Fortunately, my second day in Kanazawa was sunny. I visited the Arts and Crafts Museum, the Kanazawa Castle Park and the very well-groomed Kenrokuen park. In the afternoon, I left to Kyoto.

My host’s English sucked so I was worried. When I arrived at the meeting point, he was not there. I waited for a while and then started uphill, pulling Roxy along. It was dark, I was waay outside Kyoto, on a dimly lit street. Let’s just say I was not relaxed. A small truck stopped and the driver said hello. In broken English, he told me that we’ll be 7 that night. I was confused, but what were the options? Going with the flow of course…

When we arrived, the reality was unexpected. My host had a traditional house he only used for couch surfers. He started doing so after he saw Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s film, Le fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain. He wanted to be some kind of Amelie. I think someone should tell Jeunet about the house in the Kyoto hills whose walls are full of thank you messages from dozens of travelers that passed through. It’s very moving and worth a film.

At some point, I read on the couch surfing site a couple’s testimonial and they said that CS restored their faith in human kind. 2 million people around the world are doing this. Travelling and helping others travel. Look it up if you haven’t already.

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credits: lilaesthete