Part 59: Preliminary Inspection
Preliminary Inspection
Yes, I believe so. We went abroad once, but travelling has gotten harder, with all the efforts being made to prevent the spread of the infection.
Airplanes are scary, so I’m glad we’re not doing that anymore… And Kyoto has all kinds of nice foods. I can’t wait…!
The group activities for the first day would be-- Lunch after we arrive, then to the Rokkaku-Dou. After that, two hours of free time. We’ll have to make sure we’re prepared for the trip. Apparently there’s a shop in the entertainment district called Tsujiri that sells really good parfaits! And after that, Yasaka Shrine… It might be better to have everyone meet up somewhere near the business district, instead of going back to Rokkaku-Dou. That will give everyone a little more free time. What do you think, doctor? A lot of them will probably go to Kyougoku, so that seems reasonable. And there’s a cute little candy shop near Kamogawa…
I’ll keep track of the time. Shall we go? I think so. It’s very helpful to have you along, Prof. Uzune. Ramune is supposed to be really good this time of year, too… I can’t wait! …Wait… huh?
Horikawa Liquors… Nishikikouji Dry Goods… These all look like pretty old buildings. This is a very secluded neighborhood. We’ll have to make sure the students don’t get too carried away as we’re going through. The whole city is like this, aside from the business district. A killing or an abduction or two could happen on any of these streets and no one would ever know. Let’s try to keep the threatening conversation to a minimum while travelling, all right, Doctor? They say old demons are attracted by that sort of thing. Demons…? If there are any here I’d love to take one home to examine. -pant-… -pant-……
We haven’t even been here half a day. Here, have some tea. Aah… Thank you, Uzune… Maybe I should have Iwamine take a look at me and make sure I’m doing okay… I am here to prepare for the field trip. I have no obligation to look after you. Uzuneeee…!
Waaahh! What is it? You sound as if you regret ever having been born. Aaah… I… I do think I shouldn’t have been born… Uzuneeee! Iwameanie is picking on me again! Oh, yes, it would seem so. Yes. What happened? Ah… Umm… Umm… Spit it out already. You are being a waste of time. Err… Umm…
The music stops.
You forgot the slip!?
O-Oh, no! And the map was with it!? You were the one who said you could carry the light things! I-I’m sorry…! What was the inn called? At any rate, I can call ahead. And then--
The music stops.
That… That’s true. If we can just find it--
It is the same place as last year. Do not worry, I remember where it is. Aah, perfect! I’m really, really sorry… I-I really should just die… Do you want to jump off right here? Nooooo! If I did that I’d die!
The music stops.
Uzune! Uzuneee! …Mm… What is it? Oh, good! You were awake! I wasn’t… You just woke me up. Don’t talk like that. It’s scary…! We’re friends, aren’t we? But this is work. We’re at the inn now, it’s okay…!
Umm… I need to… go… Good night. Uzuneeee…! Go by yourself. There aren’t any ghosts here. B-but this is Kyoto! There are definitely ghosts…! Even if there are they won’t eat you or anything… You just don’t have any sixth sense! It’s fine… Good night…
We’ll just go for a little while. We have time, right? This episode mentioned plenty places from the real world. Since we’re here, we’ll be introducing a few of the pigeon-relevant locations in Kyoto! Yaaay, Uzune is going to show us around Kyoto…! You’re going to do some explaining, too. Wh-what…!? You were just here for the preliminary inspection! I-I can’t! All I did was follow you and Iwamine around… The doctor already went home. He said he’s busy and doesn’t want to do overtime… Oh, well, I guess I’ll just go ahead by myself.
He bathed here and had it built?? That sounds a little strange… If you’re interested, try looking it up online. It’s a place with a lot of history, so you should be able to find plenty of information. Rokkaku-dou is in the center of the city, and is easily accessible from the Kyoto and Kawahara stations. Here, let's look at the map.
There we go. This map is confusing! I’d get lost trying to follow it! You would get lost trying to follow a proper map, too. Aah… We’re introducing Rokkaku-dou because, as you can see, there are lots of pigeons inside the compound.
Do they have any quails…? No. -sniff-…
The doves here are used to humans and very aggressive, and they’ll charge at you in a flock if they see a bag of seeds. You might want to wear long sleeves if you have delicate skin. Waaaaah! Wait! Don’t just take the whole bag! Come back! Aaaaah!
I know this one! “Your enemy is in Honnouji”, right? Yes, this is Honnouji. It’s famous for the Honnouji Incident, when one of Oda Nobunaga’s generals forced him to commit suicide in the temple. It’s about twenty minutes by foot from Rokkaku-Dou… It’s a little bit far, so you might want to take the train instead. It’s one stop. Are there pigeons here, too? This time I’ll touch them without having them steal my seeds…! No, there are no pigeons. There aren’t? Then why are we introducing it…?
The… dove perch temple…? It’s called the Kyuukyo-Dou. It’s certainly a very dovey place. What is it? The Kyuukyo-Dou is a Japanese stationery stop with a history over three hundred years long. It’s right in front of the Honnouji. Three hundred years? That’s awfully persistent… I should learn from it…
And of course, there’s dove stationery as well. Sometimes they switch it out as a seasonal product, so make sure to check ahead of time.
That was a very pigeon-relevant tour…! Kyoto is practically made of historical sites and tourist draws, so there’s no real need for us to introduce the famous places. If you look you’ll find plenty of information already available. That’s true… And there are lots of wonderful things to see…!The music abruptly stops.
And don’t forget about the Nishikikouji Starbucks! It’s just a five minute walk from the Rokkaku-Dou!
All right! I’m going to enjoy Kyoto to the fullest now! I think first I’ll get some cider candy… Wait, wait! What is it? Do you want to come too…? That store is closed today.