as we discussed tomorrow’s quest. Zak , Sam, Jazz and Colin then found themselves in a karaoke bar where they suffered the happy accident of ordering a table full of drinks unintentionally, including a full bottle of Sake each!

To conclude, our first full day in Kyoto has been amazing, mainly due to the fact we weren’t running from A to B and C to every other letter of the alphabet in attempt to endeavour making it to various trains , in fact , we weren’t even on one - it’s been nice to put the Pasmo card down and let it collect some dust for a day!

At this current moment , Paul and I are wondering how to keep a pet otter in the uk, whilst we wait on the guys to return - and for Colin to put Japanese toilets to the real test after his shit hot curry :) 

-Anya