Hot and sunny day in Kyoto

1.30 pm on Thursday 1 June -we have to look at our watches or calendars to see what day it is!!!
gorgeous here today -sunscreen needed for the first time -we have bicycles and are currently in an internet cafe at Kyoto International Community House which we can thoroughly recommend.
To update since Tuesday -slow start that day -headed off after lunchtime to visit the Sumo Museum and Edo Museum in Tokyo but got sidetracked in yet another large electronics store called Yogabashi looking at nurse proof laptops and a million other gadgets and toys and finally managing to buy a cover for my ancient iPod ( cos everything here is for 5th generation video etc ) -when we got to the museums they were closing so will return next week.But still managed to navigate our way across Tokyo sucessfully.
yesterday we crept out of the apt at 7 am to walk to Shinegawa station where we got on the Shinkansen ( bullet train) Hikari at 8.14 am ( on the dot !!) to whisk us smoothly to Kyoto in less than 2 1/2 hrs -caught a glimpse of Mt Fuji -top just above the clouds-amazed how big it was.
We are so enjoying Japan.
We transferred to the Subway to head to our accommodation.I had phoned Simon (Helen and Rod Cornelius's son who lives here) and he popped up on the train two stations on to surprise us. Simon gave us a great afternoon of guided sightseeing,shrines temples, geisha area with interesting commentaries as he is surely skilled with this. Later we met up with Mika, Simons fiancee and we had dinner together with lots of talk of weddings and Kimonas and much laughter and beer!! such a good day.
The Casa de Natu is a 180 year old Japanese private home with B & B accommodation. It is so 'fine" with genuine sliding screens, tiny doorways, heavenly japanese garden, in a tiny street with no names or numbers,but a plan an the wall on the corner with everyones name who lives in the street.
This is a marvellous experience,,but we do feel very "large and Kiwi" and clumsy.
The Breakfast this a,m, was beautifully presented..small soy drink with a stawberry in it and toast and green tea.We were able to hire bikes through the guest house and have very much enjoyed our gentle cycle along the river and through the streets of Kyoto. We loved the Irises growing in the river..the cranes(birds not machinery) and the cherry trees, people fishing,stepping stones across the river, children from kindergarten sliding down the river banks on cardboard as kids do down Mt Vic in Devonport.