Hi all – before I launch into this new year and new year episode, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry it has taken so long, but I have been having huge problems with WordPress. While the text below was written over a week ago, I haven’t been able to upload the photos like I usually can. There was an update late in December and something is not working properly with the upload process, but I can’t find out what. Anyway, one photo at a time, sometimes working, sometimes not (then with added cursing), I finally got enough in. Not exactly what I had planned, so I hope you enjoy it none-the-less.

Happy New Year! Yes, we have now entered 2020, and I am into my fourth year here in Kyoto. I know I have said it before, but time really does fly.

We are well into winter here, while I know Australia is roasting – literally. We have been very saddened to read about the devastation that has been occurring over the last month, or two. I know people have died and many buildings and homes have been destroyed, and when you add to that the estimated ½ billion native animals that have died, along with farm animals that couldn’t escape and people’s pets, it deeply saddens me.

In relation to the weather here, December was mostly cold (sub 10C), however, we have had the odd warmer day, and I mean that in both ways. Some days have been in the low teens, and a few – like today – are in the mid teens. Strange. There is no snow on the horizon, at this stage, which I felt sure would be coming by now given how cold the start of December was. It seems to me that if we have to go through a cold weather, at least give us some snow!

During December we were notified that an official was going to be coming to check our business, in relation to our check-in process and record keeping. We had no idea exactly what they wanted to look at, so we asked our employee, Takako, to talk to them about it. All that she managed was a time being arranged, and even though the person coming was going to be able to speak some English, they wanted her to be here. They also said they wanted a copy of our check-in form and our hotel manual…

We, don’t have a hotel manual, and up until they mentioned a form, we didn’t realise that one had to be filled out, given we take a copy of all guests passports. We tried to find out precisely what had to be on the form, but it was somewhat unclear, especially because they had never sent us a copy of the hotel rules, despite being asked to. It turned out that the rules had recently been changed, to add more information being collected at check-in time (and we didn’t get anything about that, too).

So, we scrambled and made up a form, with the absolute minimum of extra information, beside that on the passports (eg home address and dates in Japan). Interestingly, we had a visit from a police officer a few months prior, and he seemed happy with us taking copies of passports alone (and very relieved we were actually doing this). We also printed a copy of our hotel policy statement document to give the person and re-sorted all the records we have, to make sure it was neat and well ordered.

On the day, the woman checked that we had our name out the front (on our letterbox there is a plate with our business details in Japanese) and, of course, our name on the front of the building. After this, she came inside, asked where we checked people in (at the reception counter) and what we told them during this process (usual things, eg fire information, curfew time, please be quiet on the nearby streets, no smoking and down throw your rubbish on the ground). She also asked how long we keep the records (she had to give us a hint on that one). She was pleased with our responses, took our documents and left… All up she was here just over five minutes! Living with Kyoto bureaucracy.

Last time I mentioned we were listed in the new Lonely Planet Vegan Travel Handbook. Well, about a week after that was published, we had contact from a journalist from an online site – Veganary – which helps people accessing vegan travel options and also posts articles about various vegan related topics. She told us that we had been listed in a news story entitled “Top Unforgettable Vegan-Friendly Hotels” which she had written!!! We have no idea how we were chosen for this and had had no indication that we were going to be listed in an article for this site. In fact, we didn’t even know they existed.

It says in part; “In this list, we have compiled some of the Top Unforgettable Vegan-Friendly Hotels from all around the world.” and “The guide features locations across Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia, and South America.” The section on us reads as follows:

“This B&B is tucked away in a quiet spot in Kyoto and has a rotating vegan menu that changes nearly daily. The decor is in a perfect blend of traditional Japanese and modern styles. Because Japanese cuisine is often focused on meat and seafood, it can be difficult to find fully vegan spots in Japan. This makes Minshuku Sanbiki Neko a must for anyone looking to have a quiet stay in Kyoto. The B&B is also close to many attractions, including Kiyomizu-dera, Fushimi Inari and the Gion area.”

Since this, we have also been mentioned in a few blogs – written by ‘influencers’ – so, it seems that the momentum is continuing to build. We are hopeful that all of this will help us grow to a level that we need to keep the Japanese government happy with us 😊.

Late in November we had contact from the woman who had provided the translating services between us and our builder and architect. She just wanted to catch up with us. So, just before xmas, we arranged to meet her at a restaurant she had found nearby, which she said had some food options for us. Enough time had passed since the issues we had getting our hotel licence, so we decided it would be nice to leave that behind us.

The restaurant was a really nice place – very atmospheric – but there weren’t really many options, so unfortunately, while very close (and the food was nice), not really suitable to recommend to our guests. It has a huge garden on the hillside behind it, where they grow many different fruits which they use for preserves and drinks. It was a nice walk after eating.

