This is our room in New Miyako Hotel. All the decoration had been made so precisely as if someone's life depended on it.

The bathroom wouldn't be complete if not for hi-tech toilet...

...and heated mirror. There's no problem with shaving right after taking a bath.

I've watched an interesting program on television the other day. It was about physical competition - people performed grueling tasks on a complicated fitness trail.

The difficulty level was high enough to disqualify most of the contestants. Only two out of fifty got to the finish line on time. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the show.

Let us check what's on tele today...
The camera revolves slowly around the woman bonded and hanged up to the ceiling as she quietly moans with classical music playing in the background. And it goes on and on...

(Ok, it isn't a normal television, but pay-per-view erotic channel we were very curious to watch).

Dinner time! This restaurant specializes in dishes looking more like snacks, than a descent meal. At least to the healthy and hungry European like me.

Small pieces of seafood, veggies, beef and other components served on a stick - c'mon, how many of them would I have to eat to appease my hunger?

Interesting, there are no chairs of any kind here. People sit directly on the floor placing their legs in 400 mm deep hole.

The hole itself is called kotatsu - original version includes brazier under the table and a blanket (to cover ones legs and prevent the heat from running away). Modern versions are equipped with electric fire.

The backstreet veils rubbish bins (gomi baku), air conditioning liquid coolers and other stuff not necessarily nice to look at.

Walking down the street I find small archway leading to the temple of unborn children. It appears to be a very quiet and sad place. Mothers who had lost their babies come here and pray for the peace of their souls.

One of the shops on my way offers many kinds of weaponry, like katana swords, sai daggers, ninja stars (shuriken) and more.

I already had bought a nice katana and few shuriken in Thailand, so I just decided to pass by.

Finally we get to the famous Kiyomizu-dera - temple complex that belongs to the UNESCO "World Cultural Heritage". There are several other shrines located around the complex. One of them is Jishu-jinja, the "love and good matches shrine".

Kiyomizu-dera is also listed for voting for The New Seven Wonders of the World.

The main terrace gives a spectacular view of Kyoto panorama. Despite the bad weather and equally bad argument we had back then, I preserved good memories from the place.

Suddenly I've spotted an uniformed schoolgirl, tottering, with her eyes covered with her hand. That reminded me of Japanese horror movies and gave shivers right after.

The answer for this strange behavior was quiet trivial. In order to gain luck in love and find one quickly, students perform a simple test. One starts from the first rock and walks towards the other one with eyes covered. If she finds it, ir's a good omen.

Koi-uranai no ishi -
The luck-in-love rock.

In case you are wondering if banging on ones head is the part of telling the future, it is not. That would just be my way of dealing with something I don't understand.

I needed someone to translate my omikuji, fortune written on a strip of paper.

I'll keep it to myself as it was very personal, if you don't mind.

Otowa-no-taki waterfall is located just a bit below the main temple building. Water going down with three streams can be drunk from a small aluminum cup on the stick.

It is said that each spring brings as follows: good health, longevity and success at school. That's probably why the place is crawling with high school students.

Waiting in line at three waterfalls I'm wondering if it's safe to use the same cups as hundreds of people did before me today. Here comes ultraviolet sterilizer. Tradition and technology - that's what Japan is today!