Am I in Kyoto or China?

During my stay in Kansai,
I gave my caretaker a night off,
and went exploring Kyoto on my own.

Since I am a Kyoto novice,
when people told me to go to Ponto-cho,
I could not understand what they were saying.

Pontocho? How do you even write that?!

Well, like this: 先斗町

HUH? Where did you get the p sound from??

Anyway, I went to a restaurant my friend recommended.

I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't a Japanese restaurant.
It was rather Chinese.

I love Chinese cooking, but since I was in Kyoto,
I wanted something traditional and Japanese.

They offered a lot of dishes with yuzu,
my favorite Japanese citrus,
so I was happy, though.

The main dish.

Ramen with yuzu.

Smoking was allowed inside.
People were smoking next to me.

There is nothing sexy or attractive about smoking.
Just a sign of weakness in my eye.

I need a fresh air.

Maruyama Koen.

Getting here, I walked through Gion.
There were a lot of Chinese tourists along the way,
so much so that I thought I might have been in China.

I am not kidding, I was completely surrounded.
It was bizarre.
People dressed in expensive kimonos,
but somehow I could tell they weren't Japanese,
even before hearing them speak.

I was lucky this year.

Everywhere I went, cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

So quintessentially Japanese.

It was getting late, so I started to walk towards the station.

I was full, but I really felt like having some green tea.

I think when I was younger,
I didn't really appreciate Japanese confectionary.

But now, I get it.
The green tea was so rich and beautiful.
And I wanted to take back the tea cup.

So wabisabi

I only wish the tourists sitting next to me would close their mouths
while chewing their food...

Even my baby doesn't eat like that...

Oops, did I say too much?