after an early start, bid farewell to miyajima and caught the local train back to hiroshima. we reserved some seats in a non-smoking car, though unfortunately you could still smell smoke as the car behind us permitted it. the seats, however, were super comfy. arrived in osaka with 6 mins to make our connection to kyoto. the precision of these connections is crazy. i felt like i was back in germany. it was a short, 15 min ride to kyoto, and once we arrived we decided to make our reservations to tokyo since we'd be traveling on new years eve and traveling on/around holidays can prove challenging. which it did.
oh how badly i felt for the poor soul that was lucky enough to help us. every other time we made a reservation, we just pointed to what we wanted from our JR booklet, they nodded and gave us tickets. easy-peasy. this time though, the train we wanted was sold out, and the ticket guy had a hard time conveying that to us - or we had a hard time understanding. either way, after about 5 mins i realized what he was trying to say - so i picked another train. but as the guy was printing tickets for us, i realized that there were no connections from kyoto to osaka that early, unless we wanted to pay an extra $13. which really isn't a big deal, but when you spend $300 on a rail pass, you want to get as much use out of it as possible. soooo, back to the drawing board. picked another train that left later than we liked, but what can you do. finally settled, i think the guy was very thankful to be done with us haha. after a brief bowing contest, we were ready to explore kyoto.
first though made our way to the tourist info center, which was in the same complex as the train station/mall. but what a maze! we wandered for a bit until a very nice man must have seen the confused looks on our faces and led us most of the way there. we really wanted to know about any theatre shows, but unfortunately we missed the big kabuki festival by 2 days. the lady also checked nara for us, but also out of luck. guess we'll have to see what tokyo holds. we did manage to pick up 2 good maps though, and set out to find our hostel. despite the maps we still managed to get semi-lost on the narrow back alleys, but eventually found our way and checked into ikoi-no-ie guest house. we payed a pretty penny for this place, but i was glad to see the accommodations were very nice. the kitchen and common area were great, and we had a private room that was in the traditional style tatami mats on the floors with futon mattresses. they even gave us yukatas (kimono-like bathrobes) in our rooms. fun!
dropped our stuff and went out to find the kyoto gosho, or imperial palace. the tourist info lady said it was closed for the holidays, but we thought we'd go anyway to see if we could get a glimpse. thought wrong, b/c all we got was a view of a really really big wall. ha. regrouped and headed to pontocho-dori, a traditional street along the kamogawa river that's lined with shops and restaurants. along the way passed the nashinoki-jinja shrine and the tako-yakushido temple, which was actually inside the market. wandered around some and got some souvenirs. still no luck with the buddha beads. i've seen loads, but none are exactly what i'm looking for. afterwards headed to the nishiki food market where we were once again overwhelmed by crowds, sights and smells. found our way back outside and headed to our guesthouse to eat dinner and settle into bed. still seem to be haunted at totally random times by thoughts of a past relationship; i can only hope that the painful memories will continue to fade with time.
next day stopped by the reception desk to enquire about a sign we had seen advertising a tea ceremony and kimono dress up, and decided to think about it first. it could be an interesting experience. first up today though was the kinkaku-ji, the golden pavilion, in the rokuon-ji temple. realizing that most of these temples charge admission which adds up quite quickly. either way, the pavilion was indeed golden. and it was also overrun with tourists, which makes me wonder what it's like during high season haha. the trail was very well marked, so followed it, and the suitcase totting masses, around the grounds.
next we walked our way over to ryoan-ji temple, which is famous for its zen rock garden. another admission fee, but at least it was something different. like visiting the churches of europe, all these temples begin to run together after a while. we had to take our shoes off to enter, and though the garden was currently under construction (of course it was), it was still a site to see. i just sat at the edge for a while and soaked it all in. perhaps prettier than the zen garden was the landscape garden, which took up most of the temple grounds.
made our way back to the train station, passing myoshinji temple on the way. back at kyoto station made our way next to toji temple, home to the highest pagoda in japan. the temple itself was made up of several halls all filled with buddhas, and more reminders of my past failures. still, with each encounter i begin to feel more at peace. by this time we were absolutely famished since hadn't eaten since breakfast. unfortunately the area we were in was not super happening and we walked forever to find somewhere to eat. the first place we stumbled upon was a smokey bar that had 2 things on the menu, but not knowing when our next option would be found, we went for it. i got an "omelette" (aka a rice ball covered in egg and ketchup) but at least it was edible.
jumped on the subway for the first time (we are big fans of walking), but my feet were really beginning to hurt and we had a considerable distance to go. headed to the gion district to try to spot a geisha. walked up shinbashi-dori, which lonely planet says is one of the most beautiful streets in all of asia. it was a lot shorter than i had imagined, and while nice, i'm sure it would be more lovely when things were actually in bloom. made a turn down hanamikoji-dori, which LP says is often a hot spot for geisha while they make their way to tea houses. no luck here either. entered the kyoto craft center - which was less crafty and more high end items. then headed over to yasaka shrine, which was covered with cheesy stalls and banners - all of which i can only imagine is in preparation for the new year festivities.
headed north and came across chion-in temple. though it was closed we could still see the main attraction - the temple gate. it's the biggest temple gate in all of japan, and it's truly massive. wandered around gion again killing time and trying to build up an appetite, and wouldn't you know it... a real, live geisha went swooping past us. she was beautiful, in a rich royal purple kimono, white make up and little sandals that seemed to make her float. LP says you should never EVER run after one hoping for a photo, but that's exactly what this tourist across the street from us was doing. in fact, she made the geisha stop and pose, "just one photo, please, just one photo!" i was embarrassed for her, but at the same time it allowed me time to snap a photo from behind. a bit blurry, but still. one of the coolest experiences i've had while traveling.
found our way back to the market, and did a bit more shopping. we found these gorgeous pieces of fabric that you can frame and hang up as art. i bought a few, and later came across what i had been looking for the entire time: a ukiyo-e style picture of the great wave. my trip is complete =) time to eat, so stopped at a stand in the market that had these round fried ball things for cheap. seemed fine for me, but thankfully jos asked first what they were - fried octopus - which was fine for me, but not quite up her alley. fortunately they also had a noodle dish for her, though there were pieces of octopus in that as well. i doggie bagged mine, and we began the long, painful walk home.
had stopped in several stores looking for dr. scholls, but no luck. decided to try just one more time - and success! found some pillow feet (or something) which hopefully will help. once back at the guesthouse, discovered a couple nasty looking blisters. busted out my coffee wagashi (traditional sweet - kyoto's food specialty) to ease the pain, but it was awful! the texture was bearable, kinda jelly-like, but the taste - ugh. i felt like i was eating straight up coffee grounds. ah well. tomorrow's another day.
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