The next morning I checked Taka's blog, but didn't see my photo yet. That night, after dinner at Nanba, I wanted to stop by Beppin-ya for a drink, but the bar was full to the brim. The cook said something that I can only assume means "sorry, there aren't any seats." So I called it a night.
The next night (my last in Kyoto), I was on my way back to my inn and to get dinner at Beppin-ya, when I bumped into an American couple. We got to talking, I found out they're military and stationed elsewhere in Japan. I suggested continuing the conversation at the izakaya, but the guy says "I'm really in the mood for just some shitty American food, we're trying to find a TGI Friday's." I'm not kidding. Going to a TGIF totally went against my principles on this trip, but I didn't mind the company and easy conversation for little bit. I didn't eat, but I enjoyed a really good Suntory beer. (By the way, you know how TGIF in the US cut down on the absurd flair and silly crap on the walls? Well, Japan kept all that nonsense)
Anyway, it was actually a good thing I had that 1 hour detour, because once I left and went straight to the izakaya, something interesting happened. The staff was excited to see me come back, and set me up at the counter again, next to a random Japanese couple about my age. The girl gets my attention, hands me an iPhone with a photo on screen, and asks if that's me. Sure enough, that's the picture Taka took! Apparently Taka's blog is somewhat popular in town because of his men's clothing boutique. So we got to talking.
Eitaro and Shouko
My food came out, and so did the bar owner, Shingo. And he had a special gift for me, a fan and a glass of Yamazaki single malt whisky! If I understood correctly, this promo fan is in the style of the gift fans usually given to geisha and maiko for the new year, and he had one as a decoration. I felt so honored. We then talked about the sightseeing I did that day, and I showed Shingo some of the sketches I did in Nara with a calligraphy brush pen I bought. It turns out Shingo's really into calligraphy and had his own brush and fine paper there at the store. So he wrote for me the kanji for "gratitude" or "thanks".
"Yamazaki Kyoto Highball"
感謝, "kansha", and a cup of Yamazaki 12-yr single-malt on the rocks.
At the end of the night, when the rest of the customers started to clear out, Shingo introduced me to the rest of his staff, and we took a group photo. All I can say is that I saw some incredible sights around Kyoto, but the time I spent at Beppin-ya and the people I met there stand out the most for me.
Until next time, じゃまた
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