Not what I thought Id be doing...

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So today didnt work out like I thought it would. I wanted to go to Himeji Castle, but that didnt work. I took the bus like the paper said, but then I got somewhere... and im not sure if that was the right station.. but i dont think ti was... cause.... there were no trains!! Subway and Bus only. So I had NO idea where I was. Took some bus that some officer toldme take, but he didnt speak good English, and I couldnt talk well in Japanese. So I think he just told me to get on some random bus. I was going to just take the bus back to Gion, but I listened to him, and it ended up dropping me off somewhere that I had to walk 30min. back to my room. Not a big deal, but a lot of time wasted. At this point, with the 1.5hr train ride, I thought Ill put the castle off til tomorrow and go to plan B.

Plan B. Go to the Imperial Palace. So my map thingy says to take bus 202. I do. Then I realize, almost 45min. later, that Im going in the OPPOSITE direction. I think I had to stop at some RANDOM place, that I didnt know, I thought they would just say "Get off here for the Imperial Palace" like they do for all the other major sight seeing palces. Nope! So Im somewhere random, again. Then the guy tells us to get off the bus and transfer to another one. That other one, had a different number. So I didnt know its stops or anything (things on the buses are in Japanese so its hard to plan this out). But I realized I had something in my bag that told me where the stops were, thankfully, and found one close by my stop.

Plan C. It was getting too late even for the Imperial Palace. Plan C, check out Sanjusangendo Temple, then hang out in Gion. Nice. That one worked out like a charm!! Sanjusangendo Temple was soo lovely. And I bought a book that had all the statues in it with discription. Becaue I cant take pictures it was nice that I had something I could take with me. Wow, there was this one HUGE buddha in the middle of this long hall (I think this was once longest building in Japan, but due to fires and other things its no longer true). Beside him were, and I could be wrong, but 1000 Buddha statues. All the same, just 1000 of them! And in the very front were 8 special statues that have had important roles in Buddhism:s history, most of the time going back to India.

Gion was lovely too. This is the palce where you might see Geisha walking down to their next guest house, or tea house, or job, or wahtever you call it. But I wasnt so lucky. I did walk the streets and go into Kennini Temple. It was awesome, there were so many Zen Gardens and they didnt mind you brining in your camera and taking pictures. SO I got some great shots.

I think the Imperial Palace is opened only tomorrow and then closed til the new year. So my hopes, and well see how this goes tomorrow, is to go there. Then maybe walk down towards Nijojo Castle (which maybe closed, but I just want to check it out from the outside). Go to the International Manga museum, and maybe check out a Noh performace. Also, the guy at the front counter of my hostel told me of a Fugu place to eat around the area, so I might check that out too. Wish me luck!

And again, I hope everyone had a merry Christmas! Cant wait to hear about everyones Hollidays when I get back!!

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Photos

Sanjusangendo
Long hall with 1.001 Buddha's on the inside... amazing

Gion
One of the old streets of Gion, Kyoto. One of my favorite places to hang out!

Zen garden
Inside a shrine at the end of one of the old streets in Gion, Kyoto.

Comments

[Peter]

Merry Christmas
Hello Star :-) Tasker forwarded info on your blog to the group. I wanted to check in and say hi and also say how jealous I am of your trip. I have read some of your entries and will also look forward to catching up with you when you return to learn more about your time in Nippon. Sounds like an awesome experience so far. Hope you are staying out of trouble or, at least, if you are getting into trouble that it is of the good time sort. Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance! Stay safe. Peter