Lost In Libations

After spending one glorious day wandering around Kyoto, exploring the local shopping scene... (I'm not going to let it go.  The Door Handle Collection is insane.) ...and dining-upon-the-river scene.. ...Keith and I didn't blog about it (unless you count the pics above) and instead slept so that we could get up early and go on An Epic Journey through Time Itself in order to experience some local Shinto Shrines. First up was the Kiyomizu-dera Temple, perched atop a little shopping area.  It was somewhat under siege by construction and children visiting on class trips... ...but it was beautiful nonetheless.   It was lovely, but definitely felt like a tourist stop when compared to the Fushimi-Inari-Taisha grounds: It was pretty jam-packed, too because of its series of more than ten thousand orange torii gates, which lead you up to the top of Mt. Inari, with stops along the way at more than a dozen shrine

Yesterday was our first day in Kyoto.  Fun Fact:  For this trip, Keith and I decided to only visit cities that are anagrams of Tokyo.  That being said, we are very excited for our next stop in the little-known Japanese hamlet of Kooty! ... Anyway, after the craziness of monsters, robots and owls that Tokyo offered, we wanted to try something a little more traditional.  So obviously, we opted to go to the Ninja Restaurant and Museum. This is the great and epic tale of that journey. The Story of the Hungry, Gay Ninja A Poem! Jeff and Keith wandered from their fancy Princess hotel... ...down the dark and quiet streets of Kyoto to find an exciting story to tell. Jeff was distracted by unique stores... ...but those things are what Keith ignores. Soon, they found a place that was anything but nonchalant... ...an honest-to-goodness Ninja Restaurant!   They were taken to a table by a super-friendly staffer... ...just before they we