Travel Diary: A Surreal Trip to Japan, part 2

Hello again, friends!

You're read about the first half of my adventure, and now here's the second half! So far, I've given my account of Hakone, Tokyo, Takayama, and Kyoto, which took up the first week. And now for week two, one that brought some extremely different experiences that I was not expecting.

Hiroshima

The next leg of our trip was one I knew would be interesting. We took the train to Hiroshima, the site of where one of the two atomic bombs was dropped in 1945, thus bringing the end of WWII. We checked in at our next hostel, then made our way to the Genbaku Dome, now the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. This building was the epicenter of the atomic blast and still stands today.

It was a very solemn location, and one of the few places where I saw fewer tourists. There was one local man there who had survived the blast in utero and had a display of anti-nuclear weapon statements in multiple languages. 

Next, we were taken to a tourist shop that was built over The Fuel Hall that had been destroyed in the blast. The basement was still intact, and the one man, Nomura Eizo, who had been down there at the time of the blast had survived, with his story was on display.

Not too far from there was the next memorial, the Children's Peace Monument. A girl who hadn't been at the blast named Sadako Sasaki had still been in a radiation area and had tragically contracted terminal cancer, and before she passed she made folded over 1,000 origami cranes, each one of them symbolizing a wish to get better. This memorial was a place where visitors could also leave origami cranes. Our wonderful guide had prepared cranes for everyone in our group and we all contributed one.

This is the only picture I took inside of the museum

We continued on our next destination: the Hiroshima Peace Museum. I took only one picture inside and chose not to take any more after that. This museum was an extremely hard one to get through. There were pictures, testimonials, debris, burned clothes and toys, and most disturbing of all, pictures drawn by survivors. I don't think I'll ever forget the drawn pictures as they added an element of horror that no other photographs taken could have captured. I left that place needing a hug.

Outside of the museum was the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall that I took the time to visit before heading for the shops. Hiroshima has an enormous shopping district, and the city itself is now thriving. Going into it, you wouldn't have believed that it had recovered from one of the most devastating events in history. Despite this, Hiroshima is not much of a tourist destination. Most visitors come from other towns or cities for day trips. Tourists who stay overnight aren't as common.

Our group reunited for dinner, but I decided to take a night off. We had a big day tomorrow for our next destination.

Miyajima Island

Located off the coast of Hiroshima, this island is known for its incredible views, remote shrines, and  deer that will eat just about anything. One of the tourist attractions there is the Itsukushima Floating Gate, a torii gate that is just in the sea. It's viewable from the starboard side of the ferry you take to get to the island, but it's really just a gate out in the water. Quirky, but not that impressive. 

Once we made it to the shore, we were led through a busy market area to get to the ropeway. The center of the island, Mt. Misen, is a tall peak that is hikeable. Two of my friends and I were insistent on hiking up the mountain, and our guide told us that it takes most people 2 hours to climb, and if we climbed up in less than 2 hours, he would buy us drinks!

I didn't run

He don't know me very well, do he?

We set off on the trail, and as it turns out, it's a trail mostly comprised of uneven stairs carved from the rock. This made it harder for me to climb due to my asthma, but we still made it up to the observatory at the top of the mountain in well under 2 hours. One of my friends went on ahead while the other stayed with me, so he had about a 20 minute lead on us. 

Panoramic shot from the observatory

One of my personal observations about this area was that it is the only place in the world I've been to that reminded me of Azeroth in World of Warcraft. I wonder if any of the game devs came here to find inspiration for some of the playable areas.

It feels slightly reminiscent of vanilla WOW-era Ashenvale

After taking some amazing pictures, we made our way to the ropeway and took a car down. I've taken a few ropeway cable cars before, but this one was ridiculously steep! The fact that we were going down at a slow, steady pace at the angle we were at was nothing short of a miracle. The views from the car were just as amazing.

We zipped over to the Miyajima Brewery stand right next to a Starbucks (by golly, they're EVERYWHERE!) and grabbed some beer and snacks before meeting up with more of our group to do a little shopping before returning to the pier. The pedestrian traffic there is pretty congested, but there is an alternate route along the shore that isn't as busy, so we took that way and found some niche little shops and restaurants out there.

