Blog Post #4, Kyoto!!

Konichiwa, readers! I apologise for not writing for the last three days! As I think said in the last post; I had no time whatsoever to write!!! I found internet connection, but until this morning was not able to write due to a hectic schedule and a slight addiction to 'Bloody Monday' (I shall explain this later on).

DAY 1 in KYOTO
So. The first day in Kyoto. After a 15 minute Shinkansen ride from Osaka, we got off at Kyoto and checked-in to Hiiragiya Bekkan: a ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn/hotel/room). It had a beautiful garden, fantastic rooms and several anxious (and nice) staff. Soon after, we quickly headed to Gion (the Geisha district), hoping to catch a glimpse at a geisha, and the firy colours of autumn leaves. Unfortunately, we didn't see any geisha, and the leaves were mostly on the ground. But! With the remaining few trees that still had leaves on them, and rows of beautiful, old houses along the river, Gion was truly lovely.

We had a very, very large dinner that night in our rooms, of various Japanese dishes that were autumn-y (if that's a word), and I was at bursting point at the end of it! During the night-time, Huixin and I took a soak in the ofuro (that belonged to the ryokan), which is like a private onsen-like thing. For those who don't know what either are; they are just large, hot bathtubs. It was sad leaving the ryokan, but I was looking forward to seeing lots of temples and shrines the next day!

DAY 2 in KYOTO

Lots of fun!! We rode bikes across suburban Kyoto, to Ryoanji Zen Temple, The Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion and one other temple whose name I have forgotten. It was HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY difficult for me to ride around on the pavements and sidewalks of Kyoto, especially the tiny ones on main roads in the suburbs. I managed to dodge walls, other bicycles, unaware old people and small pot plants by bashing into an average of 1 lamp-post p/two hours. After going to the temple whose name I have forgotten, we parked our bikes in an awesome bike park (like a car park for bikes) -many people ride bikes in Kyoto- and travelled by train to Arashiyama. This is where tourists and locals alike take trains to a mountain-y/hill-y type place and stuff their faces with food.

Just when we could hold no more, we took the train back to the station near the temple whose name I have forgotten, and biked back to the guesthouse in which we stayed. Day 2 in Kyoto was the first time I ever tried a convenience store meal!! Because we got back quite late from Arashiyama (it took lots of energy to transport ourselves back), nothing was open except a few dodgy bars, so we popped into a convenience store to buy a microwaveable meal. The convini (short for convenience store) food is absolutely scrumptious!! They are little ready-packed meals that come in plastic containers that have sauces, salads, ready-made rice/noodles and meat all good to pop in the microwave!

Whilst eating the convini meal, we watched an interesting Japanese drama series which had several actors we knew from other dramas. Curious to find out more, I googled them, and found out this awesome new drama was called "Bloody Monday"; about a computer hacker who has to save the world from terrorism... Hehe! Google it! It's cool!!

DAY 3 in KYOTO

Day three in Kyoto was spent cycling to Kyoto station, taking a train to Fushimi Inari and biking back again. The early-morning ride to Kyoto was very peaceful, as the busy office-working people had either left for work or moved over when we came through.

Fushimi Inari, for those who don't know, are the 10,000 red gates that stretch out for about 2km. It was really spectacular, and I shall give you a photo here! Heehee! Anyway, when we got back, it was dark (around 5 o'clock) and raining, so we stayed inside the station and did some shopping. The intense heating inside the building eventually drove us out of it, and we cycled in the pouring rain trying to balance an umbrella on the handle of the bike. Eventually we stopped under some shelter and decided to wait till the rain lessened.

I have to head to bed now, so I'll keep posting later about Tokyo so far. :D See you!

~Ying

P.S.
2 days till Christmas!