Kyoto

I went on my first real trip outside of Tokyo last weekend to Kyoto. I stayed there for three nights and four days, sleeping at one of Japan's nicest hostels called K's hostel. To get there I took an overnight bus, and found the 8 hour ride brutal. My trip was off to a rather interesting start from the time I was on my way to the bus station. I made the mistake of asking an old man for directions, he was extremely nice and decided to walk me there, holding his umbrella over me the entire way. I left early to make sure I wouldn't miss my bus since it was the last one, and I anticipated getting lost along the way. When we finally arrived at the station, the man noticed that I had left myself an hour to spare. He didn't speak any english, but motioned for me to follow him. He took me back into the station in front of a resaurant and pointed at the menu posted outside, offering me anything I wanted to eat before leaving. With nothing better to do, I decided to sit with the nice man and he treated me to dinner. We sat together trying our best to make conversation, using a pen and paper to scribble down diagrams in order to communicate. After dinner he gave me some snacks to take with me on the train, then walked me back down to the waiting room to sit for just a few minutes before I would catch my bus to Kyoto. It was an odd experience, since this is something that would never happen to me where I am from, but adventure and trying new things is exactly what I am here for. He didn't seem to be much of a threat (he looked to be at least 70), and he was kind enough to get me to the bus station; though I didn't really understand it, I figured there was no problem with it. It was by this event that I suddenly knew I was bound for an interesting trip.

My bus arrived around 7:30am. The ride itself was awful, I sat upright and didn't catch a wink of sleep. When I got to the hostel, I dropped off my bags and head out to do some sight seeing. With only 4 days in this beautiful part of Japan, I didn't want a wasted minute to slip by - I was on a mission. With my map in hand, I managed to get to a grand total of nine temples and two shrines, one musem, The Path of Philosophy in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto. The first temple I went to was Ginkaku-ji temple, also known as the 'silver pavillion'. The temple and surrounding gardens were breathtaking. While I was there some cute young Japanese girls asked to have a picture with me...then their teacher wanted his own. I found it flattering; who would have thought being a foreigner would bring such celebrity status?
I stopped on my way out to buy some Buddhist charms said to bring good luck. Different charms bring luck for different things, I purchased myself the charm for happiness - can't go wrong with that one.

Then I was on my way to the next temple. Most temples close around 4pm, so I made it to all nine temples before then, and felt a strong sense of accomplishment (and sheer exhaustion) afterward. I noticed that visiting temples can get costly since most tend to have an admission fee of around 500 yen - after seeing (and paying for admission to) so many temples, I was done with them for a while. I found some to be more extravagent than others, but they were all beautiful.
The temples that really stuck out to me on the first day were Ginkaku-ji, and Chion-in temple.
I also made a point of walking by the Path of Philosophy, I feel as though I may have had a different appreciation for this famous path as a philosophy major. The 2km long stone path follows a canal and is decorated with colourful cherry trees, this tranquil area is definitely most suitable for philosophizing. Apparently this path was a favourite spot of one of Japan's most famous philosophers, Nishida Kitaro, who would walk it daily while meditating on his way to Kyoto University.

After stopping by a few more temples, I thought I would check out a museum recommended by my trusty Kyoto tour guide. Nomura museum is a small museum with a collection of various old works of art, according to my guide it contains "exquisite hanging scrolls and ceramics". Well, I was less than impressed. The language barrier was an issue, as I didn't understand any of the descriptions of the displayed pieces, and though I tried hard to appreciate them - they just looked like old dishes and chinese characters painted on paper. Maybe it was the fact that little bowls and paper don't seem as impressive after having visited so many stunning temples. I can't say I would recommend this museum as a primary stop for any tourist.

When I saw just about all I could see in Higashiyama, I decided to head over to Gion, the district of Kyoto known as the 'geisha district'. Here I checked out the Yasaka Shrine and strolled by the old style Japanese tea houses (ochaya) and little old fashioned town houses (machiya), with the hanging lanterns that light up in the evening are what really give Gion it's unique feel. Definitely a key place for tourists! I loved it.

Knowing this to be the 'geisha district', I was hoping to walk by some geishas - after 15 minutes or so, I grew impatient and asked someone where to find some geishas. He guided me through the little streets of Gion determined to find me a geisha to feast my tourist eyes on. He ended up leading me to a theater in Gion where there would be a Miyako Ordori. This is a traditional performance that takes place during the cherry blossom season (throughout the month of April) where Maikos (training to become geishas) entertain with a traditional performance of Japanese music, singing, and dancing. In all of my excitement I sprung for the first class seats, this meant I got to partake in a traditional tea ceremony hosted/served by Maikos before the show. I took my seat, and devoured my daifuku (a delicious dessert) and matcha (frothy green tea) while taking as many pictures as I could - they were absolutely stunning. I am now convinced that a tea ceremony - can in fact be - an art. This is a very important tradition in Japanese culture, and I am so glad that I got the chance to be a part of it. The show itself was a fabulous experience, the perfected synchronized movements of the Maikos left me speechless. After a long day of site seeing, I met up with two girls from my residence who coincedentally were in Kyoto for the weekend and staying at the same hostel as me. We grabbed some dinner, shopped around in Gion a bit, and then head back to the hostel to plan our next day and sleep.