Upon returning to Hiroshima, we went out separate ways for dinner, and then a small group of us went to the local Irish pub, Molly Malone's, to wind down. We would be up bright and early the next day to move on.

Nara

We rode the bullet train back to Osaka again, and this time, it was to visit the city. We stopped at our hostel first to drop off our luggage, and then it was right back on the train to visit the city of Nara. Nara was at one point home to the emperor, but is now renown for its Deer Park. 

A neat little city

The ride was over an hour, so we had to split up for lunch first. I returned to the meetup spot to see some kind of rally being held in the town square. There weren't many people there, and our guide explained that it was because it was a rally being held by a local communist group. The rest of our party showed up shortly afterwards and we took the bus to the deer park.

The deer know that it's not okay to jaywalk!

Now there were still Covid precautions in place, so we had to wear our masks out here. We got to meet the friendly deer who will bow to you if you give them treats. Despite my wearing a mask, I started having sneeze attacks around the deer. Unfortunately, it would appear that I'm allergic to deer. I still fed those deer, but I had to get out of the area before I sneezed myself into a brain aneurysm. 

Five seconds later, a sneeze attack like you've rarely seen

Some of our group stayed behind, so the rest of us took the train back to Osaka which had 2 transfers. Despite this, the other group made it back before us because they managed to find a direct route that was a little more expensive. This now brings us to...

Osaka

Here was a cool city! Of all the cities we visited, I loved Osaka the best. The Shinsaibashi station we arrived in had a 1920s feel to it, and even the bathrooms were fancy! Osaka had several different types of neighborhoods to visit, and we were well within walking distance of most of them.

Complete with a replica of the Statue of Liberty

After returning to our hostel and freshening up, we were led through the Americamura neighborhood that was meant to have an American feel, which it did, but with a unique Japanese twist. We continued through the neighborhood and to the Shinsaibashisuji shopping center, passing the Dotonbori area to try out this amazing tempura restaurant.

It's hard not to salivate while watching these cooks

Our amazing dinner pretty much wrapped up the first night, though I went along with some of the guys in our group to do some nighttime exploring. Despite having guys with me, I still felt relatively safe out here in Osaka. The restaurants and local shops all had their own unique look, and there was street art to make the city more personable.

The next morning involved rising early to go to Osaka Castle. It was several transfers and a decent walk to reach our destination, but it was an incredible view. Of all the castles and palaces we had visited thus far, this one was easily the most beautiful. However, the line to go through the castle was long, so our group checked out the shopping center on site before returning to our hostel.

I spent the rest of this day going through the shopping center at the train station in search of the Pokémon Café. I did eventually find it toward the top of the Daimaru Shinsaibashi tower, but was unable to get a table due to a long wait list. I walked around and explored Dotonbori, found plenty of food to try, and yet another Irish pub to check out. The bartender informed me that the mask mandate ended that day, so I did just that! However, most other locals kept theirs on.

Gotta catch 'em all

Our group met up once more to have a final dinner together. It was here that our guide finally paid up with the drinks he owed my two friends and me, and we all had a toast to our guide to thank him for the good time he gave us. We then split off into groups, with the one I joined heading for a bar called The Space Station, a joint with a Yelp review stating that it had a retro, 80s video game feel. Those reviews were dead on!

It's like a beacon to all passing geeks

We had a good time getting drinks, playing some of the video games, and trying to find as many Easter eggs hidden around the bar as possible. It was definitely worth the visit.

According to Toad, this makes me a Princess!

Alas, the following morning was the time to go our separate ways. Some went on to the airport, others like myself stayed on a little longer. I joined four others and we had a final meal together at Pizza Bar Fullhouse before parting ways. It was a good group of people I had traveled with.

