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Tramming
Look.....a traaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam! NOTE: If you don’t have time to read, just click on the first picture to open them all up in one window Kyoto is fast becoming my favourite place to visit
My last visit gave me an opportunity to see some traditional sights and areas, and I went to goggle at gold (Kinkakuji), see the big bronze buddha in the big wooden building past the big wooden sculptures (the Daibutsu in Todaiji) to search for enlightenment (ie. crawl through a hole in a wooden post)…and then went on a solo quest to Fushimi Inari shrine (see Golden Week 2, recently updated).
This visit allowed me to see the newer side of Kyoto, with it’s many shopping districts, pubs, clubs and constant parade of fashion through the city centre. The juxtaposition of such new and old elements in one city kind of gave me a glimpse into the Japanese psyche. Here they strive for new achievements in science, technology, and many other fields, already thinking about improving on the bullet train (330kph…..they want to try for 500!) yet they are reluctant to let go of their past and their traditions and cultural heritage. In a lot of countries today,
Pretty Pink Tram
Markus with tram there are designated areas where you can touch base with that countries’ history and the peoples’ heritage…..but here it’s a matter of deciding how many places you can see in a day!
I find it’s the same with people, and it’s easier to see in a large city like Kyoto. I saw many simply dressed people, quite conservative in their outfits, and then suddenly I would catch a glimpse of a piercing here, a hairdo that defies gravity, some boho clothing and even a tattoo! Moving from the city to the riverside in the evening, we got to see a lot of bohemian style people performing with drums and fireplay…..more on that later.
I am so happy with my placement, because I live in quite a relaxed area, not too busy, a bit country, but I am near enough to a larger city to not go insane from solitude and to be able to have little adventures with some other fabulous people in the 'cultural heart of japan' …yay for free floor space!
I originally went to Kyoto for a work meeting....but as that was on a Friday afternoon, with a lovely weekend stretching
Sake shelf
Sake now comes packaged for small children! Like juice boxes with straws! out after it, I thought i would take advantage of the situation. Markus (another english teacher) put me up for 2 nights, and we traipsed all around Kyoto, met up with other teachers, met a few randoms, went to strange cool clubs, went shopping, went for sushi, and in general had an awesome time!
Friday night started off low key...we just went out to A-bar (a gaijin hangout) with a couple of people, but after that decided to go to Metro to watch a drag show. After walking some hours (yes an exaggeration but it seemed like a long time) we arrived, paid our 2000 yen entry fee ($22! AUD). We danced the night away and it felt sooooo good to just shake it and let loose. I got to bite a drag queen’s banana! :D (probably not what you’re thinking unless it’s along the lines of the drag queen walking around offering people a bite of an actual banana - the yellow skinned peelable fruit…not leaving room for any misunderstandings here…)
In Japan there is a 'last train'..... they used to run all night but the wives complained about their husbands never coming home - they
were out schmoozing to get a promotion - so now trains finish as early as 11.30. If you don't want to pay a $20 cab fee - and lets face it, who does? then you have to either be like cinderella (get home by 12, don't lose a shoe!) or party on until the first train runs at around 5.30. We piked it at 4am and split a cab fare, but I was awake at 10am with Markus calling me evil for waking him before noon (I woke him early again on Sunday because I left before 10am to come home and he called me the Deevil -which is the Devil but REALLY evil - he explained it while still asleep and has no recollection of the conversation ever happening ^_^).
Leaving the apartment at 2pm on Saturday, we went into the main shopping area- Kawaramachi - and wandered around until we found a little sushi place to have lunch. It's the conveyor belt type, and runs all the way around the room, and you can even order things fresh and they arrive on a separate conveyor belt designed like a train line. You food arrives on a
Claire's!
You didn't tell us you'd started a business over here! shinkansen (bullet train) above the main conveyor belt - brilliant! Ordering this is as easy as - and in fact is ordered by - pressing a button! There are touch screens in front of you, it's amazing!
Shopping included a lot of walking, the most giant ice cream you have ever seen (only 10 000 yen! or $110 AUD), hat fashion, crane machine game addiction, more walking, circular and pointless cab ride, stair climbing and phone calls to find out where things were. It is seriously confusing as most places don't have street names, and unless it's a massive department store (of which there are plenty) or McDonalds (of which there are plenty), directions are usually like 'it's next to the place near that pharmacy (of which there are plenty) with all the things in front of it(of which there are plenty), down the road with the grey signs (of which there are plenty) and that pachinko place (of which there are plenty)......and with names like katabiranotsuji... even the train stations are difficult to distinguish... most of them seem to begin with K... not to mention Kyoto has a train system, the subway and the tram lines.
***brief break from writing, I have to go to get some furniture ***
***ok the brief break was about 6 hours long...oops***
After shopping - and walking around the city 5 times (that’s how it felt) we met up with some other teacher friends at a pub called The Hub (getting lost along the way - hence the pointless cab ride), watched our friend ‘dominate’ at darts - and then tell everyone in shouting distance about it, gaijin smash style, and then met up with some more people down by the riverside. Apparently it’s quite usual to see a group of people there doing something, whether it be music, dance or just hanging out. That night I was lucky enough to see some musicians and fire artists. I even got to have a go of the fire stick, but I am woefully out of practice! We also met some Japanese people who spoke great English as they had lived in the states. Many free spirits, nice to see here. I love meeting randoms… it’s the people who meet who make your life interesting, not necessarily your location.
I left around 9.30 Sunday morning
and came home, went out to get some furniture, etc etc and my next blog will update you on that!
Please enjoy the pictures!
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Brendan
non-member comment
Directions
The job of postman in Japan used to be hereditary, because the task of finding addresses in Japan has always been so difficult. That's why Japan was the first country to have GPS on mobile phones. In other countries, it's a gimmick. In Japan it's really, really useful.