Blogs from Kyoto, Japan, Asia - page 85

We've seen it all in Kyoto - a thousand temples - taken Tea with the Geisha, been attacked by deer... ... read more

Written Monday Night ---------------------------------- I figure it's time to do the stereotypical post on differences between Japan and the U.S. So! Toilets - Yes, the toilets here really are as ridiculous as you've heard. There's a touch screen on the arm of the one my family has, along with two dials, a multifunctional bidirectional flush lever and 4 status LEDs. There's a sink on top of it, too, but I have yet to figure out how to enable that. Staring - Not that bad, to be honest. No one really stares at me, even though I'm a bit of an oddity. On the weekend, I went for a couple of days without seeing another foreigner, but that's mostly because I was hanging out in the suburbial neighborhoods. In the touristy areas, it can get up to ... read more

Well most folks who were in our group have headed back home now. I had left a gap in my travel plans to see what I felt like doing after the trip, and I am glad I did. I have come down with quite a cold and am quite content to stay here in Kyoto for 5 days before moving on. Gives me a chance to slow the pace a bit and rest up. My ryokan is very friendly and helpful. The room is a traditional room with futon and tatami mats, but is very very small and the ryokan has shared facilities (fine in a place this small). I have visited the Kiyumizudera Temple here in town and wandered the streets. The temple is quite nice since when you enter the grounds you feel like ... read more

I've actually had a pretty enjoyable day. So far, a lot of the trip has been uncomfortable to some degree, and I was getting nervous about how long this would last. Six months seems like an interminably long time. But a lot of the weirdness was from the regression of living here. One of the things I hated the most about being a little kid is that you have no control over your life, and lots of other people decide what you should be doing; the first few days here are the same way. I recognize this is necessary - to establish rules, show us around, and efficiently lay the groundwork for a large number of people. But today was the first day I really had fun. I took Nana-chan (white curly-haired doggy) for a walk ... read more

Waaaay too many pictures taken the past few days. Three castles and a trip to Inari to ramble around the sacred mountain there. Lucky enough to snag some standing room only tickets to see the Dance of the Cherry Blossoms performed by Maiko (geishas in training) and then spent the rest of an afternoon walking along the Philosophers Path with all its greenery. The last night of the tour we headed for drinks at the Westin and then off to dinner followed by karaoke. Now here in Japan, karaoke is done in private - as in, you rent a room to accomodate your crew by the hour. They charge per person but drinks are unlimited....and it seems the whole objective is to make goood use of that unlimited bit within your purchased time. Note to self: ... read more