Revelation of the day: Eggs go well with rice. Throw an egg in while the pot's still hot enough and, zaa! instant fried rice.

Saturday I slept in, relatively speaking. But when I awoke the sun was so shining and I was so excited I...did laundry. Yes, sadly enough, the first thought that went through my mind was, "I can dry my clothes today!" Amazing what living on your own will do to you. The crappy Sterling Quad driers never looked so good.

With my underwear proudly hung outside to dry, I set off for the mountains of Kurama Valley, on the northern fringe of Kyoto. Naturally, the first mountain we saw had a cell phone tower right on the peak. Never have I goten such great cell phone reception as when I've been in Japan. Getting an American wireless will be such a let-down...

The mountain was breathtaking, while not that hard a climb. It had some nice views of the valley, and lots of shrines along the way. A nice way to spend a sunny afternoon.

The evening found us at a hamburger restaurant called Bikkuri Donkey. The name, literally, means Surprise Donkey so I was a little concerned about what kind of meat goes in those burgers. But it turned out to be a great meal: they serve you a slab of ground beef (no bun) with odd toppings like eggs (as seen on their huge menu). The furai poteto (fries) were also excellent. It was even more American wannabe than McDonald's--there was a whole lot of...crazy crap on the walls". What American burger restaurant would be complete without an Oregon license plate or a speed limit sign?