Lock Up!
I met Claire in Kyoto yesterday afternoon. The cherry blossoms are really starting to open up there, but it was almost painfully apparent that tourist season has also begun. We met outside one large shrine we visited last week, which was practically deserted at the time, which was now crawling with both Japanese and foreign crowds. I know this week is spring break, but the majority of people there were definitely adults. It’s funny; I have been to Kyoto quite a few times this year, and I have to say that while I enjoy checking out new sights, I no longer feel like a tourist in the city. I’ve had a few people stop me for directions, and I can sometimes give them. It’s not my stomping ground, but it’s also not far.
Claire and I had a fun afternoon visiting the Kyoto library and two larger temples in the Higashiyama area, including Nanzanji. In the evening, we did a
little shopping (I found the cutest brown, spring jacket at Zara – yay!), ate at an izikaiya (Japanese pub) near the river for dinner, and then went to check out Lock Up, a cool restaurant I have wanted to go to for a while (also found in Kobe and Osaka). The place was wicked! When you arrive, you go downstairs into what looks like a cave. There are mummy-like figures coming out of the wall. The staff is dressed like cops and prisoners (the hostess kind of looked like a space police officer, with a big, scull necklace). There are a few horror house surprises around each corner, and you are handcuffed 
to be brought to your table, which is a jail cell in a little cave. The food and service was pretty good, and it wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be. Claire wants to go back to the one in Kobe after Arima Onsen tonight (we’re heading to a famous hot spring on top of Mt. Rokko – have to take a ropeway to get there), but there are so many cool options here, I am pushing to try something else new. If you’re here, you should definitely go to Lock Up. I’m heading back to Kyoto (again!) on Sunday for a private Geisha performance, so it might be a good back-up plan for dinner if the group can’t decide on a place.
Claire and I had a fun afternoon visiting the Kyoto library and two larger temples in the Higashiyama area, including Nanzanji. In the evening, we did a
little shopping (I found the cutest brown, spring jacket at Zara – yay!), ate at an izikaiya (Japanese pub) near the river for dinner, and then went to check out Lock Up, a cool restaurant I have wanted to go to for a while (also found in Kobe and Osaka). The place was wicked! When you arrive, you go downstairs into what looks like a cave. There are mummy-like figures coming out of the wall. The staff is dressed like cops and prisoners (the hostess kind of looked like a space police officer, with a big, scull necklace). There are a few horror house surprises around each corner, and you are handcuffed 
to be brought to your table, which is a jail cell in a little cave. The food and service was pretty good, and it wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be. Claire wants to go back to the one in Kobe after Arima Onsen tonight (we’re heading to a famous hot spring on top of Mt. Rokko – have to take a ropeway to get there), but there are so many cool options here, I am pushing to try something else new. If you’re here, you should definitely go to Lock Up. I’m heading back to Kyoto (again!) on Sunday for a private Geisha performance, so it might be a good back-up plan for dinner if the group can’t decide on a place.
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 3:58 PM
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