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Published: September 12th 2011
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As we come toward the end of the tour of Japan, I felt a great deal of sadness. Knowing in two night’s time I will be flying back to North America. But yet I felt blessed as well, having a chance to meet new friends, visit new places and learned about Japan. Jetlag no longer plagues me in the morning, just the rude awakening of the morning wake up call. I headed downstairs to join our tour mates for breakfast, with the somber look on everyone’s face I know that we’re thinking the same thing. Small talks are drowned out by the clattering of silverware, over indulgent groans are replace by heartfelt sighs. Two more nights and we are back to being strangers.
After we left the hotel we headed to the eastern mountainous region of Kyoto to ride the Sagano Romantic Train, an old railway overlooking the rushing rivers of the Hozagawa Valley. Sitting on the wooden bench on the steam engine train, I felt the world go black and white; the static sound of the speakers came to live as the train conductor start to serenade us. I can see why it’s called the Romantic Train, as I
watched the scenery slowly past us by, I noticed couples, young and old sitting side by side with arm around their loved ones enjoying the ambience of the train ride. Upon arriving into Arashiyama, we come toward a bamboo forest. I’d jokingly told my roommate this is the location where they filmed Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Strolling through the bamboo path took about 40 minutes, as we get toward to the end of the path we came across a shrine. Our guide explained that many couples, tourist and locals, who wants kids will come to this shrine to pray for blessing. As we exit the Bamboo forest we came upon an old village, the building structure dates back to several hundred years. Time seem to have stood still as I watch small fishing raft flows gently down river, larger fishing boat tugged in their daily harvest.
One of the highlights of this tour is visiting the Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion Temple, one of the most photographed temples in Japan. The gold plated Zen temple was created back in the late 14th century as a palatial retreat for the powerful statesman. It was converted into a temple upon the death
of the owner, Shogun Yoshimitsu. Kinkaku-ji is surrounds by a pond and can clearly see the temple’s reflection on face of the water. The temple itself is closed to tourist but we were able to view the exterior while strolling along the pathway.
Later on in the day we visited the Nishinjin Textile Centre for the Kimono fashion show. Ladies in various age dressed up in the latest Kimono patterns parades down the cat walk. Some was elegant, some was modern, and some was complete eyesore. We couldn’t pass up the chance of owning our own kimono. Loaded with Credit card in hand we marched up stairs to the Kimono store, the girls and I each bought our self a light kimono. I made a mistake for picking a green and purple color kimono; I looked like a Japanese eggplant.
After a 30 minutes bus ride we arrived into our hotel for the night, a hotel spring resort on the coast of Lake Biwa or Biwa-ko. The lake is named Biwa due to its resemblance in shape of a Japanese Biwa, a Japanese lute. The lake itself is of tectonic origin dating makes to over 4 million years
ago. It is also the main source of drinking water for the Kyoto and surrounding resident. Fresh water fish and fresh water pearl are farmed on the lake; it’s also a favorite weekend getaway for the surrounding prefecture. We stayed at the Biwako hotel, but instead of traditional Japan style room like the previous hot spring hotel we stayed at in Atami, we were given western style room. I spend most of the afternoon at the hot spring. Relaxing my muscle and working up my appetite for the evening meal, Kyoto Style Kaiseki Dinner. We all dressed in our yukata and headed to our private dining room. Kyoto cuisine are light in flavor, the usage of oil are barely visible. Seasonal vegetable and grilled fresh water fish are the main showcase of the meal. After the scrumptious meals we headed to the nearby mall to walk off our huge dinner.
Leaving the mall with bags fill with gifts, I do a quick mental checklist, making sure I didn’t leave any out. One more night left; soon I will be doing the count down by the hours instead of by days.
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