Its been a while since I've posted anything new and I won't be surprised if anyone thought I'd given up the idea of documenting my travels. Here's my long overdue entry...
We went to Kyoto for a week, from 26th April to 2nd June. Instead of the play by play (or day by day) account of what we did, I have decided to do the whole trip in one (hopefully not too big) post, so here goes...
We arrived in Kyoto City by coach from the airport and could not check-in so we went looking for Mei Lan's SOKA association HQ and also our first meal together in Japan. We found the association's building without much problem and were warmly welcomed and given a tour by one of the helpers there. Then it was chow time. Ordering food, as we discovered throughout the trip was an interesting experience. After a good meal and much needed rest we headed out in the evening to 'explore' the town... and more food! Took the bus.. that took some effort but we were to learn later that their public transport system is really excellent.. efficient and most importantly.. punctual. There wasn't really anything on our agenda so we meandered around the little streets looking at what was on offer... we did chance upon a small temple in the middle of the shopping street where I took a few photographs. As we were planning an early start the following day, we headed back to the hotel after dinner.
Over the next 4 days we went to the 4 corners of the city visiting all the various landmarks, namely the Golden and Silver Pavilions, the various gardens, shrines and temples including Kiyomizu-dera, a temple that was recently featured in our local newspapers. There were also a few accidental excursions, most notably on the last day in the city... We initially thought of visiting just the Fushimi Inari Shrine to the south-east, which is famous for the long rows of red "Torii". After we finished we thought it would be a waste to just chill for the rest of the day so we took out the map and elected to visit the Arashiyama district... for no other apparent reason than it looked interesting on the map! It turned out to be a very rewarding trip as we spent the whole afternoon chilling in a very scenic location and eventually decided to stay and catch the sunset and have dinner as well.
Which brings me to the food. We loved it and the experience acquiring it. Its not like we're new to the cuisine but the process of getting it was really very exciting. Two of the most enjoyable dinners we had were chance finds.. just walking into a quaint little restaurant, smiling and ultimately allowing the chef and his assistant to prepare the dishes. Many of the dishes served we had never seen before but watching the whole process of how it was prepared as just added to the enjoyment of consumption. One of the night's after dinner we were at the Gion district and ended up chasing a Geisha to have pictures taken with her.
On the second last morning we set off for the Kurama district, about an hour north of the city by train to experience staying at a Japanese bath house. THAT was a very interesting adventure, especially since there are quite a number of 'rules' to follow so you don't offend the locals. Ultimately, it was a very enjoyable stay and I would like go stay at one of these Ryokans again..
Alas... like all our holidays, this one seemed to end too soon, but I'm sure that it won't be the last time we visit Japan...
The photos, from bottom-up are:
1. Mei Lan outside the SOKA building,
2. Posing in front of the Silver Pavilion,
3. Kiyomizu-Dera,
4. The Golden Pavilion
5. Dusk as seen from the Arashiyama District
Stay tuned...
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