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Published: December 30th 2007
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Bamboo Forest
It was beautiful and haunting. Any guidebook will tell you the two cities that must be visited in a Japan visit are Tokyo and
Kyoto. While Tokyo is the bustling metropolis where anything can happen, Kyoto is known as the "cultural center" of Japan. Kyoto has more than 2000 temples and shrines, 17 of which have been designated Unesco world heritage sites (13 Buddhist temples, 3 Shinto shrines, and 1 castle). The population of the city is 1.4 million and the city is not very big, so it's not surprising that if you walk for longer than ten minutes you will encounter a shrine or two in some unexpected places!
We arrived in Kyoto by five-hour bus from Nagano on a rainy night and were dropped off in a remote area. Luckily one of our fellow bus passengers was headed for Kyoto central station as well, so we worked together to find it. Due to the busy time of year, we could only find availability at hotels for one or two nights, so we moved around a few times while in Kyoto. We made it to our inn after a bit of traipsing around and were quickly asleep.
The next day we stashed our
packs and took a long walk through the
Arashiyama area of the city. It was quite scenic. We stopped at Okochi Sanso and really enjoyed a long walk through the bamboo forest. We walked back to the hotel via Ponto Cho which we both thought was a neat part of the city. It's a narrow pedestrian alley with wooden shops and restaurants that feels ancient and traditional. These are also the restaurants that
Geisha entertain in, but we weren't lucky enough to spot any going to their appointments.
That night we had booked at a mixed dormitory hostel called K's House. The hostel was great considering the price, and our only complaint was about a girl in our room! We're not sure if there's a hostel etiquette but if you're going to set your alarm in a room full of 8 people, you sure aren't going to press "snooze" five times before actually getting up!! Come on lady! Then when she did decide to wake up, she starts squawking at her boyfriend like he's across a noisy cafeteria! Then her alarm went off again! It became kind of funny ... these are the joys of sleeping in a hostel!!!
Okochi Sanso
We had some intense green tea. All frothy and strong! Christmas Eve rolled around and ironically we found ourselves shopping in a mall?!? Our students told us that Christmas Eve for them is all about getting a date, and sure enough nearly everyone we saw that day was coupled! The 24th in Japan is also a national holiday due to the Emperor's birthday, so needless to say the stores were busy. We had each snuck a few small things around in our packs since school ended without showing each other, and needed to go to the mall to pick up some giftwrap. Michelle had also secretly brought the 8-inch tall Christmas tree from her class party which made our hotel room rather festive!
Michelle surprised Travis by booking a nice hotel to stay at over Christmas. It was the Westin Miyako Kyoto and after 5 different inns and hostels since our cozy apartment in Tokyo it was very welcome! Travis was totally surprised and actually thought when we were walking up to the nice hotel that we were stopping to ask for directions! On the way to the hotel an old man stopped us (we had our big packs on) and said grandly "WELCOME TO KYOTO! NOW WHY
Arashiyama
This guy's giving the devil horns like at a kiss concert. DID I SAY THAT?". We were like "uh, to welcome us to Kyoto?"... He said it is very important to be nice to tourists because they are a big part of the economy. He became very excited when he found out we were from Canada since he used to be a University professor there. Travis spoke with him in Japanese and he said repeatedly "(to Travis) YOU MUST BE GENIUS!!! (to Michelle) YOUR HUSBAND MUST BE GENIUS!!!". Travis couldn't agree more, but Michelle is still on the fence about that one. Kind of a funny encounter.
Later that day we visited Yasaka Shrine and strolled through Southern Higashiyama. We finished the day with a show called Gion Corner which was interesting. Some ancient and traditional performances relating to Kyoto and Japan. For dinner we had some excellent Ramen.
(please refer to the previous post for the Christmas day information and pictures!) We also visited the Heian shrine on Christmas day, which had really beautiful gardens and was a nice place to walk around.
On the 26th we visited
Kinkakuji,
Ryoanji,
Ginkakuji, strolled the path of philosophy, and finally ended up at
Nanzeji (another place that Scarlett Johansson
Gion
This is where all the Geisha like to hang out - well not at this particular shack, but in the Gion district of Kyoto. visits in Lost in Translation).
The next day we walked around the Miyako gardens which were beautiful, and climbed the winding steps of the forest floor up to a spectacular view of the city. A woman we passed on the way said that the area has been unchanged since the tenth Century. Michelle said "that's amazing! That's how long Travis' socks have gone unchanged!". From there we booked a private
Japanese traditional tea ceremony and we're glad we did. We both enjoyed it. We both got a chance to try making it too! In the afternoon we really enjoyed the long hike through the many Toriis that line the path at
Fushimi-Inari Taisha Shrine. You might recognize this place if you've seen the movie Memoirs of a Geisha.
Our time in Kyoto had run out. Fun while it lasted but we could definitely have spent more time here! However we must keep on moving if we're going to see more of Western Honshu before we have to fly to Bangkok!
Up next is Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Hiroshima and Fukuoka.
Thanks for reading!
Love Michelle and Travis
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Michelle
non-member comment
ASTRO BOY? I'm dying! Your travels sound AWESOME. Have a great new year. Miss you guys. We need some Wendy's ice cream upon your return ;o) Mich