During March and April of 2001, I had the good fortune to travel in Japan. I spent most of my time in Kyoto before traveling around western Japan. While I was in Kyoto I visited many of the temples and temple gardens.

Generally I would describe traveling in Japan (from the USA) as a thoroughly overwhelming experience. While many things are "the same", there are also large and small details about everything that are unique to Japan. I could probably fill 5-6 pages with observations, but I won't bore you. The most obvious difference in everything from cities to rooms and shops is the sense of space. It is almost as if space was treated like gold -- you don't disrespect it or waste it, even if it's only a tiny bit. The odd thing is that this seems eminently reasonable and makes most American city planning look egregiously wasteful. (Just consider what would happen to an American city if the land surface area used for each house's front yard was combined and used for nicely kept up neighborhood parks and other community facilities. Really, how many people do you know who use their front yard for anything?) A similar philosophy of urban planning can be also found in the arcology theory of the Italian architect (now living in Arizona), Paolo Soleri.

While in Kyoto I also discovered a restaurant that has great vegetarian (and non-vegetarian) food. The 844 Store cafe (not a store!) is tiny and a bit hard to find but well worth the effort. (My directions are based on landmarks here, as I don't have an address.) You want to start by taking the bridge on Shijo-dori over the Kamo River (rather large) heading west on the right hand sidewalk. This bridge can be easily reached from the Gion area. Take a right on the first street after the bridge. There should be a small canal on the left side of the street. (This appears to be Takase River on my map.) Follow this street until you get to the first small street that crosses the canal, Bar Asuka should be on the corner. Turn left onto the street that crosses the canal and immediately turn left into the ally behind Bar Asuka. You should find the 844 Store cafe a few storefronts down the ally on the ground floor. There's only 4 or 5 tables, so don't bring too big a crowd! ;-) I recommend the tofu burger and the rice-wine vinegar & honey soda. It's a casual place with some rather funky art on display.

And yes, you can set your watch by the trains here, so long as you can find the escalator to the right platform!