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Published: September 10th 2005
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Yasaka Shrine
Located in Gion District, it's the shrine in charge of most of the city's festivals. I didn't see any geiko, though. Actually, this was my third AND fourth time in Kyoto, but I'm getting ahead of myself. To put things simply, yesterday sucked. We (the usual suspects) had decided to go back to Kyoto to check out Gion and Pontocho, the two big geisha districts. We waited 'til five when Levi was done with class, joined at the last minute by Sebastian, which was fine. Took the express to Keihan Shijo-eki. No problem.
We had decided to check out Yasaka Shrine, Minamiza (or whatever) theater, Ichiriki Teahouse, Gion Corner, and some other places. We went to Yasaka first, and it was really nice. Seeing the shrine all lit up at night was a real treat, and I'm glad we were there to see the lanterns. So that was cool. Then the boys decided they were hungry, so we started wandering around. Couldn't find any place cheap enough. So we headed off to Pontocho and (eventually) found a restaurant that everyone could agree on, despite the fact that Zach and I weren't hungry. It was a nice place, very traditional looking but the food was a traditional/modern fusion. We ate, drank two bottles of (cheapish) wine and had a blast with the
Inside Yasaka
It was surprisingly large and has lots of smaller shrines within it. This is the main shrine, though. party next to us, which was composed of teachers and school officials. Luckily one of them spoke fluent English.
After that, though, things went quickly downhill. We didn't go back to visit any of the places I mentioned before. Instead, the guys only wanted to talk about "getting trashed" and "doing something crazy." Which is fine, but not my thing. Also, I was feeling like I'd spent a bit too much money. This has become a point of contention. I get hounded everytime I mention the fact that I'm quickly running out of money. Now, supposedly I'll get my loan sometime this week, but that all depends on the IUP financial aid office, which is not something I'm willing to bet on. I realize that me bringing up my financial situation all the time is kind of a buzz-kill, but I'm only being honest. Furthermore, I expect my friends to be sympathetic, not mocking.
If I was going to spend the kind of money they were talking about, it sure as hell wouldn't be on booze (I can do that in the states!) or a hostess club (!) which is something that came up a few times. I
Nijo Castle Again
Well, you have to walk by on the way to Seimei Jinja, and it looked cool with the sky. I really do like this picture. didn't come to Japan to spend 5000 Yen for 50 minutes of staring at some girl's tits! Maybe I'm "cliche" for talking about money too much (I'll admit it) but the whole "drunken party-guy" persona is it's own cliche, and not one I'm fond of. So I got kind of annoyed.
Eventually they all decided to (sigh) karaoke and nomihodai. Yes, karaoke is a blast. But it's expensive and I didn't feel like staying out ALL night (we'd have missed the last train). So I let them go and headed back to Hirakata by myself. I missed the last bus, and had to walk, but that was fine and actually felt kinda good.
Today I was still in kind of a bad mood when I woke up, so I decided to blow off some steam by going back to Kyoto alone. I know, I've been there a lot, but I feel comfortable with going there alone and I wouldn't feel that way in downtown Osaka. So I went. Got there by 2:00, did some window-shopping in Sanjo, walked along Horikawa-dori, eventually drifted back to Seimei Jinja again. The experience was different being alone; I feel like I got
Ichijomodori-bashi
This is the working bridge that's there today, not the old one. Actually, you can't see the bridge here, but I'm standing on it looking over the canal. It's supposedly the entrance to a mystical realm where people can be brought back from the dead. a lot more out of it. I also noticed a lot of cool details I didn't see before (every freaking roof tile has a 5-pointed star on it!). I did some more shopping in the area, where a lot of the stores have Onmyou/Seimei related stuff. Bought a wristband and a thing to hang on my wall.
Then it started to rain. I had intended to stay in the area til dark (only about 7:00 pm here in Japan) to get some pics of Seimei Jinja all lit up, but it was pouring so I started back toward Sanjo. Browsed around a couple more stores, including a big book and CD store, but didn't buy anything. Hopped on the train and came back home. I then uploaded my pics to webshots and wrote this. And now I'm going to go relax with a book.
All in all, today was good even if it was a rehash of places I'd already been before. It was calming to walk around by myself and have some "me" time.
Next weekend is a long one (Respect for the Aged Day! woot!) so I might head to Nara. The 22nd (?) is
Seimei Jinja with Lanterns
The lanterns are lit, but I didn't want to hang out in the rain 'til nightfall, which was my original intention. Well, next time! It's still a cool place! a festival at Seimei Shrine, so I might try to go to that. Heh, they're going to start to recognize me there. ^__^
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