Kyoto


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June 17th 2015
Published: June 30th 2015
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Though Kyoto is considered to be a must-visit city in Japan, it was the least favorite of my stops. I've heard that once you get into the surrounding hills/mountains, it's wonderful, but weather and time made it difficult. I did enjoy walking around the city and the Philosopher's Path was fine, but if I ever return I'll only spend time in the surrounding areas.

The city itself is a wonderful place to pick up gifts and I enjoyed browsing the shops and tasting some interesting food. The temples are beautiful and interesting and important, but choosing one or two for a quick look is more than enough. It's sightseeing -- not my kind of travel -- and it reminded me of some of the fake towns in China that are built to entertain in a way that isn't as contrived as Disneyworld, but more like a simulation of reality. Since my first taste of this kind of guilty boredom in Florence 16 years ago, I've become more comfortable with my under-appreciation of what is undoubtably brilliant architecture and profound spiritual meaning and symbolism found in such places that would probably be be unforgettable if not inundated by tens of thousands of tourists and very few locals.

We visited a sento (public bath house) about a half km from K's Hostel. Just before going I googled it and found an article about how it was the one place in Hiroshima for the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) to visit (since they allow those with tattoos to enter). We went anyway, and apparently the place has been cleaned up and reopened under new management. They were polite and helpful and I was nearly alone in the baths. They had a couple of hot baths, a very cold one, a green chemical bath (who knows what is was), and even an electrical bath. I only went in for a few seconds, and strangely the two men who were in the room turned and looked at me (otherwise no one makes eye contact). When I started twitching and ran out, they just laughed. Apparently older people can handle it better.


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