The next day we went to Fushimi Inari to see the Sembon Torii (shrine gates). These gates are featured in a scene of the movie 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. The thousands of bright orange gates all lined up together to form a tunnel is really something. On the way out, I bought a little hand carved Buddha charm to wear on a necklace.
After walking around the Sembon Torii, we hopped on a train to Nijo Castle. The castle is 275 000 square meters of beautiful gardens with ponds, cherry blossoms and plum trees, Ninomaru Palace and Honmaru Palace. I was particularly fascinated by the nightingale floors that were built to squeak as you walk on them to protect the occupants from assassins or sneak attacks.
After the Nijo Castle we got on another train bound for Kinkakuji Temple (aka 'The Golden Temple). This temple is simply magnificent. We walked around to admire it for a while, before stopping by a little booth to purchase some more charms; this time I bought a charm for luck in 'studies', and one for a 'good match'. I've really stocked up - things should be looking up (though at this point I'm not sure how they could possibly get any better). When we finished hanging around Kinkakuji Temple, we decided to go back to Gion (one of our favourite areas), we shopped around a bit before getting dinner at a 300 year old restaurant in Gion, famous for its Soba noodles - I had a soup dish with Soba noodles and egg. After yet another long day, we head back to the hostel to crash.

On Sunday we went to check out an area called Arashiyama. Since the tour guides we had didn't mention too much about this area we didn't really know what to expect, but it turned out to be one of my favourite areas in Kyoto. On a little map we had picked up from the hostel, we noticed a little monkey image in this area, the monkey symbol wasn't referred to in the legend, but after looking into it some more we discovered that there is a Monkey Park. Monkeys?! real monkeys?! in a park!? This was something we had to see! We made it there without too much hassle, paid admission, and started our way up the trail to the Monkey Park; the trail took us on a strenuous hike up a mountain (to a height higher than the Kyoto Tower). I expected to spot a monkey or two hiding in a tree, but when we finally made it to the top...there were monkeys everywhere! I was scared. These animals are dangerous. A flyer given to us listed certain precautions - not to show them food, not to try and pet them, and not to make eye contact with them. I quickly learned why one should not make eye contact with a monkey. They're cute and furry, but when they feel threatened (i.e. when you stare at them) they get vicious, and they stare right back at you with the most horrifying expression I have ever seen. I swore I'd have nightmares for weeks. They stare back, reveal their razor sharp monkey fangs, and if they're irritated enough - they'll scream. Trust me. Don't do it. Then there was that time where I almost got attacked by one; it charged at me, and I saw my life flash before me. I ran, screamed, jumped on Catherine with a death grip and thankfully it left me alone. It was terrifying. My knees were shaking for a good 10 minutes after that. Once again folks, do not mess with the monkeys. They're cute, but they are completely capable and perhaps willing to tear your face off.

On a happier note, there was a cage you could go in to buy a bag of peanuts or apple slices to feed them. After walking around amazed and just looking at them (but not in the eyes), we went into the cage to feed them. It was pretty cool to be feeding wild monkeys, interestingly this park doesn't seem to be very well known by tourists - brocheurs and tour guides mention all of the temples, but no where do they suggest checking out the Monkey Park in Arashiyama! I don't understand this. It was definitely one of the highlights of my weekend. If you ever go to Kyoto - this is a must. It was a good time. Once we finished admiring the monkeys for a couple of hours, we made it to the base of the mountain toward a nice lake where we noticed there were row boats being rented out. It was warm, sunny and perfect weather to rent a boat and row around aimlessly. After an hour on the water, we walked around the little shops of Arashiyama and I bought a pretty fan. While we wandered around we indulged in our favourite Matcha (green tea) ice cream. So good. This was one of my favourite days.

To top it all off, some girls we met over dinner at the old restaurant in Gion told us about a cheap sushi place close by that we ought to check out. So that's exactly what we did. Sushi at this place was about 100 yen a plate (with two pieces per plate). My favourite part about this place was the little automatic toy shinkansen (bullet train) that would deliver special orders right to you. Needless to say I made a special order for Takoyaki...and let me tell you...the only thing better than Takoyaki...is Takoyaki delivered to you by a little Shinkansen!! It made my night.
I. LOVE. JAPAN.

Sunday night the girls had to leave since they had classes on Monday - meaning I was on my own for Monday. After three days in Kyoto, I felt like I had seen all that I really wanted to see and decided to make a trip to Nara, which is a city about an hour from Kyoto. Nara is known for the deer that roam around everywhere. The Shinto religion believes that deer are the messengers of the gods. The deer here pretty much own the place, they're spoiled by the people, Japanese and tourists alike that come to feed them. If they see food, they will walk up and beg, maybe get a bit pushy with you. All in all their pretty cute, and while signs are posted to warn people that they are wild animals and capable of attacking, I maintain that the deer aren't half as intimidating as the wild monkeys of Arashiyama. The other thing Nara is known for is Todaiji Temple, this temple houses the largest Daibutsu (Buddha) Vairocana. This temple definitely made it into my favourites. In fact, Nara in general is up there. Another hot spot of Japan I was happy to discover.

Monday evening I took my train ride home, it was the fastest train ride I've ever had - because it was on the fastest train in the world. Yes, I took the Bullet Train home (Shinkansen). A one way ticket cost me nearly as much as my flight to Okinawa at 12 700 yen (roughly $130). But on the bright side, it reduced my 8 hour trip from Kyoto to Tokyo to a mere 3 hours! cool huh?
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my travels in Kyoto; this is definitely one beautiful part of Japan. No description or photo could do it justice - you will have to see it for yourselves.

In other recent news, I've been drinking apple tea and sprinkling cinnamon on top - it's heavenly. School has been pretty good - not overly busy yet, but Japanese language class is getting progressively more difficult. I joined a gym the other day (I eat too much Takoyaki), and I will be teaching another english lesson before departing for more Japan travels.

Next stop: Okinawa!!

The plan: Fly on Monday, spend two nights on the main land in Naha and checkout the city. Then catch a ferry to a small island where we have booked a guest house for four nights.
White sand beaches, warm weather, glowing sunshine, a bit of relaxing and plenty partying awaits. I will be sure to document the good times upon my return.


Much love xo