Today we woke separately and met in the lounge at about 8.30am... We had both slept well surprisingly and were well rested. We sat for a while catching up with mail, writing the blog and researching what we wanted to do while in Kyoto.

We planned our days excursions over a cup of tea or two and a sweet bun offered by the hostel before I finished writing the blog on Hiroshima which was emotionally draining. We then thought we would get some fresh air, the hostel is very well located quite near to the Gion district and not far from Kyoto station. Located about five to ten mins walk from our hostel was Nishiki
Market or also known as the kitchen of Kyoto. It is a very narrow long street of about 400 meters and has over a hundred shops lining the sides. The shops sell a selection of Japanese food, sweets and other small trinkets. There are fruit stalls, veg shops and many sushi restaurants... There is also lots stalls selling small octopus on sticks and a Japanese delicay known as Takoyaki or 'octopus balls'. These are small balls made from wheat flour and fried in a Takoyaki pan... They are stuffed with minced or diced octopus with ginger and onion and glazed with a takoyaki sauce which is very similar to Worcester sauce. The market has a very long history dating back to about 1311 when the first fish store opened, it then became a prosperous fish market throughout the 16th century known as the Edo period. Later on the market shifted from being whole sale to retail and started selling the variation of things seen today.

We were in our element and savoured all the sights and smells... My friend Sarah would have loved it. Everywhere were succulent marinated fish, spicy sweet smelling vegetables and so many things we didn't have a clue about. There were amazing aromas everywhere and it was incredible. We wandered down watching all the goings on before finding our self in front of a one hundred yen shop (or a 70p shop) which excited Steven no end... He had been trying to find one since we arrived in Japan (it was like the whole fabindia fiasco again). His enthusiasm soon waived though when he realised they didn't sell food or snacks haha. I however loved it and filled my arms with chopsticks, baby wipes, shoe freshners (for Steven) and silly little things like that. We then left and wandered back on to the street.

After our outing to the market we were very peckish but thought we would carry on with our orientation walk so off we went, it wasn't long before we encountered the first of many small local temples so headed in for a gander. It was very much like all Japanese temples with its bell, sacred water well and such characteristics... You never tire from stepping into this little quite haven though with its chanting, clapping and wonderful smell of incense. I've never really been a massive fan of incense neither liking or disliking ...suppose i kind of associated with hippies and my mad little sister but after my time in India and now Japan I can't help but fall in love with its smokey fragrant smell. It instantly makes me feel welcome and relaxed in a place and I think it will now be ever present in my home.

After the temple we headed back towards the hostel, it was now mid afternoon and getting very cold with intermittent snow. On route back to the hotel we found a local shop and headed in for some hostel staples ...bread, jam, noodles and bananas. Steven was made up as he found a new kind of noodle which looked more authentic and was only 70p. We purchased a couple and headed back to the warmth of our hostel.

On arriving back we settled in the lounge with the other weary travellers and cooked our noodles (by cooked I mean poured hot water in, along with dried cabbage and a takoyaki sauce, then left to steam with our lonely planet book holding the lid down). After a few mins we drained the liquid and squirted on our wasabi type mayonnaise and tucked in... Dinner is served. The noodles were actually delicious... Surprisingly! They were proper egg noodles (ramen) and the taste was delicious... Very horse radishy which I adore. We then had a cup of tea and chilled out.

I headed upstairs for a shower before all the young girls descended then wandered back down all refreshed in my Jammies. Steven on the other hand was chatting to a German guy who loved to swear... Loudly. Haha every second word was a curse and he was very animated when talking about stuff, especially about the places he had been and not liked so much. Not long after my return Steven headed up stairs to see about laundry... Then returned a few mins later and threw a small clear plastic bag at me full of white powder... Only cost a hundred yen he said in his near gangster voice. For a second I thought he had been our purchasing hard drugs but it turned out (much to my relief) that it was speckled with blue and pink flakes and was actually soap powder. I was very happy to see that he was going to finally wash his socks!!! This boy had been keeping his socks for weeks, tied in an old bag that when you opened it you thought your nose would drop off. Thankfully the time had come to dispose of the putrid smell.

While the washing machine whirred and the dryer made a quiet humming noise we sat and relaxed in the warm social area, I read my book while intermittently chatting with the very animated German chap and Steven went for a shower... We then curled up and watched some Japanese tv with an older chap who was breathing so heavily I thought he was having an MI. Not long after we admitted we were shattered and headed off to bed.