I decided to just do one huge post for Japan - mostly cuz I'm lazy, as I'm sure I've mentioned before. So here is the tower in Kyoto. Which, BTW, I never learned to pronounce correctly... so I'd just say 'the tower' or 'the station.' The transportation system in Japan is reliable, but hard to figure out at first. We ended up utilizing the information desk at the train/bus station a LOT. I highly recommend that to anyone traveling in Japan because it took 2 days before I was comfortable enough to be able to tell when the buses would arrive and where. When traveling internationally, it helps to know what we Americans call 'military time'... the rest of the world just calls it... time. LOL.
First place we went was a palace- shocking, right?! I loved the moat, it had a very old-world European feel to it... except for the koi fish.
First of many obligatory selfies... it was hot, humid, and it rained on us that day. So for those who know me, if the smile seems a little strained, that would be why. That and I deleted many selfies that didn't make the cut... the pursuit of perfection.
I loved the entrance.
So the temple itself was one where you weren't supposed to take pictures. If memory serves, it was the seat of power when the shoguns were in charge of this area of Japan. The silk screens inside were beautiful, and some pix were snuck before we got yelled at. Like most places in Japan, you had to take off your shoes and continue with socks or barefoot.
Sneaky hobbitses.
This one reminded me of my tree-hugging friend and our adventures thru Europe. Also it reminded me of the live oak trees in San Antonio. In other news, I kinda miss my TX peeps/life.
I love how even the ceilings are detailed.
This was while it was raining - we tried taking some shelter.
The gardens, though!! Such green! The whole place was so green!!! For someone who was used to WY and TX, this was worth dealing with the humid.
My artsy - look at things from different angles - shot.
Who wants to go fishin'?
T in the gardens.
Another artsy shot... I do love taking photos.
Another part of the wall... if Pink Floyd is in your head now, my job here is done.
Outside of the place we stopped for a snack.
The gardens outside the place as well - I can understand now the appeal of Japanese gardens.
Now I know what the Nakatomi corporation made!!! LMAO - yes, I'm a huge Die Hard fan, and yes, this made me giggle slightly more than was appropriate.
My coffee, T's mango ice. Not as good as Taiwan, but refreshing on a hot, humid day.
She really liked that spoon.
More nature.
Those smelled SOOO GOOOD!!!
And real samurai swords.
So then we went to the Golden Pavilion. It's not made of gold, but it is covered in gold foil. So you know, we had to see that, right?!?
Entrance
Tickets
Pavilion! The reflecting pond was beautiful, and there were signs that said no pictures, but everyone was violating those.
Me and the pavilion. (below) probably my favorite pic that I got of it.
Gardens again
Another angle
A stairway that we were not allowed to climb, but nevertheless I thought looked cool.
A place to pray/wish - if you get the coin in the bowl it could come true.
Again, just so pretty.
The end - there was a shrine and a place where you could buy fortunes and talismans.
See, told you!
So then we went for dinner and we had ramen. Here's the set-up, quite like Korea with the drawer that has toothpicks and chopsticks.
And I got my b-day sake.
My ramen was the veggie one. It was SO GOOD! The eggs were fantastic, the pork was tasty, the broth was great, and there were actual veggies in there so I felt like I got some good nutrition. Not sure what kind of mushrooms those were, but it was good!!
The tower, all lite up at night. This was the beacon - it was right across from the station, so it made things a little easier to navigate.
End of full day 1 in Koyoto, Japan. On to day 2.
I thought the gum syrup that was served with my coffee was funny.
Waiting at the bus station - did I mention that there was a lot of waiting in Japan? Also, I wore t-shirts because I'd heard about how the Japanese regard tattoos. And then I saw plenty of people with tattoos... I think next time I won't worry about it so much... tho next time it'll be in the winter, so it's really a moo point. ;)
The station was pretty cool, really.
I loved the angles of the glass.
In case you ever wanted to know the history of chopsticks.
So this is the temple with tons of orange arches. I'm not sure what the orange arches were for, but it was a pretty walk (and hot again... also: humid).
You're supposed to cleanse yourself before entering a temple area. There were a lot of people in the traditional kimonos, much like in Korea with the hanboks.
The first of many.
The map of where we were... we did not hike all of this, just FYI.
T in the arches.
Me in the arches.
The arches themselves... eventually I just started having fun with angles.
A view from the outside.
Another view from the outside.
Searching for the picture that no one else has.
An older temple area.
Basically where we turned back.
