JT15- Days 5 & 6

Hello again from hot, humid and wet Kyoto,
If I didn't love you Sal I would have given up hours ago trying to change yr email address in Gmail/ Inbox. Anyhow think it's done now. 
Back to yesterday. At 1pm met up with Paul at Shijo Karasuma which as the name implies is the corner of Shijo dori and Karasuma dori. He lives about 10 minutes walk away so was convenient for him as well as being somewhere I knew how to get to. He teaches at two places nearby and the third is in a town about halfway between Kyoto and Osaka. We went to eat at a restaurant he recommended which only opened a few weeks ago and is next door to one of the schools. You choose 6 "side dishes" (out of 12) and get a miso soup. For an extra amount you can have rice with fried tofu strips and a sauce. We had the lot. 
Then we went for coffee at a reasonably nearby coffee shop, do not ask for directions, which is run by 2 sisters, one of them lived in Kensington for about 4 months. After that he headed off and I headed back to the ryokan. 
I went back to Shijo Karasuma at sunset because I "wanted to see the lights" but I'm not sure if I had my signals crossed or they had taken the lianterns down in anticipation ot Typhoon jun ichi (11) but the floats were not lit. The streets were filled with people eating from a variety of stalls. I had some yakitori and an okonomiyaki. Oisshi. Made up for the lack of lanterns.
This morning I got up at 7 and headed off on the well worn track to SK. I then walked along Shijo to the corner of Kawaramachi which is where the floats make their first turn. This is truly something to be seen to be believed. While I was waiting for the procession to start at 9am I noticed a group of guys filling barrels and buckets with water. God knows where the hose went from. And I thought how quaint but when the floats make their turn their attendants put down bamboo strips, wet them with water from the buckets and the wheels slide across the strips. You have to imagine a dry day, which today decidedly wasn't. By the end of the parade it was like being in one of those wet weather woodblock prints. 
Before the Naginata Hoko had arrived at "my" corner- probably 100-200 metres away there was some sort of emergency towards that way and all these medical teams, including a stretcher, media and sundry other support staff harmed off to do whatever. Probably held up proceedings for 10-15 minutes. It rained a lot during the procession but it being warm made it bearable. The whole thing lasted about 2 and a bit hours. When I got back to SK I thought I will just see if I could find somewhere to eat along Karasuma and Lo & behold about 200 metres along the road were all these people gathered around this TINY side street. What for I'm thinking. When I get there and look there is Naginata Boko coming down the street to make its final turn to return to base. When I had looked at the rote map it appeared to finish near the Kyoto City Office ( a U on its side shape) but the real end was back where it began. How apt. 
Didn't bother trying to find somewhere to eat as the rain just kept getting heavier and even with a plastic poncho on I was soaked to the skin. 
Got the train back to Kujo, went to Family Mart, bought some Chicken Curry Don (lunch), sushi (dinner) and soba (breakfast). Spent the afternoon watching the Nagoya Basho (Sumo tournament). I'll wait and decide what to do tomorrow depending on the weather but most likely will visit a temple/shrine or 2. 
Until then,
Lotsalove,
Tim