I bought my first guidebook about Japan years ago when there was a slight possibility that I might be making a trip with a friend. As I sat in Alton's tires passing the hours as I waited for my oil change and snow tires to be removed, long before I ever could have conceived that I would be living in Asia, I read about Kyoto. It was too far away for a quick trip when I visited Okayama and I didn't think Daniel could survive all of the temples and history when we visited Tokyo for Spring break two years ago, so Kyoto had remained elusive…until now. I finally found a willing travel companion in my friend Leslie and we made plans as soon as we learned of our long weekend for Buddha's birthday and Children's Day. In my mind, a four day weekend would be long enough to explore the historical capital of Japan. Thus began the upending of my expectations about this mystical city.
We flew into Osaka on Friday night and stayed at a wonderful airport hotel. If you ever have to stop-over at Kansai International Airport, I would highly recommend the Hotel Nikko. It was clean, beautiful, and had free Wi-fi. What more can today's international traveler ask for?! Plus, it was located AT the airport, which made our late night arrival a breeze! We got up on Saturday morning, found the Starbucks in the airport, and had a nice breakfast while picking up our city mugs (of course)! The train ride into Kyoto wasn't the express ride I'd planned. It takes the better part of an hour and a half on the rapid express train to get into Kyoto, but the scenery is interesting and the trains are modern and very comfortable. Sometimes I really just enjoy having the downtime to sit back and watch the world pass by--it's such a rarity to have time to do absolutely nothing at all these days. When we arrived in Kyoto, we were faced with the task of navigating the not-so-user-friendly network of subways and JR railways. I relied on my tried and true METRO app and had some measure of success but my trip to Tokyo taught me that the rail system in Japan is not the user friendly underground of Korea, Paris, or London. We did manage to make it to the subway station nearest our hotel, but it was quite an ordeal to actually get out of the station and into the light of day. Our hotel, the Sasarindou, was wonderful, but quite rightly called a hidden gem. Had we not hailed a taxi and relied on our skillful driver to get us to the destination, we NEVER would have found this place. It is well hidden in the Gion district but another great place to stay!
After quite a trek, we weren't really sure what to do with the rest of our first day. An initial look around revealed that Kyoto was not the quiet historical city of the past, it was a booming, modern city of today and it was going to take quite a lot of effort to get around and get to know it. After some discussion and time spent leafing through the loads of travel information we made a decision, the first day would be the day of the Geisha. We were able to locate a theater that specialized in geisha performances during the month of May. A quick call from the hotel and some help with directions and we were on our way. We arrived just in time to score the last of the best tickets and to take part in a tea ceremony demonstration put on by a very serious and distinguished looking geisha. Before we entered the Pontocho Theater, there were three incredibly beautiful young women, one or two geishas and a maiko, waiting to meet gentlemen clients before the show. I was fortunate enough to take some paparazzi-like photos from the crowd before the ladies disappeared into the theater. The young women were dressed in stunning kimonos and carried themselves in a dignified manner, with perfect posture and poise. One can't help but be intrigued by the lifestyle of the young women who choose the life of a geisha. The performance consisted of several acts of skillful singing, acting, and dancing--these women aren't just pretty faces. Afterward, we followed a geisha-on-the-go down one of the historic streets but we lost her in the crowd. For dinner, I introduced Leslie to tempura and udon noodles, two Japanese staples which we ate at a restaurant in a department store.
The next two days of our stay in Kyoto consisted of visiting as many temples and shrines as humanly possible. To be honest, I couldn't name them all without rifling through all of my travel materials, but needless to say, we hardly scratched the surface! Each temple or shrine was beautifully unique, but my favorite by far was the golden temple called Kinkaku-ji, which we visited in a downpour. It was no small task to get to this gem, but it was worth it as the golden pavilion was surrounded by purple irises, the favorite flower of my grandma. Nijo Castle was also a pleasant surprise as it hadn't been on our itinerary at all, but proved to be a wonderful place to pass a rainy afternoon (a walk on the nightingale floors are worth the visit). We also arranged to take part in a private tea ceremony where a young woman who had been educated for many years on the historical practice of the tea ceremony explained the meaning of each motion performed then taught us how to prepare the tea in the tea ceremony. It was a very meditative and beautiful experience. Of course we couldn't leave Japan without having Leslie try sushi and we were lucky to find a great little place just down the street from our hotel.
Kyoto certainly is a city of extremes, where the old and new collide, traditions are embraced but the future is also sought. Before taking the train back to Osaka we stopped at Starbucks for a beverage and walked down to the river's edge to enjoy the beautiful afternoon. As we sat enjoying our drink, I looked downriver and saw the feet of all the people dangling over the edge of the concrete bank and almost laughed as I saw trendy, modern shoes along with traditional socks and the bottom of kimono. Three days certainly was not enough time to begin figuring this city out and I left feeling much the tourist with many more questions than I had when I came. All that was left to do was create a photo book of memories from my weekend in Kyoto. Here it is:
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