A failed attempt to eat at a famous ramen joint for lunch – apparently restaurants here may be closed on tuesdays – did put us close to a local sake brewery. I’d like to say they are as plentiful here as micro breweries are in the US but they may be more so. The woman running the shop that day talked to us for quite a while and gave us free tastes of certain sake concoctions.

We also met a US law professor who specializes in religious matters. He comes to Japan’s frequently and also gives talks about US law in Japanese. According to him, the most difficult topics to explain to the Japanese is that of religious intolerance and the desire to not trust science over theology. Both are not a concept that the Japanese have in their culture (there is racism and sexism to and extent, however). Vegetarianism, as it turns out is also not something they get.

Fushimi Inari temple is quintessential Japan. Built in 800 as a shrine to the god of rice it is now the central shrine to all others devoted to Inari. There are countess red 鳥居 (torii, Shinto shrine gates) snaking up the mountain. Getting to the penultimate ascent is a good three hour hike. The light plays through the gates in a magical way. I feel both humbled and elevated at the same time and as if I had entered some realm between this world and some other.

The next day was rather uneventful but included a huge shopping run. We found a used kimono store at which Sarah and I bought a set. Hellooo Halloween costume! Then it was off to Osaka.

Our hotel is in the middle of a totally nuts area of Osaka. At night it the streets are neon lit and full of vendors trying to pull clients into everything from all night manga and anime capsules to escort services. We ate at a sushi place where all the staff screamed “welcome” over and over each time a new guest arrived. It was nuts.