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Published: December 4th 2006
Koto-in
one of the subtemples in Daitoku-jiI just got back from Kyoto today. My friend, Jackie, and I set off yesterday morning and spent one night there. It was such a fast trip but we saw so much! We hit the ground running right when we got there. Northwestern Kyoto was our target and we of course saw the Golden Pavillion and Daitoku-ji which had beautiful Zen gardens. We met up with Rachel that day too, another ALT from a small town called Mizoguchi in Tottori prefecture. It got dark fast and we decided to hit up a Mexican restaurant in the Gion area called Mariachi. Well the plan was to try to find El Coyote which was a restaurant that Sai and Rachel found the last time they were in Kyoto because they had salsa dancing there, but alas we couldn't find it. Mariachi ended up being so-so, at least the tacos were closer to ones I've had in Mexican restaurants in America. Portions were small though and I had to get another order because one order was only 2 tacos!
Later that night we went to an onsen called Shomen-yu. We were tired after walking around all day so we figured the onsen would
Kinkaku-ji
Golden Pavillion be the best place to relax. It was great! They had a small outdoor onsen on the roof, sauna, and 3 different baths with different temps. Didn't try the electric bath though..it was a little too strange. We went to the onsen pretty late and ended up leaving there just after midnight! So the buses stopped running already. We had to take cabs back to our hotels. Jackie and I stayed at a place near the station so it wasn't too bad for us, but Rachel was staying in Northwest Kyoto which was far from where we were.
The next day we decided to get an early start because our bus was leaving at 3 something that afternoon. Got a bus pass (500) because it was a better deal than paying per ride (220). Hit up Ginkaku-ji (Silver temple) first. I really liked the grounds of this temple, plus there was an awesome Zen rock garden there. We just beat the busloads of tourists who came right as we were leaving too. Next stop was the Heian-jingu Shrine which Jackie went to years ago when she first came to Japan. This place had one of the most beautiful gardens,
lots of trees and ponds. We could even jump across the pond on these stones! I guess there's a scene in Lost in Translation like that? I don't actually remember, but other people do so thought I'd mention it...ha ha. It was close to lunch time so we decided to grab food before going to Kiyomizu-dera. The walk up the hill was a little tiring, then there were more steps once we got there! There were also a lot of shops around this area so I had to resist getting my Kitty chan loot till after the temple. It was beatiful though very crowded! It is trying to be one of the new 7 wonders of the world so there were all these signs asking people to support their bid. The leaves were particularly beautiful in this area and we even saw maiko (apprentice geisha) walking around!
We got back to the station early and good thing we did because our bus was leaving at 3:10 instead of 3:30 as we originally thought! Spent most of the ride back sleeping because we didn't get much sleep the night before. All in all, beautiful city, relaxing gardens, and GREAT shopping!
I would have spent more if I had brought more money so lucky thing I didn't.
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Karen Anderson
non-member comment
How lucky you are!
Thanksgiving in Japan? Did you ever dream of that? You're so lucky to be able to make the quick side trips to see the famous sites and experience even more of the culture. I love your comments and photos, May. Sounds like you're a natural teacher, too. Keep having fun! Karen