Japanese elegance is Kyoto. Also, video arcades.

From Osaka, we continue on to Kyoto. While Osaka represents the cheerful, exuberant, and warm-hearted side of Japan, Kyoto is the embodiment of Japanese elegance. The courtly life has developed to perfection here, and Kyoto was once the political center of Japan: at least Kyoto was the residence of the emperor and the capital of Japan for centuries. The city and its inhabitants still exude this confidence.

What surprises us (already in Osaka): unlike our last visit just 3 years ago, incredibly many people speak English. Not only that, almost everything is signposted in English, and English menus are available in restaurants. We regret this a little: much of the charm is lost, as well as some anecdotes. We remember our visit in 2016 to a yakitori restaurant where we ordered the set menu and the waiter asked us: ok, and what do you want with it? This led to confusion on all sides and to us ordering an extremely strange mix of dishes without knowing what we were actually ordering... Something like this can certainly still happen, but many restaurants and bars have switched to English. It will probably continue to increase.

We stroll aimlessly through Kyoto, why didn't we actually make a plan? Well, because we feel a little drained. So eventually we walk through Gion, the old geisha district.

I remember that there is a massage salon here that I have chosen for a much-needed massage, and we keep our fingers crossed that they can accommodate us at short notice. They cannot, but we have made a reservation for April 24th, yay. Now we are clueless again and decide to grab something to eat. Afterwards, we suddenly feel drawn to an arcade hall, which consists of 7 floors with arcade games, darts, bowling, and other devices, as well as the obligatory karaoke. There are so many young people here alone, spending hours gaming. We also try our hand at the machines, play darts, a retro-themed Atari tennis game, and compete in drumming to J-pop songs. Funny, but not helpful for the already pounding headache.