A few years ago an Australian friend, Richard (foreground of shot) came to visit us in Sanda. Whenever friends or family came to stay, we did a fairly traditional tour circuit- a kind of, best of kansai, adapted to the length of the stay, of course. Richard was a little hard to get motivated at first, though as you can see, we did manage to get to Kyoto with him.
One of the most famous old districts (and a rival to nearby Gion), is that area to the west of the Kamo River known as Pontocho. In essence, it is a long, thin, cobbled and paved lane set in the midst of traditional houses and buildings. These include teahouses (whose verandahs abutt the river), expensive bars and restaurants. On one occasion we caught a glimpse of a maiko (a geisha-in-training) hurrying to an engagement.
Before coming to Japan, Richard had diligently studied Japanese at a night school class. By the time he arrived however, only de gozaimasu remained in his vocabulary, and, polite as it was, it fell short of the expectations he held for it. I think that he hoped that this same simple expression would buy him train tickets, order his lunch and even entitle him to detailed directions whenever needed. But he got by nevertheless.
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