Last week, I was very excited to meet my British friend, Martyn, for the first time since I visited him two years ago. I was heading to our meeting spot in Kyoto. Unfortunately, the train I was on was delayed, so I sent him a text saying that I might be late 15 minutes. It was hot and humid, and I had already started sweating. In my mind, I kept telling myself to walk faster because Martyn is a very punctual person, and I knew he would be waiting for me.

When I turned the corner, he and his daughter, Anna was there. My heart started beating faster, and I dashed toward them. I apologized for being late, and we hugged each other. It was my first time seeing Anna again in two years as well. While visiting Martyn in the UK, we had dinner together several times.

Martyn told me that he and Anna wanted to go to Kiyomizu-dera, so we started walking toward it. Kiyomizu-dera is located at the top of a slope, and we had to go through large crowds to get there. I normally avoid that area because it's too crowds. When we arrived, and I saw the temple, I thought it's worth to see.

The last time I visited the temple with a friend of mine, we didn't go inside, but this time we did. The view from the temple was wonderful and an old Japanese saying , "to jump off the stage of Kiyomizu Temple (清水の舞台から飛び降りる)" came to my mind. It means to take a bold leap or make a life-changing decision, similar to the English expression “cross the Rubicon.” There are lots of taller buildings nowadays, but back then, Kiyomize Temple must be incredible high.

While we were walking around, all of a sudden it started raining. It became heavier, and we had to stop and stood under an eaves .

Although it was Martyn's fourth time coming to Japan, it was the first time for Anna. He and I wanted to make Anna experience lots of Japanese culture, so stay tuned. I'll gradually show you our adventures!

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