From there, I continued to the Osaka Umeda to check in at the hotel I had booked. However, it wasn't check in time yet, so I explored the nearby area. The Sonezaki Ohatsutenjin-Dori shopping arcade was a block away that had wonderful restaurants, street foods, karaoke, casinos, arcades, and even bowling. It was finally check-in time by the time I had finished my exploration.

The view from my hotel room

After I went to my room, I went to the train station to purchase my ticket to the airport tomorrow, which coincidentally and fortunately was the same platform that I would be leaving from at this time to go to Universal City. It was a 45-minute ride and I was able to check out the gates to Universal Studios, do a little shopping, and visit my second Hard Rock Café. 

I'll have to go next time

Upon returning to Osaka, I went in search of pork katsu, with Google Maps and Yelp taking me to the top level of the Osaka City Center station. First, I swung by the Nintendo and Pokémon stores at the top of the Umeda Daimaru to pick up some merch, then continued on to find the restaurant I was looking for. Unfortunately, there was another waiting list and high prices, so I got sushi next door instead because I was too hungry to wait.

How's this for the entrance of a below-ground shopping center?

My next stop was at the lowest level of the station, and underground shopping and food area called The Whity. I was mostly looking for dessert but with this being my last night, nothing seemed to be standing out to me. I stopped the Craft Beer Market and picked up a flight of beers before returning to the surface, and went back to the restaurant district around my hotel.

When a photographer is taking pictures, one must follow their line of sight and do the same

I wandered for a while before deciding on going with what dishes I liked best. I stopped at a Lawson for soju, and grabbed taiyaki and takoyaki to finish out the night. I would have liked to explore more but I was too tired at this point. Plus, I had an early morning to catch my flight back to Tokyo and eventually back home.

Dinner of champions!

Thank God, I found the platform I needed to go the night before, because if I hadn't, I would have gotten lost. It was an hour ride to get to the airport, and after breezing through security despite them not having TSA PreCheck, I waited in the terminal.

The Osaka airport can only be described by me in one word: chill. It was the most relaxing airport I have even encountered. There isn't much of a shopping area, and there were outlets everywhere for people to charge their phones. I never thought I would be so relaxed at an airport.

Aha! There you are!

Boarding began and the gate agents announced that people in window seats would be boarding first, which I couldn't believe was such a logical notion that no other country I've been to employed! As I was in a window seat, I went aboard and settled in. It was a short flight, and I was finally able to see Mt. Fuji unencumbered by clouds. That was definitely worth taking the flight instead of the bullet train.

Narita

I landed at the Narita airport and had 7 hours to kill. I had spent a good part of the previous night researching nearby activities and settled with going to the city of Narita, particularly to visit the Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple. I purchased tickets for the train and checked the bus schedule, waiting for the bus would take as much time as my walking. After speaking with a helpful agent at the local tourist office, I set forth for my final adventure in Japan.

I walked the streets with my carry-on in tow because I had very little yen left and the ATM would only allow me to withdraw funds of no less than ¥5000, which I didn't need for just using a locker. I found a side entrance to the shrine and was able to explore some of the gardens. I eventually made it to the main shrine and temple area and lingered for a bit.

A hidden gem of a walk!

The grounds were beautiful, as to be expected, and the city itself had a certain charm that I hadn't experienced in other cities. The people were friendly, and there were flowers planted all around the city center. There were also monuments to working women and to kabuki actors. It was definitely worth the trip.

Eventually I took the train back to the airport and found that there was an Anime Road, also called the Narita Anime Deck, in the terminal where I would be checking in. As it turned out, the airline I was taking wasn't allowing for anyone to check in yet, so I had the time to go. There were statues of popular anime characters, full walls promoting some of the favorite animes in the country, and full shop of goodies that would make any fan go nuts. 

I wonder if I could fit into that Gundam suit...

The outer terminal had plenty of shops and restaurants which I explored further as I waited. I also came across a pod hotel for anyone who needed a place to sleep. Once I was able to check in to my flight, I went through security, which once again didn't have TSA PreCheck, but came across this interesting little sign. 

I must know what happened!!!!!!

