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Hey everyone,
Sorry for the delay in travelblogs, but this is gonna be a long one...our 3-day trip to Kyoto, which is the former capital of Japan.
Since Kyoto is quite a ways from Tokyo, we took the "Shinkansen" (or "Bullet Train") to get there. The Shinkansen has this nickname because of its very fast speed - about 200 km/hr!! By Shinkansen, the trip is only about 2 and a half hours, but VERY expensive. It ended up costing us over 50,000 JPY (or over $500.00) for both of us to get roundtrip tickets.
Once we arrived in Kyoto, we decided to find our ryokan first and check-in all of our luggage. A "ryokan" is a Japanese-style hotel with absolutely nothing western about it...no beds (or any furniture for that matter), tatami mats on the floor, a 13-inch tv, a rotary-dial telephone, basically no modern luxuries whatsoever....and Melanie's worst nightmare!! Later, we were even served a traditional Japanese-style dinner in our room. We would like to tell you what we had, but we honestly had NO clue what we were eating! Overall, we must say that the experience was amazing and we were really glad we had the
opportunity to stay in a ryokan, but I don't think we'll be staying in one again anytime too soon!
After checking into our ryokan, we ventured out in search of the Kiyomizu-Dera Temple. This temple is the tallest wooden structure in Japan and a spectacular sight to see (esp. with all the beautiful cherry blossoms in bloom)! There is also a lot to do here. One thing we did was write our wishes down on a wooden "votive stick," and then drop it in a box in the temple in hopes that they will someday come true. We also rubbed a Buddha figurine for good-luck, wafted incense, and even had a quick bite to eat in a cute little cafe overlooking the beautiful scenery. Larry's favorite part of this temple was the giant wrought-iron pole (maybe a spear of some sort?), that everyone was trying to lift up. Well, of course it was not an easy thing to go and Larry could not even do it the first time. But, after a crowd had gathered, Larry decided it was time to show them the "gun show"....and he lifted it up!! Everyone around was stunned by the American giant's strength,
and they all exclaimed "segoi!!" ...meaning "cool" or "great" in Japanese.
Next, we visited the Shinto Love Shrine, which was right next to Kiyomizu-Dera. Here, we took pictures with the "Okuninushino-Mikoto" statue...a Japanese god who is in charge of love and good matches. The rabbit beside him is a messenger of the god. Here we bought some cool momentos, including some Japanese charms that bring good luck to marriage. We also got to see the famous "love fortune-telling stones" at this shrine. Japanese tradition claims that if you can walk safely between the two stones with your eyes closed, your wishes in love will be granted. However, if you attempt and cannot complete the mission, it will be long before your love is realized. We are happy to report that we were both able to walk between the stones safely with eachother's help (which is allowed and encouraged by the stone's tradition, as it claims to "have someone who'll help you achieve your love").
After visiting the Shinto Love Shrine, we spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the cobblestone streets of this area. We were careful not to slip or fall on these stone-paved roads since
a local lore claims that a slip here will bring 2 or 3 years of bad luck! After a brief walk, we came across a great sight, called the Ryozen Kannon...an 80 foot high concrete figure that was built in dedication to the Japanese soldiers who died in World War II. We then took a stroll through Maruyama Park, which is known as Kyoto's most famous cherry-blossom viewing site, and even saw some real maiko (geisha in training) there!
Next, we went back to our ryokan and had dinner (which we already mentioned), and then got ready to hit up the Gion nightlife....which turned out to be a little different from what we had both expected. After an hour or so, we began to see that it was nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find a bar, lounge, or anywhere in this area that served liquor, that did not require a "member's card" to get in! In fact, at the door of most places we were even greeted by girls in skimpy outfits, who seemed a little surprised to see an actual couple trying to come into their establishment. Finally, with a little luck, we found a cute and quaint little bar
not too far from our ryokan, and stayed for a few drinks. Here, we chatted with the Japanese patrons and bartender, who gave us some of the bar's coasters before we left as "engagement presents". All in all, we had a great day, and headed to our ryokan for a little shut-eye before our next big adventure!
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The next day, we got an early start...thanks to a phone call on our 1950s room phone from the front desk. When we answered, we only got "Breakfast....floor 2...come now!" before they hung up. So...surprised to have received a personal phone call about eating what we thought was an optional, continental-like breakfast...we quickly got dressed and headed down. But this was no eggs and toast breakfast, and again, we couldn't even tell you what we were eating...
After we checked out we headed to another side of town to the famous pavilion of Kinkaku-ji or the 'Golden Pavilion'. The three-story structure is totally covered in gold leaves and topped with a bronzed phoenix. It was definitely one of the most beautiful sights we saw in Kyoto. After a stroll through the grounds, we headed to our next temple stop, Ryoan-ji
Temple. Founded in 1450, Ryoan-ji's claim to fame is grounded in its rock garden, which is made up of white gravel and 15 stones. Some consider this garden to be the ultimate expresson of Zen Buddhism, but we also enjoyed the rock gardens of Ninna-ji Temple...which was our next stop. Although the rock garden was nice, we both enjoyed the gardens of the lower pond. They were very peaceful! At Ninna-ji Temple, with its colossal front gate, the "Nio guardians" serve as a reminder that this used to be a huge complex with over 60 sub-temples. Because Melanie was getting "templed-out" we were not able to see the entire grounds, but we did enjoy what we saw.
That's all for now, folks! Get ready for our next travelblog..."Kyoto - Part II"
Love,
Larry and Melanie
JAPANESE FOR THE DAY: "Otera wa doko desu ka?" - ("Where is the temple?")
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