Part of me wishes now that I had decided to go to Kyoto instead of Nara. It definitely has to be my new favorite city! Bea and I did so much that it will be hard to write about it, so I guess I will summarize.
We woke up early to get a head start on the day. Via train, Bea and I traveled into Kyoto in about an hour's time. From there, we took another train into western Kyoto where we toured a few hotspots. This included a famous bamboo path, which took us to Tenryuji Temple. The gardens were magnificent, and it seemed everyone had come out on the nice (hot) day to take pictures and walk around. My dad allowed me to take one of his nice cameras with me to Japan, and I am glad he did. I took many pictures during our time in Kyoto. Bea assured me that this was nothing compared to what we would see, but it really was amazing.
Instead of taking another bus, we walked from the Imperial Gardens to the Philosopher's Path, a long stretch of road lined completely by sakura. Eating soft serve ice cream of peach, matcha, and vanilla (oishii!) flavors, we took our time admiring all of the beautiful blossoms.
At the end of the path, we boarded a bus with the intent of going to another shrine. Let me explain something about Japanese buses. People cram onto them. No, you really don't understand. Think sardines, but a stuffy bus instead of a tin. People are right up against you and there is little to no room to breathe. Bea and I had to wait for four buses to pass us because they were so full of people (no sitting or standing room) before we finally got on one. Then, we spent an hour standing on the bus during stop and go rush hour traffic. By the time we got to where we needed to be, the shrine had already closed. It was pretty awful.
So, with some time to kill, we decided to walk to where our final destination was, the Heianjinja. On the way we passed through an area where a street festival was being held. It was games and street food as far as the eye could see. Bea showed me one store that satisfied my inner nerd-- it was full of Studio Ghibli merchandise (think Japanese equivalent of Disney.) I bought myself a Totoro wallet because I couldn't resist! Finally, we reached the Heianjinja, our reason for coming to Kyoto. Benefit concerts were being held all week to benefit victims of the tsunami. We came on the night that a famous guitarist would be playing.
Beforehand though, we walked through the gardens. It was the most beautiful place I had ever been to in my entire life. Cherry blossoms were emphasized by dramatic lighting. Everywhere you turned it looked as if you were in a fairy tale. The best part came when we finally reached the lake where the concert was being held. The stage was lit up, as were the numerous trees around the lake's edge. I cannot convey its beauty in words. The best way to describe it would be magical.
The concert was short and sweet, with the guitarist playing a few beautiful pieces that were enough to move people to tears. Bea and I left in awe, and we took our time taking everything in as we made our trek back to the train station. Of course, we had to stop and eat street food. We bought some meat wrapped onigiri (rice balls) that had different flavoring options. I ate mine with kimchi, a Korean staple.
We returned to Nara by 1:00 a.m. I immediately fell into bed and passed out. I've been looking through the pictures I took (see facebook) and remembering all the natural beauty that I saw in Kyoto. If you ever get the chance to go to Japan, come during the cherry blossom season. I don't think you will see anything like it anywhere else.
We woke up early to get a head start on the day. Via train, Bea and I traveled into Kyoto in about an hour's time. From there, we took another train into western Kyoto where we toured a few hotspots. This included a famous bamboo path, which took us to Tenryuji Temple. The gardens were magnificent, and it seemed everyone had come out on the nice (hot) day to take pictures and walk around. My dad allowed me to take one of his nice cameras with me to Japan, and I am glad he did. I took many pictures during our time in Kyoto. Bea assured me that this was nothing compared to what we would see, but it really was amazing.
From Tenryuji, Bea and I walked along the Hozugawa River to view the famous Togetsukyo Bridge. I had a definite Rurouni Kenshin moment when I saw it (okay, that's the anime nerd coming out in me, sorry), but again, I was amazed by the beauty of it all and the overabundance of white and pink Sakura (cherry blossom) trees.
Once we were finished walking along the river bank, we went in search of some food. We found it after taking a bus to Hiranojinja. The shrine was hosting it's cherry blossom festival that day so it was jam packed with people eating and sitting beneath the trees. We found a place to sit and admire the sakura while eating traditional Japanese food. It seemed impossible to be unhappy on such a beautiful day where everyone was outside enjozing themselves. I loved seeing the various street food and was happy to know that the Japanese people around me were tourists like me.
After enjoying ourselves for a while at Hiranojinja, we took a bus to the Kyoto Imperial Palace gardens. Here, it seemed that even more people had come out to have lunch and sit beneath the sakura. Cherry blossom season is taken very seriously by the Japanese. It's tradition to look at them with friends while having a meal together. We seemed to have come at just the right time, too, because all of them were in full bloom.
Instead of taking another bus, we walked from the Imperial Gardens to the Philosopher's Path, a long stretch of road lined completely by sakura. Eating soft serve ice cream of peach, matcha, and vanilla (oishii!) flavors, we took our time admiring all of the beautiful blossoms.
At the end of the path, we boarded a bus with the intent of going to another shrine. Let me explain something about Japanese buses. People cram onto them. No, you really don't understand. Think sardines, but a stuffy bus instead of a tin. People are right up against you and there is little to no room to breathe. Bea and I had to wait for four buses to pass us because they were so full of people (no sitting or standing room) before we finally got on one. Then, we spent an hour standing on the bus during stop and go rush hour traffic. By the time we got to where we needed to be, the shrine had already closed. It was pretty awful.
So, with some time to kill, we decided to walk to where our final destination was, the Heianjinja. On the way we passed through an area where a street festival was being held. It was games and street food as far as the eye could see. Bea showed me one store that satisfied my inner nerd-- it was full of Studio Ghibli merchandise (think Japanese equivalent of Disney.) I bought myself a Totoro wallet because I couldn't resist! Finally, we reached the Heianjinja, our reason for coming to Kyoto. Benefit concerts were being held all week to benefit victims of the tsunami. We came on the night that a famous guitarist would be playing.
Beforehand though, we walked through the gardens. It was the most beautiful place I had ever been to in my entire life. Cherry blossoms were emphasized by dramatic lighting. Everywhere you turned it looked as if you were in a fairy tale. The best part came when we finally reached the lake where the concert was being held. The stage was lit up, as were the numerous trees around the lake's edge. I cannot convey its beauty in words. The best way to describe it would be magical.
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| A view of the stage. Pictures don't do it justice |
We returned to Nara by 1:00 a.m. I immediately fell into bed and passed out. I've been looking through the pictures I took (see facebook) and remembering all the natural beauty that I saw in Kyoto. If you ever get the chance to go to Japan, come during the cherry blossom season. I don't think you will see anything like it anywhere else.
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