With about 3 hours before boarding, I did my final shopping, looked again for pork katsu but had no luck, and instead had an amazing dinner of wagyu steak ramen and sake. It was a bittersweet final meal, in which I reflected on having such an amazing time, but sad that I was leaving.

Home Again

The flights home were uneventful and stress-free, but the jetlag? Woo baby, that kicked my butt! I slept a whole 12 hours when I got home. If that ain't the sign of a good vacation, I don't know what is.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip. I'll be doing at least one more piece on the Japanese culture, and still have other blogs in the works, including one about where I've traveled most recently. Thankfully, this time around on my cruise ship I have found more places for me to access wi-fi and will hopefully be posting more often.

Stick around to see what my next post will be!

All pictures were taken by me or my device and not to be used without permission. Gifs courtesy of Giphy.com

Travel Diary: A Surreal Trip to Japan, part 1

 Konnichiwa, readers!

I was torn between going to two different countries: New Zealand and Japan. As it turned out, there were no trips to New Zealand that worked with my vacation time, and there was one to Japan that was over $1000 off on a holiday sale. So, I made the correct choice and went to Japan. And what a time I had!

Unlike my previous trips, I spent only a few days by myself, did a TripAdvisor day trip, and then joined up with G Adventures to embark on a bullet train tour to explore the country. Brad Pitt not included.

You've already heard about my food experiences over there, so this time we'll hear about my adventures with this post. 

And now, let us dive in!

Tokyo Arrival

Having never been to this side of the world before, I did as much research as possible on how to get around, and studied what options were available. The airport I arrived at, Narita, was several miles outside of Tokyo, and taxis were supremely expensive so I made the choice to take the train to get there. Most of the info I found was about the Skyliner, which would only go halfway to where I needed to go, so I decided to wait until I arrived. I found which station the hostel I booked was nearest to and went forward with that info.

Once I arrived, the first thing the passengers were told was that Japan still had a strict mask mandate. I had packed masks just in case but had hoped I wouldn't need them. After spending about 45 minutes going through immigration, I followed the signs, posted in both Japanese and English, to the trains. I spoke with an agent who helped me purchase a ticket for the correct station, and she told me which station to transfer at. 

Choose the ticket station on the right! Keisei takes you into Tokyo

It was about a 40 minute trip to the Jimbocho station, but once I arrived, the hostel was a mere 2 blocks away, easily found with Google Maps. I checked in, was given an assigned bed, bought a 48-hour subway pass, then purchased a brief snack to act as dinner since I wasn't too hungry and didn't want to risk nausea. 

By now it was past 8:00pm, and I was tired and would need to rise early for my day trip tomorrow, but I decided to explore regardless. I walked a few blocks around hostel, seeing few people out but not feeling in any way unsafe. One of the cool places I came across was the Book Hotel where people can rent a room for a few hours to read, and provided books and wine for an additional price. I also found an English Pub that boasted Guinness, so naturally I couldn't resist. Unfortunately, the Guinness was watered down, so I finished it quickly and moved on. By then I was sufficiently tired and ready to retire.

Hakone

Before I discuss Hakone, let me first tell you that if you're going to come here, it's best to stay a minimum of two days. Not only is this area vast, but there is a Hakone Day Pass that provides you with public transportation and entrance to multiple attractions nearby. I'll fill you in on some of those activities as we go on.

Now, as I researched this area before coming, I found that I could take a train from the Shinjuku Station, a mere 4 stops from Jimbocho, directly to Hakone. It was called the Romancecar. Had I known more about the Day Pass I mentioned and purchased it, I could have just gone to the platform after collecting my ticket. Unfortunately, the research I did wasn't clear about also needing a separate boarding pass, which I hadn't purchased. Thankfully, the representative who was trying to help me had an English speaking agent nearby who helped me understand the process and to buy the right ticket. I made it to the train with 2 minutes to spare!

Wonderful views back here!

I specifically reserved a seat in the rear because it had full windows that I could watch the countryside through as we passed. It was about a 90 minute trip, and I arrived early so I wandered around until my tour guide showed up. His name was Yoshi and he was a delightful guy. However, despite the package I had purchased, there had been no fine print about transportation, so Yoshi recommended I buy that day pass. It was about $45 USD, but it still paid for itself for the one day.

