Central Japan: Day 3

Nagoya to Shiga...to Kyoto to Shiga to Kyoto to Osaka.

The lanterns are painted with the name of the temple: Ishiyama-dera

As you can probably guess, it was a pretty crazy day.  Today was one of those days when my preference for visiting some of the less-touristy areas were incompatible with the fact that I was also carrying a suitcase.  Plans to arrive by noon at a temple/garden complex were undone when I reached the train station only to discover that they didn't have lockers available to hold a suitcase as big (read: medium-sized) as mine. In the end, I had to go to a much larger city (Kyoto), drop off the suitcase, and then come all the way back.

But I made it to the garden eventually.  (Huge thank you to my friend Heather for the recommendation!)  Perfect season of the year to visit because they have some of the most beautiful fall foliage.  I took dozens of photos:

Two-story pagoda

E-ma (絵馬), small wooden plaques with prayers or wishes written on them

One of my most favorite pictures from the afternoon...

School trip

Arriving later than planned meant I had to rush a little in order to make it to my next destination: a stern-wheeler cruise around Lake Biwa. Just barely made it; I actually ran from the train station to the port, then dashed breathless onto the ship.

Our ship was called the "Michigan"...

It was a lovely cruise.  A little chilly at first, but towards the end there was no wind at all, so I stayed up on the top deck nearly the entire time.  It was a very nice way to enjoy the late afternoon sun.

A collection of knots hung on the wall

Late afternoon sun

View across Lake Biwa

After disembarking back at the port, I walked to the train station and headed back towards Kyoto to reclaim my suitcase, then I turned right back around and got on the train for the last leg of the day to Osaka, where I have a hotel reservation for the rest of the week.

I arrived at the hotel after a very long and confusing search for the building.  Tired and hungry, I wasn't in the room very long before I went out for a late dinner.  I'd rushed around so much in the afternoon that I hadn't stopped to have lunch, so I was starving.  Found a small local place near the train station and enjoyed some authentic, Osaka-style negi-yaki.  This is a type of okonomiyaki (a savory dish of batter, cabbage, and other ingredients cooked on a griddle) that has extra, extra green onions:

Lots of onions.  Just the way I like it.

Followed dinner with a coffee to-go and some black sesame ice cream that I've been enjoying as I wrote this post.  This is the most relaxed I've been all day.  Just how relaxed am I? Relaxed enough to be able to tune out the drunk businessman shouting (on the phone?) in his room down the hall...

Tomorrow: Kyoto!