Kyoto

Following a relatively short trip on the Shinkansen, we arrived in Kyoto and checked into K's house hostel. This was to be our home for the next 5 nights and our first dorm room. The hostel turned out to be great, very modern and comfortable. Tired from moving around, we headed out to a convenience store for some food and Debs settled in for an early night. I had planned an early one myself, but thanks to Paul from Norwich (what are the chances?), Hinson (Dave), an Irish Bar and a well found 200yen bar (a 'Good work fella' goes to Paul) those plans were well and truly scuppered!

Anyway enough said about that. On our first full day in Kyoto we headed to the train station to catch a bus to the 'Golden Pavilion' Kinkakuji Temple (very beautiful, real gold coated building) and then headed across the city to the 'Silver Pavilion' Ginkakuji Temple (home of Debs' favourite Zen garden).

As the bus had taken ages we headed back to the hostel for a rest. Then followed another epic night out in a British pub (playing darts and eating Fish & Chips!). This time with Debs, Paul & Dave. Sorry to the people we were sharing a dorm with, but I don't think we made too much noise (apart from Ozzie at the end, they were all pretty miserable anyway!)

Attempting to make an earlier start, we headed to the train station to catch a train to Uji (home of Byodoin Temple, as featured on the back of a 10 yen coin). The temple was stunning with a very good accompanying museum. Having had a good look around, we stopped at a nearby shop so that I could try a 'green tea ice cream'. All I can say is, that it was certainly very green and that given time it would possibly grow on you, but I can't see a big market in the UK.

From here, we took the train to Fushimi Inari shrine (a quite remarkable place, where people have erected 1000's of Tori gates to make tunnels, that weave and climb up a hill). This was certainly one of the more different places we have visited on our travels and we had a good afternoon climbing up the hill between the gates.

That evening, we had arranged to meet Amika (Debs former English student from Oxford) and Miwa (Japanese girl we met travelling in Vietnam last year), who was accompanied by her boyfriend Gaku. We had a great evening catching up with them all and hope to see them again someday.

The next day we headed to Kiyomizu-dera temple and got our first look at some Geishas. The Kimonos that they were wearing were really quite beautiful, although the shoes look somewhat treacherous especially when encountering steps (see the photos). The people of Kyoto are trying to get Kiyomizu-dera temple voted for as one of the 'new wonders of the world'. It is certainly very impressive, but it may well fall a little short of that particular title! Having drank from the holy waters, we headed off to Kenninji temple to hopefully see more Geishas. There were no Geishas, but we did get to see what turned out to be one of my favourite temples. A peaceful collection of buildings, Zen gardens and a fantastic Dragon painted ceiling (picture of a dragon, not painted by a dragon!). Suffering at the hands of Kyoto's lack of a subway that actually goes anywhere and the traffic affecting the bus, we failed to get anywhere else. Instead we went to the supermarket for supplies and headed back to the hostel to cook tea and have a restful evening (this time it actually happened!).

Our final day was spent going to Ryoan-ji. This houses Japan's most famous Zen garden, consisting of 15 rocks of varying sizes set in 5 groups in such a way, that wherever you stand one rock is always concealed. Very mysterious. People come from all over to try and make sense of its meaning. Leaving here none the wiser, but quite relaxed we headed to To-ji (Japan's tallest Pagoda) to have a look at the monthly flea market. Here you can buy anything from cherry blossom trees, cheap chinese tat, religious objects, antique Kimonos and beautiful paintings. It was certainly all quite a mix, I even ended up buying some Japanese chopping knives off a very persuasive stall holder.

Escaping the crowds we boarded a bus to Gion (Kyoto's entertainment district, traditionally associated with tea houses and Geisha), where we had a brief look around Yasaka-jinja shrine, a quick coffee in Starbucks and then went to Hanamikoji-dori to try and spot some more Geisha. Hanamikoji-dori is supposedly the best place to see Geisha as they head to their appointments in the nearby tea houses. We were lucky enough to see 2, which is apparently pretty good nowadays.

Having arranged to meet Amika again, we headed back to the train station leaving the Geishas to their business. We had another very pleasant evening in a nearby Izakaya, before heading back to our hostel for our last night in Kyoto. Maybe we will see you again in England next time Amika?

Just a quick afterthought as I haven't mentioned Kyoto train station. It is a very peculiar somewhat controversial structure, full of walkways and strange angled walls. Standing on an escalator watching dozens more ascending towards the roof ahead of you, is a very strange experience. I absolutely loved it, but it may not be to everyones taste. Either way, it is certainly a talking point.

Next Hiroshima & Kokura