What was interesting to us is that she apparently hasn’t seen her sister and brother in-law (our builder) for quite a while, which we suspect is a direct result of her husband being ‘let go’ from his job at the building company due to the issues with organising our hotel licence. Sad that it seems to have caused a rift in the family – the whole episode certainly caused us a lot of stress.

Now on to xmas day. Each year since we have been here, we have gone for a long walk then had lunch somewhere nice. This time it was no different, except that rather than go to Fushimi Inari to walk around the mountain, we decided to walk part of the Kyoto trail we hadn’t done before. We decided on the change because Fushimi Inari was getting too crowded.

So we headed towards the trail behind Kiyomizu-dera, which heads up to the top of Mt Kiyomizu (we didn’t know it was the name of the mountain prior to this). It was a lovely, sunny day, with a max temperature of 14C, so perfect weather for mountain climbing. It took us around two hours from our place to the end of that part of the trail, and it was a really nice and somewhat invigorating walk. It was also very quiet – we only passed around half a dozen people on the trail.

In the photo on the right, if you look really (really) hard in the centre of the photo, between the trees, you can see the Yasaka pagoda in the distance…

After we completed that we went to a vegan restaurant called Sunny Place, which we had been meaning to go to for a while. We had met the owner many months ago at a vegan festival. She had a stall there and we had had one of her burgers each for lunch that day. When we walked in, she treated us like friends she hadn’t seen for a while. It was very welcoming and we really enjoyed our lunch – especially after all that exercise!

The other xmas traditions we observed were watching Nightmare Before Christmas on xmas eve and Love Actually on the night, with a very nice bottle of Mumm. All boxes ticked 😊. Oh, and we had made a xmas cake to share with our guests who stayed here over xmas – a pumpkin spiced latte cake, with caramel latte icing…YUM!

…and speaking of guests, we made them a special xmas morning breakfast, not very Japanese, rather more British, since they were from the UK. Sausages, fried potatoes and gravy, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach and a vegetable waffle.

For new year’s eve we had a friend over to share home-made pizzas and Mumm (again!!! 😊). We had planned to go to a local temple to witness the bell ringing and do the traditional Japanese new year celebrating, but it was a cold and rainy night, so we piked and had an early night (ie finished pre midnight).

She brought with her some kagami mochi, which is a special new year’s decoration for good luck. On 11 January, you open the packaging, use the mochi cakes in a soup and symbolically crush the packaging. It is the year of the rat this year, so the one on the right has a rat atop.

Last post I related the story of the owner of Muku restaurant turning up here unexpectedly and wanting to have brunch here. Well, it finally happened last Sunday, the brunch, that is. She contacted us on the previous Saturday and asked us if they could come the next day! We said it would suit us better the following week. So, she said there would be three coming. Then, the day before she said there would be four…mild panic ensued as we rushed to get some extra provisions to cover that extra person.

Later that night, she contacted us to say the fourth person couldn’t come after all. Anyway, she came with her husband (in person) and the woman who prepares the food for her restaurant. They were lovely company and we learnt a lot about both her and Taiwan (we will definitely have to go there one day). In relation to Diana (her English name – her husband’s is Charles…) she has very big plans to spread her vegan businesses to other parts of Japan. She already has two guest houses as well as the restaurant, and she plans to open more restaurants and guest houses. Definitely a ‘go-getter’ – she’s on a mission.

Before I sign off, just one short story that really reminded me of why I like this place so much, and the people. I was waiting for the bus in town the other day and it started to rain, just lightly. I didn’t think I’d be waiting long, so just stayed there and covered my glasses. I had noticed a woman a few metres away from me, mainly because she was a very elegantly dressed woman and she looked a lot like Yoko Ono, but about 15 years younger. She even had a pair of sunglasses on like Yoko has worn in the past.

I had noticed her looking at me, but wasn’t paying too much attention – I was trying not to stare at her! After a short while, she started walking towards me and ended up standing next to me, holding her umbrella over both of us. She was a lovely person, we spoke briefly but then her car turned up, so she had to leave.

That’s all for this episode.

Cheers!

Yes  scooters can come in all shapes and sizes…and behind it an ‘ordinary’ motorbike – they are rather more rare here.

An interesting collection of Tanukis – but what’s that in the centre???

Yes, it’s another different kind of motorbike! A frog-nut bike?

Another interesting collection – of random things

A xmas tree at the Princessline bus stop 

A bit blurry because taken from a moving bus, but I couldn’t resist the xmas post box.

Craig sneezed…😊

A fungi we found on the path

Frog vodka – it’s artisan.

Yes, it’s that time of year again, and it’s happening again. So sad to see these lone gloves, left abandoned – seems it’s worker’s gloves at the moment.

Various new year’s decorations, the last being the one on our front door