Kamo River -Best place to decompress

I'll admit I had my first Gaikoko-jin (foreigner) freakout today. Kev is out of town and I went downstairs to leave for language class only to find the following note left on our bikes. I'll admit we knew parking there was risky as we are subleasing and don't have stickers for our bikes, but gave it a shot anyway.

I figured the sign said something like, "move your bikes, you F*cking foreigners, or we will remove them for you."  -You know classic Japanese rude behavior- I joke; Japanese people are always polite, but the all black and red notice had me freaked out none the less. Since I can't read Japanese, and definitely can't read Kanji, I knew I needed to move the bikes ASAP before something happened.

I took the first bike upstairs (all three flights) and then went back for the other, only to realize I didn't have the key for the bike lock. I ran back upstairs, and began tearing apart the apartment. They weren't in either place Kev had said they were going to be, and I started to freak out. "I don't speak Japanese, Kev is gone, I can't find the keys, our bikes are going to be gone, Kev will be upset, who knows when they will come to remove the bikes, I'm likely to be yelled at in Japanese, can I move the bike with the back tire locked? doubtful, I gotta find that FREAKING key!!!!!" was all I could think about. It doesn't help I had terrible dreams last night about being kidnapped, so I was a little on edge today.

Regardless I emailed everyone I knew who might have Kev's international cell phone's number, and sent Kev a million "I need you to call me" g-chat messages. Breaking down into an absolute mess when he finally answered, we figured out where he had stashed the keys and I was able to get the second bike upstairs.

(We later found out that the sign is a very polite note saying to move our bikes or put resident stickers on them...thank you to the reddit/r/japanlife crew for translating for us!

Of course at this point I was too late to make it to class, and don't know enough Japanese to explain to Sensei why I was late (and red faced). So instead I decided to decompress over a small lunch, a bike ride, and some time at my favorite place in Kyoto: Kamo river.

If you are unfamiliar with the Kamo river, it runs down the center of the city and is a popular hang out among Kansai area people. As you will see in the photos below there are all kinds of things you can do here. We mentioned in a previous post that you can drink along the river, and although this remains true, I refrained today instead opting for a all-veggie sandwich and Starbucks refresher. After lunch at Shijo Dori (dori = street, I think?), I rode a bit father north along the river.

As is the case with most of Kyoto, there are feral cats everywhere. This little cutie lives in the tall grass on the edge of the river. He or she may either have kittens with them or have been hunting mice, as he/she kept ducking her head into the grass as if looking at something. 

The last signs of the paper crane float-trip -there were a few stragglers left in the rocks. 

Each large stone crossing has its own set of non-bridge extra rocks/statues. At this crossing the sitting stones are boats. 

The largest stone "bridge" we have found is at the point where the two rivers merge, north of Sanjo Dori in Kamigyo (upper Kyoto ward, which really isn't that far). 

One of the bikes! 

If we were to ever have children it would be in Japan. Kids here are so happy and at ease here. The couple trips I have taken up the river, there always seems to be families playing in the river. Parents here (from my very limited knowledge) seem to have a good grasp of how to balance technology and city life while still making sure their kids get some "nature" time, even if just at the river.

I'm really not sure why this guy fishes with such a long pole. If you can't tell his pole ends about an inch diagonal from the sign's left top corner. He unfortunately didn't catch anything while I was watching.  

Another fisherman of the Kamo River. These tall birds are all over the place!