On the books for today was traveling from Mount Fuji to Kyoto (by way of Tokyo), which is exciting because we finally got to travel via Shinkansen, a Japanese bullet train! These things go FAST - the one that we used travels 175 mph! They can actually go up to much higher speeds, but passenger comfort becomes a factor (loud sounds when going through tunnels, for example), so they've kept the speed lower until they can solve that issue. And they're incredibly convenient - just show up to the station, buy your ticket, and the next train will arrive in about ten minutes. Then a few hours later, you're where you need to be. Wouldn't it be awesome to just head up to New Orleans or Atlanta for a few hours?
So after a comfortable nap aboard the shinkansen, we arrived in Kyoto, at which point we had to walk uphill (or maybe it was just a slight incline) to our ryokan, or traditional style inn. I stress the "uphill" here because... LUGGAGE IS STUPID! What kind of imbecile would bring suitcases, plural, and gigantic backpacks, plural, on a two-week trip to the other side of the world? Florida Nikki says, "It'll be fine - the suitcases have wheels and we can wear the backpacks on our backs, har dar dar." Japanese Nikki says, "Ow... Ow... Ow... only two more miles until we get to the hotel... ow.... ow..."
I could have just been incredibly cranky with all of the luggage, but my initial reaction of Kyoto was, "Meh, I'm glad we only plan on being here for one more day." I was a bit underwhelmed. Everything was very nice and looked very Japan-ish, but it just didn't seem to be our speed.
Our painful walk to the ryokan took us through Gion, the small neighborhood that is famous for being a geisha district in Japan. We opted to not do the experience where you have tea with a geisha or watch a geisha performance, but we knew that they were very popular with tourists. What we did NOT know was that a "geisha sighting" on the streets of Gion was incredibly rare and occur most often around dusk. Of course, we were trying to maneuver through the neighborhood at dusk. What's the big deal? Oh, there's only about 73 trazillion people hiding in all areas of the neighborhood, camera in hand, hoping that they might sneak a glimpse of a geisha. Seriously, you would have thought the Kardashians were in town. It was absolutely ridiculous. I felt awful for the geisha that have to endure this horde of scavengers night after night.
Our painful walk to the ryokan took us through Gion, the small neighborhood that is famous for being a geisha district in Japan. We opted to not do the experience where you have tea with a geisha or watch a geisha performance, but we knew that they were very popular with tourists. What we did NOT know was that a "geisha sighting" on the streets of Gion was incredibly rare and occur most often around dusk. Of course, we were trying to maneuver through the neighborhood at dusk. What's the big deal? Oh, there's only about 73 trazillion people hiding in all areas of the neighborhood, camera in hand, hoping that they might sneak a glimpse of a geisha. Seriously, you would have thought the Kardashians were in town. It was absolutely ridiculous. I felt awful for the geisha that have to endure this horde of scavengers night after night.
Our accommodations at Ryokan Kinoe were awesome! As you'll see, the room setup is a big different - in that everything is on the floor - beds, tables, etc. I was super excited for something new, but Jeffrey wasn't exactly thrilled that we would be sleeping on the floor.
After we got settled in, a member of the hotel staff sat down with us to discuss possible activities that we might enjoy in Kyoto for the night. He pointed out all of the autumn celebrations at each of the temples, explaining that some of them actually do a light show on the temples after dark. Thinking that it sounded like fun, we walked over to the nearby Kodai-ji zen temple to spend a few hours .
Beautiful. I couldn't believe how much care went into the upkeep of these grounds, which were about the size of a smaller college campus. Every frame was filled with vibrant colors, interesting angles and centuries of history (it was built in the year 1606!). I didn't have a life-changing feeling of being one with the world as we explored. I didn't have the exciting "OMG LOOK AT THAT!" that we experienced every minute in Tokyo. But I will definitely say that I had a calm sense of happiness and contentment as we took it all in. Pure and simple serenity.
When we located the area for the advertised light show, we grabbed a seat. There was a 5-ish minute light show on one of the buildings, which was pretty well-done (we've seen Disney World's light shows a few hundred times, so we might be a hard crowd to impress). It seemed to be telling a story that we didn't really understand. Enjoyable to watch, though!
When we located the area for the advertised light show, we grabbed a seat. There was a 5-ish minute light show on one of the buildings, which was pretty well-done (we've seen Disney World's light shows a few hundred times, so we might be a hard crowd to impress). It seemed to be telling a story that we didn't really understand. Enjoyable to watch, though!
On the rear portion of the temple grounds was a super pretty bamboo tree grove. Nothing much to say on that except it was SO COOL!!
We walked through the Higashiyama ward as we headed back to the ryokan. I regretted my earlier indifferent thoughts about Kyoto. No, it wasn't the same level of excitement as Tokyo here, but it was a different kind of happiness that we had as we strolled through the city.
Jeffrey took a moment to touch a Buddhist statue in hopes of having prosperity and good luck. Let's hope it works!
Jeffrey took a moment to touch a Buddhist statue in hopes of having prosperity and good luck. Let's hope it works!
For dinner, I'm almost ashamed to talk about it. We stopped in at a small Chinese restaurant because they were one of the only places that were still open. Jeffrey got sweet and sour pork, and I got cashew chicken. It tasted the same as it does from our local take-out Chinese food restaurant. Except this time, everyone in the restaurant seemed to gape at me while I struggled to use chopsticks. Seriously, it was bad. The waitress even approached me to let me know, "We have forks if chopsticks are too difficult for you." Sigh.
So that was the day. I still longed to go back to Tokyo, of course, but Kyoto was definitely growing on me. Excited to see what the next day will have in store!
So that was the day. I still longed to go back to Tokyo, of course, but Kyoto was definitely growing on me. Excited to see what the next day will have in store!