It was really hot... I can't stress this enough.
Just imagine all the other pix of this I have.
Dad is right, I might take too many pix.
Perhaps it's a disease... and yes, this umbrella pic was because I was using it for shade, not for protection from rain. Gotta love the purple, tho, right?!?
On the bus to the next spot.
So pretty, I mean, really.
Look at that landscape!
So we were on our way to a bamboo forest.
Which was near more temples.
And such pretty flowers.
The bamboo was huge, and it kind of blocked any chance of a breeze, so essentially we entered a natural sauna. The hot, humid, melty, nasty, beautiful, peaceful, bamboo forest.
Quite near a graveyard.
And part of a temple.
More bamboo
And a random other tree, which I though made for an interesting picture.
And another temple area - I zoomed in on this guy.
Didn't want to risk doing something wrong.
Again, fun with angles.
We continued to walk around - I just love the mountains.
And we found SUNFLOWERS!!! It was like we were in Kansas again, Toto!
Back thru the bamboo after a slight detour of being a little lost.
More flowers.
The sky was on fire... I couldn't get enough of this view - the clouds, the reflection of the sun, the sky, the pic does NOT do this experience justice.
And we walked by a place with samples - this is rice with a spicy mixture that was quite tasty, but like everything else in Japan EXPENSIVE!!!
So then we went to a train station and T found a place that had a hot spring where we could soak our feet. We paid 200 Yen for the ticket and a towel.
On the way, we passed some kind of kimono light display.
So cool to see, really.
And then we soaked our poor feets. LOL - I should have removed my nail polish before the pic, but meh, I'm lazy.
T enjoying the relaxation.
Then we headed back to the bus stop, via the bridge.
Again, angles.
The lights were just so warm as the sun went down.
I liked this view.
I love these flowers. So this would have been the last day in Japan.
Huge flowers.
We went to another temple... this one had a bunch of buddahs with thousands of arms.
Again, the day was hot and humid, and the gardens were beautiful. By now I'd given up on T-shirts cuz why not work on a tan, right?!?
Part of the temple - the random stones with writing on them were fun to me.
Orange and green... reminded me of Jessica's wedding. Hehehe.
So pretty... so hot... so humid.
I love that tank top.
A bell!
Please do not ring the bell... LOL.
More arches.
Random stone with writing - but must be important, right?!
The outside of the temple - again, this was one that you're not supposed to take pictures inside, so we didn't. J/K, T snuck a few with her phone, but I haven't gotten those from her yet, so neener, neener, no inside view for you!!
Fun gate.
Where you put your shoes, cuz it's Japan.
And then outside again!
I liked these, I thought they were funny.
And we went on to another temple - this one was featured in a Manga that T had seen. There was a murder and the kids solved it.
It was pretty cool.
So many stones, and areas to pray.
The shrines are pretty darn cool.
And the view - you can see Kyoto tower from there!! Granted, I zoomed a lot.
You can just FEEL the sweat in this pic, right?!
Such a cool dragon fountain to wash in before you went into the shrine.
I mean... DRAGON!
Nice view- you may recognize this from my FB.
Me again... I like me... lol
You can kinda see how intricate it all was... it was also being rennovated, so that's why you don't get a great view of the outside - it was all scaffolds and curtains.
The 'waterfall'
Tower
Another view of the entrance.
Then we went to the silver pavilion. Here's part of the rock garden.
And believe it or not, this is the silver pavilion... tho I see NO silver.
We went all around the grounds (at like 20 mins to closing)...
Got some great pix of the gardens
I mean, so pretty.
And then came back around
And realized that was it... here's our sceptical faces...
And mine... lol
The silver pavilion, everyone. LOL
The map cuz we wanted to be sure.
And then dinner - I liked the chopstick holder.
It was a hibachi place, and I got my beer.
Where they cooked our food.
THE FOOD!!! I forget what this is called, but it was so good we ordered another.
And this was some kind of Japanese pancake thing that was also amazing.
The opera house in the area that sometimes has geishas... we did not see a geisha... we were only kind disappointed.
The shrine all lit up.
And waiting for the train to take us to the airport and go home.
It was an amazing, whirlwind, awesome trip... and I was glad to be home. I really needed a week to recover from this... however, it was straight into OT, a weekend in Busan, and then it's been all go, go, go ever since.
So that's the update for the week - I'll post about Busan next week and then let you know some of the other stuff that's been going on. It's been a stressful time, not gonna lie.