Our first stop was at the Lake Ashi Pirate Ship. We sailed on this beautifully restored pirate ship directly across the lake. We continued to the neighboring town of Motohakone to have lunch at a restaurant called Amimoto Oba, where they served freshly caught fish. Yoshi suggested a bento box that he was also having, and boy, did he have good taste! I ate everything in that box. It was so yummy, and filling enough but not to the point of feeling bloated.

We then hopped a bus and continued to the Owakudani Geopark where volcanic activity causes sulfur clouds to billow all over the place. Under normal circumstances, you can also see Mt. Fuji from here, but unfortunately that mountain was mostly hidden by clouds that day.

Ahh, I love the smell of sulfur in the morning

After checking out the area, we used the Day Pass to use the Hakone Ropeway, which safely transported riders over some of these areas for some incredible views. 

Ahh, I love the look of sulfur from up here!

Once we reached the bottom, we rode a cable car to our next stop, which brought us to Gora Park. It was a lovely park, but this being before spring, not much was in bloom, so I had to use my imagination. Thankfully, there was also a greenhouse on site with some amazing tropical flowers on display.

Fountains never disappoint

We continued from there to my main reason for visiting: The Hakone Open-Air Museum. The museum is home to large grounds filled with sculptures, many of which were quite remarkable. But I was there to see one in particular: the Sfera con Sfera.

7 down, 21 to go!

I've mentioned this sculpture in previous posts, and I fully intend to do a post on these international sculptures in the future. The Sfera isn't accessible to visitors since it is artwork here, but as you can see, I was still able to take a picture with it. Afterwards, Yoshi and I continued walking the grounds and visited the Picasso Art Exhibit, which did not allow for pictures. I also took a picture in the Sun Tower made of stained glass. That one was a cool one!

Mesmerizing!

Our tour ended from there, though it was still about an hour's trip back taking a local train to the Tozan Train. I learned that Tozan rail was built in cooperation with Switzerland, which was a fun piece of trivia to learn. We reached the station and I bid Yoshi goodbye, then stuck around Hakone to explore the shopping area and pick up some food while I waited for my train departure time. I rode back on the Romancecar but this time without needing to purchase the boarding pass.

Tokyo on My Own

I had expected my Hakone tour to last till about 8:00pm, but it wound up ending at 5:00pm. I arrived back in Tokyo around 7:30pm and decided to explore the areas with more night life going on. I went first to my usual stop: The Hard Rock Cafe. After picking up my shot glasses, I went to a nearby Irish pub. Honestly, there wasn't anything too special about this pub, but I also made an interesting observation after having had visited an English pub the night before: these European pubs are where the white people meet.

Funny how that didn't occur to me until I went to Asia!

I didn't stay long and moved on to a bar in the Ginza District called The 300 Bar that boasted ¥300 drinks on their business card. When I arrived, I did find that they were honest, but you had to buy tickets for each individual drink and/or appetizer of the same cost, and you needed to purchase a minimum of 3 tickets. I bought the minimum and picked up an appetizer and 2 drinks but didn't stay long. The bar had a good mix of international patrons, but I'm not much of a bar person and it was too busy for me to enjoy thoroughly. So I went back to the hostel and called it a night.

I got up at a reasonable hour and snagged some breakfast, then went to one of the places that Yoshi suggested I see in Tokyo: The Imperial Palace East Gardens, only about a mile from my hostel. It was a cool experience, but as with the gardens at Gora Park, many of the flowers and trees weren't in bloom yet. The gardens were still a fun experience, and with it being on a Saturday, admission was free.

Cherry blossoms!

Afterwards, I zipped back to the hostel and gathered my things so I could check out on time. Then I hopped the subway and took a train to the station closest to the hostel where I would be meeting my group with G Adventures. I dropped off my luggage in the lobby and went right back to the station, heading for my next item on my agenda: Shibuya Crossing.

