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Day 53: 88 Temples - KIX

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Soon I fly home where I will go back in time and land 7 hours before I take off.  I will be in San Francisco just in time for number two son's birthday. I did a short walk over to my father's property just to check it out and then to the train station to figure out how to get to the airport.  There is a direct express that leaves every 30 minutes.  I bought a regular ticket but had the feeling I needed more. I was kind of anxious to get to the airport.  I didn't feel like trying to plan something for an hour and I wasn't very focused anyway.  Check out was at 11 and I headed out.  The streets were packed with tons of Chinese tourists rolling giant roller bags all over town.  I thought I would get some ramen for lunch and make my way to the airport slowly. The place I picked had a line of roller bag tourists in front so I kept walking.  Maybe I could get something at the train station.  The train...
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Day 52: 88 Temples - Kyoto

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Still waking up way too early so I headed out to do a memory lane walk around Kyoto.  I first came to Kyoto in 1967 and have probably been here close once a decade since.  I had a pretty big gap between 1994 and 2015 which erased a lot of my location memory.  I think I remember the block my Dad grew up on.  Kyoto Tower was here my first visit; it seems smaller now but it is still visible around the city. I first headed to Nishiki Market.  Along the way I got a croissant at a bakery and ate it as I dodged commuters on bikes.  I was a little early for Nishiki.  Most of the vendors were just starting to set up.  An hour or two latter I would have found some good snacks. I continued up Teramachi were we went all the time when I was a kid.   I remember my cousin, Tomoko, taking us to an Ultraman movie there.   It was not far from the house where my father grew up and we often stayed....
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Day 51: 88 Temples - Kyoto

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I slept all the way to 6:30am!  After going to bed before 9 and waking up at 5 for so long it was nice to sleep in.  I had a pretty lazy time to check out at 10.  Fortunately, the hotel has a coffee space they let you sit and drink coffee as long as you like.  They also have baggage storage which I took advantage of while having lunch with Mike.  He brought my backup stuff bag. My body enjoyed the rest but was also kind of restless.  I could almost feel things healing. I met Mike, his son and daughter-in-law for some very good ramen and fried rice.  We then went for coffee at a Blue Bottle cafe. The next two nights will be spent in Kyoto, the city of my ancestors.  I was last in Kyoto in 2015 with Laurie and the boys for three nights.  I have less planned and less energy this time. The 14:07 was 3 minutes late.  It was a special rapid service train with very few stops to Kyoto.  I was in Kyoto in ...
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