Blogs from Kyoto, Japan, Asia - page 72

Waking from a much needed 9-hour, Ambien-induced slumber on our second day in Kyoto, we ambitiously planned a daylong walking tour to take advantage of the elusive sun, which decided to grace us with its presence for the first time in Japan. Famed for its traditional architecture, which survived most of the Allied bombers during World War II, Kyoto is inundated with shrines, temples and other touristy attractions. Jess, the Boy Scout that he is, had researched Kyoto extensively in advance of his travels and pulled a fistful of papers from his bag that he'd highlighted in red ink. After a brief synopsis of his notes, we set out from the hotel on foot using the Lonely Planet map as our guide - the cartographer’s spotty accuracy would provide for a fun-filled day. As we slalomed ... read more

We woke up bright and early to the clatter of the alarm clock, dreading the 2½ hour train ride ahead of us to Kyoto. Jess waited in line for our reserved train car tickets while Gene scoured the station for an edible breakfast and I stood guard over our luggage. I watched as Gene pounced from one café to another like a pinball as Jess emerged from the ticket booth to inform me that the early train was full. Thus, we had a full hour to locate and consume a decent breakfast. However, with few options available at the Nagano train station, we settled on a café with the only menu depicting photos of Westernized fare. Jess, whining about a hangover and need for bread, ordered the bacon, eggs and toast platter, pointing out that it ... read more

LA CARTE POSTALE Le Japon: un pays magnifique! Les temples, les jardins, les arts… Tout est dans la finesse. Même chose concernant ses habitants. Les Japonais sont plein d’égard, de gentillesse et de politesse. Le respect des autres avant tout. Serait-ce la société idéale? Aux yeux de la touriste que je suis, oui… mais la perfection existe-t-elle vraiment? Notre avons partagé notre séjour entre Tokyo et Kyoto, avec un saut jusqu'à Nara et Osaka. Seule critique: c'était trop court… THE DISCUSSION All night Manga cafes, fish markets with huge frozen tuna carcasses, public baths with electrified waters, kilometres of Shinto worship gates... Japan seemed a world unto itself. Tokyo was all we might have expected and more. We arrived at Tokyo Narita airport (where Ice Cube and the late Eazy-E have an airline) and sat gazing ... read more

We have come to the end of our stay in Japan, time to bring you up to date. Kyoto has remained the same after all these years! Still full of so many interesting things to see. We have been staying in a traditional Japanese home that was once used as a sake distillary. Tatami, futon and shioji are all present and our host has made the beginning of our journey very comfortable. We have made good use of our time visiting temples, gardens, shrines and watching in amazement as the Japanese let loose during the Hanami festival which celebrates the beauty of the cherry blossoms that seem to be everywhere. We were fortunate to spend an entire day with Emmanuels former French student Haruto who took us to the Golden Temple and to a very ... read more

the day started off with breakfast in the room, an array of different things picked up from little convenience stores in the kyoto station. then we went to the kiyomizu shrine in kyoto, a nominee for one of the new 7 wonders of the world! (i wonder, does that mean there'll be 14??) apparently you can vote at: www.new7wonders.com. i have yet to check the site out. the shrine area is located at the top of a hill... we walked, it wasn't too bad. and paid $3 to get in... although i found out that theoretically you can get in for free if you walk up through the "exit" path located on the right side, past the toilets and all the way up a slope and sets of stairs. the buildings were pretty impressive architecturally. ... read more