It's like this all the time

Shibuya Crossing is essentially the Times Square of Tokyo. There were hundreds of people waiting at the crosswalks every time the light turned green! I happened to need to cross anyways because I was trying to go to one of the observation decks in the area. I went to the Shibuya Scramble Square Tower, a skyscraper in the area, to go to the Shibuya Sky, but as soon as I reached the lobby there was a sign saying they were sold out for the day.

From there, I went up each individual level to the 14th floor. Each level had shops, some focusing on clothing and furniture only, others with different types of goods to browse. I went all the way to the top where the restaurants were, as well as the entrance to the Shibuya Sky. They were still sold out, but I was high enough to take some amazing pictures of the Crossing. The best place to take those pictures was in the free art gallery where anime art was being displayed. There was also a free exhibition called NHK that allowed guests to interact with state-of-the-art technology. It was definitely worth checking out!

Heeeeeere's Domo!

I then ventured to the Tokyo Tower, Japan's popular communications tower, and one of two major towers in Tokyo, the other being the Skytree. I purchased my ticket to the main observation level and got some amazing views of the city from up there. When I was ready to leave, there was a crazy long line to for the elevators, so I opted to take the stairs down. That may have been exhausting, but it was well worth it.

It's a looooooong way down!

It was time to meet with my group by then, so I returned to the hostel, recovered my luggage and went to my room to freshen up. My group slowly came together, we met our tour guide and he went over the itinerary and other things of note for the trip. Then he took us on a trip through the side streets of Shinjuku, which went pretty quickly into the Red Light District. He pointed out the host cafes, the bars that had cover charges, hotels without windows, and the areas that looked like a Japanese version of Las Vegas.

And Godzilla.

He breathes fire, too

He brought us through several narrow restaurant areas including the Omoide Yokocho before bringing us to dinner at a chain restaurant that offered very yummy food. I had walked about 16 miles by that point so we returned to the hostel and I went straight to bed after that.

Why am I not surprised that a guy is dressed as a Minion?

In the morning, we went to the Asakusa Shrine. The Tokyo Marathon was happening this weekend, so some of our routes were blocked, but it was fun to cheer on the runners. We went through the Nakamise-Dori Street Market to reach the shrine and our guide gave our group a breakdown of how the shrines work with lighting incense, offerings, and the process of receiving fortunes without being scammed.

We passed through the neighboring Shin Nakamise Market quickly, but not before I took note of the various weapons I wanted to buy. Afterwards, the group began to split up, and several of us went on with our guide through the Akihabara area, back to Shibuya Square to see the statue of the loyal Hachi, and ending in Harajuku. Akihabara is the geek area where there are anime and video game shops galore, and Harajuku is an indie-type neighborhood that is fun to check out for its niche shops and subculture.

Many a geek's fantasy

After this tour, I and several others went to the teamLab Planets experience where the visitors interact with and become parts of the exhibits! We all had to go barefoot and wear shorts there because several exhibitions took place in water-filled rooms, but the shorts and slippers were provided for everyone. This was easily one of the coolest things I've ever experienced and recommend everyone who comes to Tokyo to check it out.

You gotta crawl under

Takayama

We were up bright and early the next morning to take our first bullet train! Our destination was Takayama, a small city just outside of the Hida Mountains, better known as the Japanese Alps. Once we reached Osaka, we hopped another train to bring us to our destination, and guess what we saw there? SNOW.

The weather reports I'd looked at had reported that it would be 60s and 70s degrees throughout most of my trip, but I hadn't checked Takayama. It was cold out there! Thankfully, I'd packed enough clothing to keep me warm enough, but that lesson was hard learned.

The translation helped

We stowed our luggage first and then went to Hida no Sato Folk Village, an almost perfectly intact village from pre-modern times. With the snowmelt, it was very wet and muddy out there, but it was an incredibly cool area to check out. After that, we were taken to the Old Private Houses area where we went down the streets to the sake breweries. I sampled probably a dozen different types of sake and was no worse for the wear. Definitely worth it!

