Japanese Food Bites: Indulging in the Taste of Summer

9:30 AM 

As we enter the rainy season of Japan ( Tsuyu) with 90% rain, I can’t help but take the opportunity for a restful day in the rainy Kyoto. A perfect opportunity to catch up on assignments and studies while enjoying the peace of Kyoto from my cozy bed. With a side of music and a 711 snack (rice crackers )  always in hand, I was able to have a still morning. 

2:00 PM

My friends, on the other hand were willing to conquer Osaka regardless of the rainy weather. Claudia was able to give me a glimpse of her day in Osaka and the travels that were made. “ It was honestly a bit unexpected because we thought people would be indoors to avoid the rain but actually it was quite busy regardless. We shopped for a bit in Shinsaibashisuji for our last minute souvenirs and decided to take an Uber to the famous Osaka aquarium enjoying what Osaka has to offer without getting wet. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get tickets due to the long wait time, so we weren’t able to spend time with the aquatic animals. We grabbed Starbucks, which is ultimately 100 times better in Japan. Regardless it was a calm day full of beautiful rainy scenery.”

5:30 PM 

To continue our indoor activities for the day we had the amazing opportunity to visit Team lab which was a Tokyo based art exhibition full of interactive pieces that kept us on our toes. we met up with our Ryukoku Buddies to enjoy the day with them as well. We were able to experience the morphing continum, which was filled with small metal colored balls that were moved around with air to create a tornado effect that left you mesmerized. Another fan favorite was the Massless amorphous sculpture which was the closest representation to heaven, filled with foam bubbles making the room dream like. 

8:00 PM

As we travel from exhibition to exhibition like a group of sheep herded by time, we get to experience the athletic forest which was perfect for us to drain the extra energy. As we are riled up by Professor Tito’s encouragement we get to a room full of hills where you can chase lizards, frogs, and bugs and stomp on them for a kill, a slide, a climbing exhibit, and jumping on solar planets fighting to get to the other side. A perfect way to reveal our competitive side. To calm our spirits the next exhibition was quite peaceful. A sketching area of our favorite aquatic animal which was then seen swimming on the wall with the creations of other peoples aquatic pets.

10:00 PM

To end the beautiful restful yet exciting day, we had a family dinner at a Korean Barbecue which was conveniently in front of our hotel. Kimchi, pork, sausages, grilled corn, potato mochi with cheese, rice, ice cream, cheesecake and so much more. We were a meal of champions to end our beautiful Kyoto trip preparing for the return to Tokyo.