Kyoto

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Kyoto - many, many temples, and I also had bad toothache 😞 we went to a local dentist and it was quite hysterical trying to explain what was wrong - but my great acting conveyed it only for them to smile, say sorry and tell me they had no appointments...

Anyways, temples! We went to one which was a hike up a massive hill (we had our backpacks and all our bits with us) and in the humidity it was bloody hard work, but was very worth it.

When we were having a breather before going into the temple, 3 Japanese university students came and asked us if they could be our guide - all they wanted in return was for us to talk to them in English and correct them on anything they said wrong.

So, off we went and lookEd at all various statues and gods, and one of the Japanese girls English was amazing so it was great (she is doing English literature)! At one point, we went down into a very very dark cave which is supposed to be the womb of the female god of fertility. When you got to the middle, a large stone was lit up and you touched it and prayed for fertility (which I did, but for in a few years, not now!).

We also prayed to the god of wealth and money (which seemed to work, as my sister got an email later saying she had won some money on her premium bonds!!!).

There was also the love stone which we prayed to too. Also, there were two rocks that you had to walk between with your eyes closed, and it was very popular with the teens and young women. We then found out why - if you could walk from one stone to the other with your eyes just, you would soon find the love of your life! No one is allowed to touch you or guide you or it doesn't count. I made it from one stone to the other! ...

When we were climbing back down, the girls quizzed us about fish and chips, and did we eat it and why on a Friday. They also asked about the fry up and how we cook it and were surprised at how much potatoe we eat and how little rice! We also told the mall about the roast dinner - they kept saying "wow, amazing!".

When we got to the bottom, we took photos each, and then I gave the Enlish lit student a book I had brought with me - she was so excited! And one of the girls gave me a bookmark she had made 😊

we stayed in a great hostel in Kyoto - it was basically someones home - very traditional - and it had a toilet in the shed in the garden! Like all the japanes hostels (not the hotels) you must take your shoed off at the front door.

Whilst in Kyoto, we also had ramen and gyoza. We were looking at places to eat and an old Japanese man came up to us and pointed out a great place to eat and said he thanked us for visiting his country 😊 he was cute!

After Kyoto, we headed back to Osaka. Kyoto was great for temples etc but we were looking forward to being back in Osaka.

Ps - toothache soon went, so I didn't have to try another dentist and end up with no teeth due to the language barrier!

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