Wash and Heihei feel right at home here

After picking up our luggage, we then trekked to our lodging for the night, a hostel converted from a minka! Minkas are the Japanese homes where you sleep on the floor, and this one in particular had an onsen. I must say that while staying at a minka was an interesting experience, I don't sleep well on floors. It is still an experience I would recommend to every traveler.

I was particularly proud of this shot

Our dinner was at an amazing restaurant where we had Hida beef, and we had a beautiful albeit freezing walk along the river back to the hostel. Our morning began with a walk through the city center seeing the local shrine, then going through the Miyagawa Morning Market, picking up street food for our pre-breakfast, then found a local bakery for the main meal. We hopped the train back to Osaka and then transferred to our next and longest stop:

Kyoto

We arrived in the early afternoon and checked in to our hostel, then were taken through the amazing Nishiki Market! Amazing smells, cool artwork, and incredible looking food were everywhere. We could only stop briefly though, so I grabbed a taiyaki before we continued to the subway for our next destination, the Fushimi Ishihari Shrine of 1000 Gates. It was getting late and there were plenty of people here, so we could only go so far within the area. 

At about the 550 mark here

I maybe cleared 400-500 gates before reaching on of the mid-tier sections with tiny shrines all over the place, but to clear all of the gates would take about 2 hours. Our guide told me that it's best to do it first thing in the morning before all the tourists came through. After returning to the main grounds, I walked through the small market nearby and caught some amazing pictures.

Before stopping for dinner, we were led past the theater district where a Kabuki production was being performed, but unfortunately there weren't any times available for me to see it. We were then led through Gion, the geisha district, and given a brief history of tea-houses and geishas. Most pictures were banned in this area, but there were a few places where I could sneak one or two! 

Convenient directions in the pavement

The next day was full of more tours of historical sites. It began with a trip to Arashiyama to go through the Bamboo Forest. The forest was beautiful, but in my opinion, a little underwhelming. Near the center of the forest was a shrine devoted to matchmaking, and hilariously, nobody in our group felt the need to check it out. We continued with a small hike through the outer areas to take some amazing pictures by the river. There was a monkey trail nearby, which we unfortunately skipped because we were warned that the monkeys could become aggressive.

Beautiful spot for pictures, though

We stopped for a quick lunch and hopped the trains to Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion. This is the site of a temple that has a pavilion with the top two levels coated in gold, as the name states. The beautiful area where it is built almost looks like a painting from several hundred years ago. Outside of the site is a soft-serve ice cream parlor, which our guide told us was customary to purchase after visiting the pavilion. Hey, if it's a local custom, who am I to argue???

It's too big to fit in the British Museum

Another subway trip later and we made the next item on our itinerary: Nijo Castle. This intact castle features two castles, though only the Ninomaru-goten Palace was accessible due to the other, the Honmaru Palace, being repaired. In order to enter the main palace, guests must remove their shoes and wear special slippers, and taking pictures is not allowed. 

One of the turrets

There were two things of note to this palace: the first being the Nightingale Floor. I once read a book called Across the Nightingale Floor, which featured a plot point about this very thing as the main character would have to make his way across without it making a sound. A Nightingale Floor is called that as it is not attached to the rest of the floor, but is held in place by taut cables a few inches above the ground. Walking over it, no matter how softly you tread, makes noise, hence the name. 

The Main Palace

The next thing of note were the paintings. Since I couldn't take pictures I will do my best to describe what it was I saw: silly tiger paintings. At the time that this palace had been built, the artisans doing the inner murals were tasked with painting tigers, which are not indigenous to Japan. Our guide told us that he believes that the artists were told that it was an orange cat with black stripes and the face of a man. I don't know if you can imagine that, but while the rest of the body was pretty on point for artists who had never seen tigers before, those faces were pretty creepy. But what a fun story!

