bamboo grove

Going Old School in Kyoto

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January 19th 2009
The bullet train shoots us over 500kms from Tokyo to Kyoto in little over 2 hours. We're staying a short train ride out of the centre, in the north west of the city at Guesthouse Bola Bola where we arrive at about 10pm. We have felt shady all day, nursing our hangovers, but the warm glow coming through the paper screens lifts the gloom. It's a 'Ryokan" hotel...a traditional wooden Japanese house c ... read more

Asia » Japan » Kyoto

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In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more