Day Ten - Kyoto

Well, today we PLANNED to go to the three major tourist areas of Kyoto: Arashiyama, Golden Pavillion (Kinkakuji) and the Silver Pavillion (Ginkakuji). Later you'll know why the word PLANNED is capitalized.

Before that...



...we haven't visited the nearest shrine to our guest house! This is the Higashi-Honganji Temple.



As you can see, it's between our guest house and the kyoto tower. Everyday we walk past it, and today's the first time we're visiting it!



Looks like we're not the only ones who decided to pay a visit.



A big part of the temple is actually being restored under that big grey factory-like building.

We had to take a bus to our first stop, Arashiyama.



Oh my god, look at the line!



Thank god that was not the line that we were gonna join :D



Yay, rail crossing again!



Wow a pink train. Nyin's favourite.



Finally, we have reached Arashiyama! Nothing like a river and a bunch of mountains to beautify my photographs.



This guy was really very good. He really controlled the strokes well to give those Sakura's a little pink slur into the distance. Oooh, Hazmer the art critic. This is all (if )'s fault!



A bunch of students enjoying the scenery. Well, we have already seen a few rivers, so it's off to the heart of Arashiyama.



But first, a little shopping! Here's a beautiful pair of Japanese sandals (or Geta, as the Japanese call it)



This is actually quite cute. Each coaster (yes, they're coasters!) consists of a different board game, with small little game pieces pinned into the holes given.



And this is even cuter! My mom got curious and tried to feel the fur, only to be shocked at the loud "meow meow" that was triggered by her touch. So funny!



Seriously I reely dunno what this is, but it looks fascinating enough.



Uh oh, Mama in a traditional craft shop. This is gonna take a while.



Look at the nicely designed handkerchiefs. Who in the world would want to blow their yucky nose crap on these beautiful things?



After we got out of the shop, we noticed that people also travel via rickshaws. It involves manual labour, so it's really expensive! I saw a customer coming up with 6,000 yen to pay the guy (that's 200 ringgit!). I should apply for this job. Seems like it pays well.



Wow nice umbrella. Comes with a nice price too. (18,900 yen = RM 605!)



I noticed that there are several souvenirs that is related to the owl. I asked Nagano-san about its significance to Japanese culture, he said "uuhh I dunno". Another french guest also mentioned that in France there are also many owl-ish souvenirs, but she also doesn't know its signifance in France. I conclude that the owl is chosen because it's cool-looking :P

Once we're done with the shops, we walked further and reached the most beautiful place in Arashiyama, the bamboo jungle!



And that's the theme of my daily pose today!



Ah it feels like I'm in old Japan, travelling through the bamboos towards the river to get some water for my family. Once I feel tired, I rest for awhile, swiping sweat from my forehead and looking towards the sun. *slap* Wake up, dude!



There was a cemetry near the bamboo jungle. Man, when the time comes, i wish my spirit would rest here to enjoy the view!



I really wonder how the bamboos grow so upward. The bamboos in Malaysia seem to grow in every angle possible.



A loving couple strolling between the bamboos. Oh yea, and my mom.



The only problem with this walk is that cars are also allowed to enter! And you know how narrow Japanese roads are! Every 5 or so minutes, we had to give way to cars to go through. Grrr... so annoying!



Again, thank god for the Kyoto Walk Guide Map, or else we could really get lost here! (Yea, as if the signboards in Kanji or chinese characters helped a lot!)

We stumbled upon a rest area that houses a restaurant that serves cheap food!



So I ordered Kitsune (fox) udon. It's called Kitsune udon because that square piece floating in the soup (ok ok I already ate a little, I was too hungry!) is usually cut into 2 triangles, which then look like fox ears. The kitsune bit is actually sweet tofu. This one, Sushi King oso got lah, hahaha.



My stomach was really grumbling, so the food to the tummy made me really happy!



My mom bought a bag of roasted chestnuts. Too bad I couldn't have this. Stupid gout.



It seems that this rest area is actually the station for the romantic train. Yes you heard me, the romantic train. It's called that because the train travels beside a beautiful lake. But with the amount of people sitting in one carriage, I can hardly think of it as being anything romantic.



There were also snacks sold in the rest area, but my mom was not particularly interested in them.

After the lunch, we pressed on to see what other scenery that Arashiyama has to offer. We walked through the Japanese residential area of Arashiyama.



Seriously, they take good care of their garden!



Wow a fruit tree. That's a sign that spring has started.



Just check out this map. A few lines, with names to tag the roads. Nice and simple.



I dunno why, but I'm just attracted to traffic lights and this kind of mirrors, especially when it comes to taking pictures with a beautiful scenery at the back of them. Can't explain why.

Half way through, we entered this shop that had many neat animal-related earthenware.



I *intentionally* arched my tummy forwards to be similar to the tanuki (raccoon dog). Really wan!



Haha these frogs look like they're singing.



Shhh, the wise frog speaks.



This is quite well-crafted. Actually it's one block of earthenware, but with the appropriate contours and lines, you can see the legs, ears and face.



We stumbled upon a shop that sells bamboo-made crafts. My mom was immediately serve green tea in this bamboo cup! Wanted to buy it, if only the price was not too expensive (1,200 yen = RM 40).



I love these figures! They wittedly use the curve of the bamboo parts and make it look like a girl's body. Nice!

In fact, I bought the middle girl (for myself, sorry people :P). Smaller and the least expensive of the three.



So.... so... puh-reety.



As usual, I like to take shots of the flowers together with the mountains :D Let me know if this is getting too old.



On the way back to the bus stop, we saw this bamboo factory, where they prepare those bamboos for other shops to create more new bamboo-like crafts.



Oh this time the rail crossing involves only those who walk. So this is a different type of rail crossing ok!



It's the romantic train!

We took the next bus to Ginkakuji. Once we arrived at the destination, we saw this:



Cool, and the logo of the shop is really a flower! Oh man, this reminds me of Malaysia. I dowanna go baaaaaaaaaack! waaaaaa~!

The following scenes were captured on the way to the Ginkakuji:







And guess what? We arrived at the temple at 5:15 pm, and it closes at 5 pm! AARRRGHHHH!! Our last full day in Kyoto! To be honest, I was totally disappointed and I wasn't in a good mood for the following 3 hours!

Then I found out, I haven't had my dinner yet. :D

So my mom and I have decided to wake up super early tomorrow before our tokyo trip to see the Ginkakuji. We have to sacrifice seeing the Kinkakuji, which I will see on my second trip to Kyoto ;)

Since we had a lot of time left, we decided to go to the Kyoto Imperial Palace.











And we say goodbye to Kyoto's sunset.

Oh no! Battery is running out! Better submit this blog fast!

See you in Tokyo, everyone!