Kyoto

On Saturday we were given a free day and I decided early on that I would go to Kyoto. Once I found out that the train tickets were going to cost about $250 I began to rethink my plan but with my 301 money safely in the bank, Kyoto was a go.

We (Wendy, a reading teacher from Kentucky) and I signed up for a tour/train package through the JFMF desk. The thought of traveling in a big group behind a lady holding a large flower didn't agree with either of us, but the tour company arranged for the tickets and would drive us to a few of the sites we wanted to see. Lose, win, win? We had to leave Tokyo station at 6 a.m. but would arrive in Kyoto around 8 a.m., giving us enough time to grab a few doughnuts at Mister Donut (I had the assortment of doughnut holes and a pastry with a hotdog inside) and meet up with our tour. After being on the train so long we also decided to hit the bathroom before getting on the bus but we horrified to find "squat" toilets in the station. Squat toilets look like a urinal but are on the floor. Somehow you "squat" over them and do your business. I am embarrassed to say Wendy and I both chickened out and ran to the hotel where we were able to find "Western" style toilets. I know I promised to find out how they work but we did not want to mess up and be stuck wearing "pee pants" all day in Kyoto. That would have been way worse than following the lady with the flower. I still have plenty of time left to squat.


Our first stop on the tour was Nijo Castle, home to the shogun back before the capital was moved to Tokyo. The highlight of the tour was the Nightingale floors. These floors were a primitive security system for the castle -- as you walk across the floor, no matter how lightly, it squeaks. And the squeaking kind of sounds like a nightingale. Kind of. (Not really). We also were taken into the shogun's private quarters where we learned about concubines and why the samuri shaven the top part's of their head. What I enjoyed most was just seeing the architecture and detail work that extended from the pine trees to the shingles on the roofs.


After boarding the tour bus we headed to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, a very elaborate shrine in Kyoto. At this point Wendy and I ventured out on our on to enjoy the serenity of the grounds without the direction of the lady with the flower. I am sure we missed out on very valuable information, but we able to actually enjoy the shrine closer to the way people were meant to enjoy it. (And we felt like being rebels).

Our third stop was the one I was looking most forward to, the Golden Pavilion. Again, we ventured away from the group, but as their were so many people it was nearly impossible to hear our guide anyway. The place was packed, but I was able to get some amazing pictures because the shrine sits in the middle of a lake. It was breathtaking. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Kyoto.

Our final stop on the tour was the Kyoto Handicraft Center. Basically, it is the gift shop at the end of the tour. And yes, I bought souvenirs. And no, not just for myself. Actually, very few for myself so far. Maybe it was all the temples and shrines? At this point Wendy and I freed ourselves of the tour stickers that had branded us as tourists and headed out in search of Gion and geishas.

Our journey to the area known as Gion took us past many more temples and shrines. We happened upon Sho-ren-in temple and Choin-in temple where we had the opportunity to observe a Buddhist ceremony. Yes Samantha, I saw monks. Unfortunately, my pictures of Choin-in did not turn out very well as I had my camera on the wrong setting. Hopefully Wendy'es turned out better than mine. (One of the many benefits of traveling with a buddy). Choin-in temple can be seen in the movie (I know, quit referencing R rated movies) Lost in Translation. It is the temple with the seemingly-never ending stone steps. I climbed them -- almost died and was completely in pain the next day, but I climbed them. It was worth it. And then I had an icecream. Vanilla and green tea. Green tea makes it healthy right?

The Choin-in temple is adjacent to Gion. We were so relieved to finally reach our destination so that we could begin our search of the illusive geisha. We ended up on a very touristy stretch and decided to turn down a side street. One of those very Japanese streets with the wooden buildings and sliding windows. We knew that any moment a geisha could pop out on her way to or from an engagement. After several blocks though we began to lose hope And decided just to head to the station and try to catch an earlier train home. But then it happened. Just as we were passing a Western-looking hotel, a geisha stepped out into the street, just a few feet away, and quickfully got into a waiting cab. Check out the pictures!
Satisfied that we had completed our journey, we hailed our own cab (after spying a second geisha in another passing taxi) and asked for Kyoto Station. Just then we saw four geisha outside in the same tourist area we had just passed through, escorting a gentleman. I have a picture from the back window of the cab but it is so horrible, I will spare you.

So we hopped on a bullet train and made it back to Tokyo in time to meet up with other JFMFers who were heading out to Ginza. As you can imagine we were pooped, but it was an incredible day.