At this point, we returned to the hostel for a few hours, and I went in search of dinner. There the Irish Pub Field just outside of the Nishiki Market, so I dropped by there first for a Guinness. I struck up a conversation with the proprietor, a very sweet guy named Hikaru, since there was only one other person there, and he was looking at his phone. Hikaru told me that on the weekends the pub was bustling because they would have live Irish music there, despite his never being to Ireland. I sadly informed him that I wouldn't be there over the weekend but next time I'm in town I'll see what I can do. He also gave me a suggestion for a local coffee house to visit.

Eggplant on pizza was better than I thought

We had covered a lot of ground that day, so I didn't want to go far to get dinner, leading me to the Italian restaurant next door for some pizza. The restaurant definitely captured an authentic Italian feel, and the food was delicious. I met up with my group afterwards and we went for the one thing I had been dying to do since we got here: karaoke!

There are karaoke joints on nearly every corner in the major cities, and of our group, about 8 of us went. We got some drinks and sang for about an hour and a half and had a great time!

The one of the palaces not open for tours

The next day was all on our own with the exception of an optional activity, which I will get to later. I plotted out my plan for the day and set off at a decent hour. My first stop was at the Kyoto Imperial Palace where the emperor once maintained his residence. The grounds were vast and had several points of interest to check out, but the main palace only had 2 open times for tours, and they didn't fit into my schedule. So I toured the outer regions of the palace and some of the smaller areas. I was there was a good long while before I moved on and found the coffee shop that Hikaru had referred me to.

The shop was kind of hidden, but it was situated next to the Nashinoki Shrine and appeared to have been converted from a tea shop. I had a nice respite there before continuing to the next item on my list: The Manga Museum. I've never been too much of a Manga fan, but as an avid reader and supporter of the arts, I wanted to look into this as it is very much a part of Japanese pop culture. 

I learned plenty of fun facts about Manga history, particularly that this story form goes back several hundreds of years to medieval times. And there was rows and rows of modern Manga with people reading absolutely everywhere! As a reader, this place was cool enough just by existing, but seeing the locals there being accommodated just to indulge in their favorite medium was inspiring. I loved it.

When I left, it was finally time for me to thoroughly check out the Nishiki Market! I went through just about every available shop and stall, looking for foods to try. It was tough! It was when I found small cups (not shot glasses, these were bigger!) of sake for ¥100 that I started forcing myself to make a decision. I snacked on multiple servings of street food, though I passed up the Fugu, or Puffer Fish, despite my wanting to try it.

6 feet apart ain't an option here

Now that I was full, I continued on to the last item on my list, one that had been personally recommended to me from a friend of mine: the Kiyomizu-Dera Temple. I walked because it would take roughly the same amount of time to take a subway or bus, and they would only drop off at the street below the temple. It was when I reached that street that I realized why: there were thousands of people all going to the same area!

An amazing feat of architecture!

The going was all uphill, and there was barely any room between people. It took a while to make it, and once there, I was able to see Kyoto city from one of the best vantage points. After taking a few pictures, I paid my admission to check out the temple grounds and went in. The temple is amazing; it is built from wood yet gilded in gold along the eaves. People from all over the world were there to bring offerings and worship. 

There were several paths and trails throughout the grounds, and one led the Seikan-Ji Temple and Kanameishi altar in a short hike. I checked that one out briefly before returning to the main grounds for a final look around. I captured some shots I'm proud of and then went back to the main street down, checking out a few of the shops along the way and picking up a snack. 

The offering waterfall

I had completed all of my own adventures at this point, and now was the time to reunite with my group for our activity together: samurai school!

FEAR ME!

Yes, we got to dress up and handle katanas in a legit class! I have trained with a katana in the past but it's been over 10 years, so it felt particularly satisfying to pick up the sword again and learn from true masters. One of the interesting parts I learned wasn't in the actual swordplay, but in utilizing the sheath. The sword is returned to its sheath in a particular manner that I was unaware of and will be using to this day when I pick up the weapon again. We returned to the hostel after that and finished out the night with sushi.

Part 2, Coming Soon!

That was a lot in just about a week! So, where did we go next?

Find out in my next post!

All pictures were taken by me or my device and not to be used without permission. Gifs courtesy of Giphy.com