Japan 2023: Day 7
Kyoto International Manga Museum, galette and crepe, okonomiyaki, salads
A direly needed chill day filled with manga and good food.
- Steps taken: 9,890
- Money spent: 7,410 yen | $57.06 USD
Table of contents
Feeling rested
My sleep before computer stuff last night was the longest straight I've had in the last few days. I then had a good two hours' rest after computer stuff, waking up a bit past 7 a.m. I had a leisurely morning, writing up the previous day's post, talking to my partner, and enjoying an お風呂 soak.
Galette and crepe brunch
I headed to Neuf Creperie, which was a 25-minute walk in a light rain from my hostel. It seemed to be filled with a good mix of Japanese and foreign customers.
I ordered a コンプレ complex galette with ham, potato, tomato, avocado, and egg. It came with a simple side salad. As part of a lunch set, I also got a honey lemon crepe and beurberry beach iced tea. Overall one of the best meals I've had in Japan so far, and the foodie in me got upset at not properly prioritizing food before then. It was 1,920 yen or about $15.
Manga Museum
Another 8 minutes' walk away was the Kyoto International Manga Museum, recommended by a friend. Admission was 800 yen for adults. I read on Reddit that only the first floor had English translation exhibits, but I guess that changed over time since I saw English on all 3 floors. Though, it was true that only the first floor has English and other foreign language translated comics.
I had a lovely time here learning about the history of manga and seeing just so much manga in one building. I was surprised to see an exhibit on a particular school in Kyoto (?) that is known for academic excellence. It had a sub-exhibit on (replicas of) children's graded reading books used by the school from 1st grade up to 8th grade or so. I think I found myself comfortable-ish reading up to grade 5, hahaha. Beyond that was doable but would just be a bit painfully slow.
I learned that you could get an annual pass for around 5-6,000 yen to visit the museum whenever, which explained to me how there were so many Japanese people just sitting around reading so much manga for an extended time. That is so cool!! So I guess it's not just a museum in the traditional sense, but like a private library. I would totally sign up for this if I were local and a higher grade in Japanese reading proficiency.
After reading a few issues of Kingyo's Used Bookstore volume 1, noting some other manga I was curious to check out later, and flipping through some old favorites (Chihayafuru, SpyxFamily), I started heading back to my hostel at around 2:30 p.m.
Wrapping up the short day
On the way back, I picked up some more Kyoto-originated senbei and mochi for 770 yen, or $4.60 USD.
Back at my room, I took out my combustible trash for the first time. Learning about the elaborate trash collection system in Japan, and how it differs per city, was its own adventure…
I was able to get to bed at around 3 and fall asleep sometime after 4.
A proper dinner, at last!
I woke up at around 7 p.m. I only got about 3 hours of sleep, but I still felt fine. I assume it's because my day wasn't ridiculous compared to others. This meant many good restaurants were still open! I decided on okonomiyaki at Ikkakuju, and I was satisfied: delicious caesar salad with ham, 豚玉 pork okonomiyaki, Asahi super dry beer, and an umeshu for 1,620 yen or $11.80.
I was able to eat at a leisurely pace while still having enough time to start my computer stuff later.
Pictures
See the rest of my posts about Japan 2023.