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Published: July 12th 2008
Hello again...........
So we touched down in Tokyo spent the night there in a very cliquey hostel - as soon as we walked in the record stopped and we got the impression that they were all thinking " How dare these people walk into our hostel " Bare in mind alot of people who work in Japan live in hostels to cut costs so have been there a long time..................Pricks nowt worse than being made to feel unwelcome!!! Anyway done the off next morning and headed for the cultural heart of Japan............Kyoto.
After dumping our bags we went off in search for Sushi (Mum look at the pics you'll never guess what i've been eating...and Ness you'll probably be sick) and the first thing we noticed is how bloody disciplined these people are, almost to the point of being slighty obsessive in their rules & customs, When you cross a road here despite not seeing a car in sight they will still wait for the green man to cross (At one point we ran across before the green light and some woman told us off...oops!!) another thing we saw were traffic wardens (god bless their evil souls as they
no not what they do....Amen) using tape measure's to check the gaps between cars.!! Don't get me wrong they are nice friendly people, trouble is no one and nothing is in English.!
Anyway sorry to babble on so will let Nic tell you how beautiful and amazing this country truly is as she is good at that...........
Nic - For our manic week of rushing around, trying to catch all the important sights, we bought a very expensive "Japan Rail Pass'. This allowed us to use any train owned by the main group of Japan Railways......and included the "Shinkansen" - The Bullet Train! The journey between Tokyo and Kyoto can be made via overnight bus of 7-8hrs, but the 'slow' shinkansen that we took got us there in 2hrs 40mins (the fastest is approx 2hrs!!)....an amazingly smooth journey, reaching upto 300mph with comfy reclining seats and almost too much legroom (you couldn't even touch the seat in front!!)
Kyoto has the highest concentration of historical temples and buildings so I was really excited to visit there (......actually I was really excited about visiting the whole of Japan!)
We took in the most important temples and shrines
while we were there. The details are so amazing and totally different to the Buddhist temples that we saw in India, it was a really refreshing change, as you'll be able to see from the pics....although, as usual, the intricate detailing and colours are rubbish on the pics in comparison.
We visited Gion with its beautiful old wooden buildings, teahouses and restaurants, all with lovely japanese signage. We were lucky enough to be there in the evening and saw a few of the remaining Geisha rushing between appointments, in their stunning kimono and make-up etc....I was really pleased about this as it was one of the ings I wanted to experience while we were there and is usually quite difficilt as they are very shy people!
We also visited another Golden Temple....again an amazing building, but unfortunately we weren't allowed to see inside, never-the-less the outside really was a beautiful sight with wonderful gardens.
The Japanese are famous for their "Onsen"....theirs thousands of these hot springs dotted all over Japan. They come in many forms but are all based around hot springs that bubble up from beneath the crust, containing beneficial minerals. They are used to relax
and pass the time and are always accompanied with group baths and sometimes jacqusees and saunas.....a really nice way to pass the time, a natural spa at your fingertips!
From here we visited the nearby town of Nara...see the next blog!
xxxx
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Julie
non-member comment
Coooooool!!!
Wow!!! How cool are the Geishas!??! Fab pics!!xxx