天気：寒い
Carly and I are on the limited express train to Kyoto. We're going to see the Kiyomizu-dera and maybe Kodaiji "light up"; it's going to be beautiful. Diego and Jessica are already there. They went to the Todaiji flea market today. Carly and I on the other hand had INFES commitments. I got to uni at about 10 to 10 and found the koto room in building 2, 1st floor. The changing room was on the third floor. Mark and Justin were already half dressed and I was to promptly to follow. Sean showed up a bit later, but Niky was still a no show. With everyone else ready we all walked around to get some lunch. So many food booths; many selling the same thing (especially takoyaki). Some of the salespeople were very pushy, advertising their stalls. I felt a little uncomfortable in my kimono; unfortunately it's too short and my hairy legs show, lol. The tabi and zori fit well though, but they're scary to walk down the stairs in. It's freezing today, especially in the wind. I was pretty warm though in my kimono. We were to play for four sessions every hour; 1, 2, 3, and 4. I was scheduled to play at 1 and 4, but I explained that I would be singing at 2:30, so they changed mine, and Niky's (who would be singing also) times to 1 and 2. 5:37pm 七条
We're in Shichijo now, and have to switch to another train to go one stop down to Kiyomizu-gojo ~ the 条 (-jo) on the end can be loosely translated to mean street, so gojo is 5th street, as 
shichijo is 7th street. In Kyoto, many of the train stations are on these streets. Continuing... Niky showed up at about 12. She had a bit of a scare this morning, not knowing exactly when to get here. Luckily the kimono sensei were still around and she was dressed no problem. She did forget her tsume and music but that was easily fixed; she borrowed Justin's. So, the performances: we played in groups of three and Niky, Brittney, and I were first up. Since it's just Sakura, sakura it was over pretty fast. After that, the Japanese girls played three pieces while we beckoned in customers and served them tea. Each session took about 25 minutes. I decided not to record today, so I would have battery for tonight. I love the songs they play though; well except for the one really long, boring one, 六段の調べ (rokudan no shirabe).
shichijo is 7th street. In Kyoto, many of the train stations are on these streets. Continuing... Niky showed up at about 12. She had a bit of a scare this morning, not knowing exactly when to get here. Luckily the kimono sensei were still around and she was dressed no problem. She did forget her tsume and music but that was easily fixed; she borrowed Justin's. So, the performances: we played in groups of three and Niky, Brittney, and I were first up. Since it's just Sakura, sakura it was over pretty fast. After that, the Japanese girls played three pieces while we beckoned in customers and served them tea. Each session took about 25 minutes. I decided not to record today, so I would have battery for tonight. I love the songs they play though; well except for the one really long, boring one, 六段の調べ (rokudan no shirabe). 5:45pm 普通電車
On the train... In the break, Niky and I had a quick look at the art exhibition and some ikebana before playing for a second time, accompanied by Mark this time... We're here; according to Diego the line to Kiyomizu-dera is really long.
6:17pm 清水寺
We're in the line to Kiyomizu-dera and it's incredibly long!!! But, it's moving at a relatively fast pace. We haven't found Diego and Jess yet, we're guessing they're at the other entrance. Wow, we can see the pagoda from here, all lit up. There's also a huge spotlight shooting light into the sky; it's amazing. Half-way there...
10:38pm 特急電車
We're on our way back home now. Tonight was great. We never did meet up with Diego and Jessica, which was a shame; it was too hard to find them in the masses. Kiyomizu-dera was stunning. We must 
have spent about an hour there; it was well worth it. Unfortunately, silly me forgot to lock the switch on the video camera and it must have came on in my bag, because when I pulled it out, it had less than 20 minutes of battery left. I did take a lot of photos though; that made up for it. After walking around the grounds, we did a little bit of shopping and then went back down into the city to find a place to eat. We almost immediately stumbled upon an okonomiyaki place; I was so there. We were seated straight away, and while our order took a while, it was so good. We shared a special okonomiyaki with everything in it; pork, beef, octopus, squid, prawns, and onions and cheese on top. And for dessert, ice cream; Carly had banana, and I got black sesame seed. Seriously, it is really yummy.
have spent about an hour there; it was well worth it. Unfortunately, silly me forgot to lock the switch on the video camera and it must have came on in my bag, because when I pulled it out, it had less than 20 minutes of battery left. I did take a lot of photos though; that made up for it. After walking around the grounds, we did a little bit of shopping and then went back down into the city to find a place to eat. We almost immediately stumbled upon an okonomiyaki place; I was so there. We were seated straight away, and while our order took a while, it was so good. We shared a special okonomiyaki with everything in it; pork, beef, octopus, squid, prawns, and onions and cheese on top. And for dessert, ice cream; Carly had banana, and I got black sesame seed. Seriously, it is really yummy. 
We walked to Gion Shijo (4th street) station, passing a few temples along the way, and a supermarket bearing the IGA brand name; I wonder if it's affiliated with the Australian one? Carly was shivering from the ice cream. We fooled around a bit in a small park, and made a quick stop at a grocery stall so Carly could get some cereal for tomorrow. 
To tired to do anything else, we got on the train. It's nice to be able to sit down, especially on an express train, which are almost always completely packed. Okay, now back to today... after playing for the second time, Niky and I got ready for singing. She decided to stay in her kimono, while I opted to change. As I said, it was freezing and we were singing in the outside auditorium; "circle stage". I was really nervous, and of course last, so I had to endure. Niky was second, and I thought she did really well. Finally, it was my turn...10:56pm 淀駅
Whoops! The express train only got as far as Yodo, so we had to change over. Now we're on a local. Anyway... yeah, it was my turn. I did... okay. I forgot a lot of the lyrics; I was really disappointed about that. At least I got the last verse out perfectly. Carly was there recording it. Maybe I'll watch it one day; doubt it. Well, I wasn't the best, but I wasn't the worst either, so I can take comfort in that. Afterwards, I went over with Carly to her booth (Food booth 2) and bought one of her 和 パフェ (Wa Pafe - "peace parfait"), and donated to an orphanage in Germany (which was what the INFES was raising money for). The parfait was really good even in the cold weather. Since we were going to Kyoto, Carly got out early, on the pretense that she would help out extra hard tomorrow; same for me! I got all my stuff together and then we walked back home.
Getting back, we had a quick snack (I reheated the chicken from last night, otherwise it would have gone to waste). We printed off a map showing Kodaiji; we had anticipated going to three temples tonight but that didn't happen. I'm kinda glad we didn't; it would have been too much. We're going to try again on Thursday. Anyway, that's my day; we're in Makino now. Walk home, then collapse. Gotta be at uni again at 8:30 tomorrow; singing first and then kimono and koto!!!
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