Zemi konpa

I had a really good day yesterday, the kind of day you only get once every few years. The weather was perfect, sunny, blue skies and warm but not too hot. Perfect weather to cycle around Kyoto. I stumbled upon Ninanji, a UNESCO World Heritage site.



After that I went around Arashiyama to look at the beautiful trees there. Then, I was invited to a tea ceremony in Horikawa Street. Finally, I went to a posh Japanese restaurant down in Sanjo to have dinner with my sensei and other zemi students. A 'zemi' is a corruption of the English word 'seminar'; it's a group of undergraduate students signed up to a class. A 'konpa' comes from the English word 'company' but it means a party.



The restaurant was called Ganko. The food was mainly sushi and tempura. I forgot how tasty Japanese food can be. More than that, it was nice to meet up with my sensei and fellow students. I'll certainly miss them. There was a beautiful Japanese garden attached to the restaurant. After we finished eating, we out there for a stroll and to take pictures, before heading off to Sanjo for karaoke.