18.-21.02.2018 KYOTO

We went to Kyoto by Shinkansen, which honestly didn’t actually feel different to any other fast train, it simply ran really smoothly. In Kyoto, we first dropped off our backpacks at the hostel, which is run by three very sweet women. Then we visited Nijo-jo Castle, it was only about five minutes away by foot and afterwards, we explored Nishiki Market – the offers were pretty interesting, however they consisted mainly of food.

We ate something near the market, ordering from a machine again – it was quite good, but nothing special. After dinner we visited Yasaka jinja Shrine, which is seriously beautifully illuminated at night. I couldn’t get enough of the sight, sadly the pictures I took with my phone don’t compare to what we actually saw.

Back at the hostel, we were shown that both the toilet and the showers were located across the mini-courtyard and not heated specifically, which was really weird at first. However, it was only really cold when getting into the shower, since afterwards your body is so heated that the cold doesn’t bother you anymore.

The next morning, we had coffee at Kyoto station and then went to Fushimi Inari Temple, probably the most famous attraction in Kyoto. We went up the hill through thousands of Torii (gates), I was extremely surprise by their number – if I recall correctly, there are about 10’000 Torii lining the pathways. Those gates are normally found at the entrance of a shrine and mark the transition from the mundane to the sacred. At Fushimi Inari, each Torii bears their donor’s name, together they create a fascinating picture. Besides the path, there were many small shrines and a big graveyard.

This afternoon, we had the chance to participate in a (simplified) traditional Japanese tea ceremony, hosted by a sweet old bilingual lady. She first showed us how a cup of tea is made in that setting and afterwards, we tried it ourselves. She explained every step very carefully and detailled, as well as the principles and symbols used. She told us, that in a traditional tea room, the door goes only halfway up, so that everyone entering has to make a bow – this is to symbolise equality between all the participants and to show respect for the tea.

After the tea ceremony, we explored Gion, the district we were in. It is made up of lots and lots of small wooden houses, in the part we saw were also many little special shops, with Kiyomizu temple in the middle. There we saw a lot of people walking around in Kimonos. We then took the subway to get to Byodo-in Temple in the south of Kyoto. We only got there 30 minutes before closing time, but it was well worth it.

Near Kyoto station, we had dinner at a Teppanyaki restaurant where you got served after ordering from a tablet located on the table, which consisted out of 50% normal wooden table and 50% iron plate in the middle. The food then was placed on the hot plate and you had to be really careful not to scorch anything or burn your mouth.

The morning of February 20th, we went to see Togetsu Bridge, which was only semi-interesting. Next to it, however, was the Monkey Park Iwatayama with sooo many cute and/or hyperactive Japanese Monkeys. The area we were in is called Arashiyama and has a beautiful garden and a great Bamboo Forest. I had a delicious tofu-stick and bamboo nuggets (?) from a street vendor as lunch and then we visited the garden of Tenryu-ji Zen Temple. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to a pulled Rickshaw tour. The runner was very friendly and explained a bit about every place of interest we came across, honestly I don’t know how he still had the breath for that.

Near the hostel again, we went to the Imperial Palace Garden, which sadly wasn’t much more than a well kept forest with enormous gravel paths in between, fitted for huge parades. One is not allowed to walk into the buildings in the park, they are all well guarded.

In the evening, we had our worst dining experience yet. It was a little bit more expensice restaurant and it begann with us being seated at the “bar”, made for single diners (all other – Japanese, of course – couples were seated at proper tables in the back). The staff was not unfriendly, however a bit reserved. That all wouldn’t have been a problem, but the food simply was not good. All in all, I would certainly not go there again.

BGC 18