Kyoto

Here is the final Japan post.

The third city we visited was Kyoto, a city I've wanted to go to since I was like ten. So, dreams come true I guess.

We got in at about noon after our train ride from Nara and headed to our hostel to drop off our gear and game plan. From our hostel we walked over in the lovely sunny weather to Kiyomizu Temple.

The walk there was full of lovely old architecture.

And the temple itself was lovely!

Kiyomizu means "pure water" I guess, so we drank from this spring whose waters somehow grant your wishes. I'm not sure that mine has come true yet, though. Time will tell if its magical powers are real.

I think this is the only picture Josh and I managed to have taken of us the whole trip.

I like this.

And these.

I love markets!!!

And soybeans!

And dead fish!

It seems that Kyoto is about as into pickling things as Korea!

Look: sushi popsicles!

And so many other things I had no idea what were!

Philosopher's Path.
So much sake.

Pontocho Alley.

We stopped and ate at this soba restaurant on Pontocho Alley.

The soba was good and was kind of a process to eat, which I always enjoy.

Gion, the Geisha district, at night. This is like two seconds before I saw two real geisha (maiko really) but was too afraid to take a picture because I didn't want to be rude.

A teahouse in Gion. These are where geisha entertain.

Kinkaku-ji Temple: The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. This is one of Kyoto's most famous sights and I will admit that it was pretty cool. Rumor has it that's all real gold.

Close-up.
Ryōan-ji is another temple famous for its giant zen garden. This was my favorite thing we visited in Kyoto. It was beautiful and very relaxing.

The gardens on the other side of the temple were also beautiful. I think lush is the right word here.

Lotus blossoms are seriously so cool.

I'm not sure who this guy was, but I like his eyebrows.

The bamboo forest was also one of the highlights of the trip. Who knew bamboo got this big?

After the bamboo we walked into some temple/shrine whose name I don't remember and there were huge colorful paper chains of origami cranes!

It was beautiful there.

This was the only sushi I had the whole trip and it was from a roadside sushi vendor. I wanted conveyor belt sushi so bad, but I suppose that will have to wait until my next Japan trip. ㅠㅠ

Fushimi Inari Taisha: This was a really cool shrine we saw late in the afternoon on our final day.

The shrine is apparently dedicated to Inari, the Japanese fox goddess.

The coolest part of this shrine, though, was the thousands of torii gates lining the hiking path. It was super pretty and shaded from the sun....but also full of the most vicious mosquitoes I have ever encountered.

More of the wish tablet things, here in the shape of a fox for Inari. So cute.

On our final night in Kyoto, Josh and I met up with Marina, who was also spending her break travelling around Japan, and went to a very cute little dingy vegetarian restaurant next to Josh's and my hostel. All of the food was delicious and there were so many different things to try! Something about the atmosphere also reminded me of Minneapolis coffeeshops.

Nara

So, it's been a while since Japan and if you have facebook you've probably already seen all of these pictures, but I thought I would finish the post anyway.

These pictures are from a town called Nara that we went to on day two. People refer to it as a small town and it did kind of have that feeling, but wikipedia would indicate that it actually has a population of three hundred and some thousand. Wikipedia also indicates that it was formerly the capital of Japan and that is part of the reason there are so many beautiful temples and such there.

Nara is famous for its deer. They kind of just wander about pooping on temples from what I can tell. No fear. They will chase you down the block in a herd if they catch you holding a deer cookie. Many crying children running from hungry deer. Very entertaining.

Also: the parasol is totally back. I'm ready.

To escape the sun and the hungry deer we stopped and enjoyed some free iced green tea in the shade.

Pictures from all of the temples and shrines we visited.

Josh and I wandered around the old part town.

Then we stopped and ate ramen. Japanese ramen is a whole different beast from Maruchan.

Sated.

Our hostel was also a lovely old building surrounded by beautiful trees.

All and all a lovely little city.

Osaka

So, I went to Japan.

Here are pictures.

Day One: Osaka



I wish we had stayed at the neon-Christmas Love Motel.



Or in the rainbow awning Love Motel.



Or eaten ramen at the Dragon ramen store.



Or sampled the plastic crab.



But instead we walked. In the sun, which was a big improvement over perpetualraintownkorea. Things in Japan are brightly colored.



Vending Machine Town! What convenience.



I liked this giraffe.



After wandering around neontown for a while, we headed to Osaka Castle to experience the culture and such.

It had a moat!



Culture.



I really wanted to wear a real kimono, but tragically, this is the closest I got.



The water that makes you all zen healed. Or gives you parasites depending on your luck.



Shinto gates abounded!



Josh is only maybe as intimidating as this samurai.



I think these tablets and papers were for making wishes.



Some more culture.



Then it was back to neontown to try to find some dinner.



and admire the lights.



After like way too much deliberation we settled on okonomiyaki for dinz. It was a pancake with seafood and green onions covered in a barbequeish sauce and sprinkled with dried fish flakes. It wasn't nearly as bad as that description makes it sound.



Lanterns by the river!!!



And our very lovely, clean and not as expensive as everyone makes Japan sound hostel room.

Rainraingoaway.

The weather in Seoul has awful. Like horrible. Check the news.

I missed the really bad weather because I was in Japan, but here is a picture of the rain that I had to walk through while shopping by Ewha University.



And Jiyoung and I enjoying some goulash in the dark all wet and rainy.