At home, during the dusk, suddenly the doorbell rang. It was a visit from a bakery called Honey Bakery. They were selling various types of bread, which were a bit on the expensive side but made with good quality ingredients. I decided to purchase pumpkin cream bread, maple Danish, bacon and egg bread, and camembert cheese bread. Overall, the bread was moist and flavorful, especially the maple Danish. Although a bit pricey, the taste matched the quality. It's worth trying if you have the budget. If they come to your neighborhood, I recommend giving them a try.

Until reaching Higashiyama Gojo, it was a leisurely stroll, but the area around Kiyomizu-dera was incredibly crowded. The souvenir shops had turned into playgrounds for middle school students on school trips, and a group of Chinese tourists, led by a guide carrying a small carp streamer, formed a line and climbed up the hill. It was the busiest I had ever seen it. We quickly finished our visit to Kiyomizu-saka and started heading back down the hill. Nevertheless, my wife was not hesitant to enter any stores, no matter how crowded they were. At first, we peeked into every store, but she must have gotten tired. Eventually, we only went into stores that seemed to have good items. A store selling indigo-dyed products, a store selling handmade glass crafts, and so on... We entered an art dealer's store. Occasionally, elderly customers would stop by just to browse, making it quiet and calm — a relief. There were framed prints in the front room and Art Nouveau stands that seemed to be by Emile Galle in the back room. After admiring them together for a while, we went outside for a smoke, and my wife called me back in. When I returned to the store after finishing my smoke, she asked, "Which one do you like?" It seemed she had taken a liking to a print of "Inagaki..." by a Living National Treasure. When I replied, "Both are good," she purchased both and was delighted. Oh well, our luggage had increased again — it always happens when we wander around. We walked through the back streets to Yasaka Shrine and then extended our walk to Gion. All the shops had their shutters down, and occasionally, staff members would peek out from multi-tenant buildings, so Gion during the day was quiet. Just beyond the entertainment district that reminded me of Shinjuku's Kabukicho, there was "Shinmonzen-dori." It was the "Antique Street" that I had walked along last year. After peeking into a few stores, when we came out of an antique store, there was a light van parked that hadn't been there before. I peered into the open back door and saw various types of bread lined up. An elderly lady was receiving an order, and it seemed to be a bakery specializing in home delivery. I thought it was important to cherish such encounters, so we decided to try some. Walnut bread (5 for 320 yen) and Milk sticks (5 for 280 yen). "If they're delicious, I'd like to have them again, but who knows when we'll meet next time (smile)." "Are you on a trip?" asked a young woman. "Lately, I've been coming to Kyoto for work once a year." "If you see us again, please feel free to say hello." As we walked away, we heard the woman's voice say, "Lucky!" The walnut bread was a soft, chewy table roll with plenty of finely crushed walnuts kneaded in. It had a strong wheat aroma, and it was different from those of major bread manufacturers. The milk sticks looked similar to those found in supermarkets or convenience stores at first glance, but when you tasted them, they were dense bread with a quite different texture. There was a flyer in the bag with many different varieties listed. Of course, not all of them were available in the small cargo area of the car we peeked into, but it would be convenient if there were such stores in Tokyo as well. I don't know when it will be, but if I see them again on the streets of Kyoto, I will definitely try them out!