Today I was feeling down, the weight of the world seemed to bear down upon my sensitive soul. I hopped on my bike to clear my mind, rode through the crisp autumn air down south the Tōji, one of my favorite temples. The sun was brilliant, the clouds moving about in a slow dance, and I forgot what I could possibly worry about. Arriving back at home, a note from the neighbors and a present of cute little socks hung from my door. I canceled plans to make dinner since I've not been sleeping so well and just feel a little run down. Gratitude for these moments from the very depths of my little heart...
Back Home in Kyoto
Sept. 13 The morning agenda was taking a bus to Daitokuji, a famous Rinzai Zen temple, and visit several gardens on the grounds. After walking to several bus stops and watching several full buses pass by with no room for 18 Americans we finally arrived. I took the lead and followed three male pilgrims up to the main gate, finding myself quite amused at the image of these three men dressed in traditional garb (they could have actually been from the 16th century I think) walking alongside a young girl in a short minidress and tall boots whose hips swung side to side with each step. I probably giggled out loud at least a few times. The man at the main booth pretended to not understand my Japanese, and I kept hearing strange Eastern European languages whispering by, coming from a never ending stream of ungainly and gangly tourists I wanted so badly to distance myself and our whole group from. Thankfully there was a tea ceremony at Daitokuji this day, so these two unpleasant points were ...


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