Gojo Guesthouse is a nice Japanese-style hostel near the eastern temple district, about 7 minutes from Kiyomizudera. The accomodations are a large tatami room with futon.

The bag is my entire luggage for the trip: laptop, camera, three lenses, three changes of clothing (one of which I was wearing), power cables, Nalgene bottle, and toiletries. It is really convenient to be able to walk around all day with your entire luggage on your back. A bit tiring, though.

This hostel had a lot more guys (2:10 ratio) than Sandal Wood (50:50), mostly backpackers. I only met one American at the hostels (well, and a couple Canadians); the rest were British or Australian. And one guy from Taiwain, who was fun to chat with. The Americans are missing out on some cheap and pleasant accomodations.

The Japanese authorities caught up with me here: when I arrived the guy at the desk informed me I had a letter. Because of the couple kids in Osaka that got swine flu, they were all paranoid, and “for my safety” had a form for me to record my temperature twice a day. I guess Sandal Wood was not well known enough as a hostel, so they sent my form to Gojo Guesthouse.