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astillarThe sun has almost disappeared
Once again.
And now I can't see you
Once again.
Breakfast was just like dinner, opulent and exotic. I’d never had grilled fish with breakfast, until now. I squeezed in some onsen time before packing up and checking out. That ryokan was fantastic. I would've stayed longer if I could have afforded it! Goodbye Miyakawa, I'll never forget you!
I guess I was expecting Kyoto to look like something out of an old samurai movie when I arrived there. It too had high-rises and concrete, but it wasn’t as ultra-modern as Tokyo. I can’t quite find the right word to describe it, the closest I can come is ‘retro’? Not old, more like it’s resisting modernization and is reveling in it’s own style.
I found my way to the hostel, checked in, and then went to rent a bicycle. Seeing as how Kyoto is flatter and less congested than Tokyo, I thought this would be a fun and cheaper way of getting around town. My first stop was Fushimi Inari. I wanted plenty of daylight to take pictures of it and I should’ve gotten there mid-afternoon. But I got turned around a couple times and the next thing I knew I was racing the sun to get there.
I arrived at dusk, when the shops were closing up and the bulk of the visitors were leaving. I figured I still had enough daylight left so I started climbing. (If only I’d known there were kilometers of trails across the mountain and over 10,000 torii gates, I might’ve re-considered.)
While I was climbing, I ran into another American photographer. He was in a hurry to get to the top, where he said there were some good shots to be had. I followed his lead and away we went. He was Army medic trained and had been volunteering in the tsunami-stricken area for the past week and this was his sole play-day before going home. Having studied abroad in Kyoto before, this was his one MUST-SEE place. We hiked and climbed, making it to the outlook just before sunset.
We took a different trail down the mountain. We took pictures as we descended and I listened to Sandy’s stories of his high-school years in Kyoto. I was a bit envious, I’ll admit. (Note to self: Learn Japanese before your next visit so you can get some of that action!) It got dark quickly, especially in those forested valleys. I wouldn’t say we got ‘lost,’ but we somehow passed through a part of the shrine grounds that didn’t look like they’d been opened to the public. I wasn’t scared, but I sure as hell didn’t want to spend the night in the woods.
Finally we saw a streetlight poking through the trees and we emerged from the forest at the end of the road in a tiny village at the extreme limit of Kyoto. Another 15 minutes of walking passed before we met someone who could point us to the nearest train station and enlighten us about where the hell we were. Apparently one of those torii gates must’ve been a teleporter because we were waaaay the hell away from the shrine’s main entrance.
We caught the train back to the riverbank district, where Sandy said he knew an all-you-can-eat&drink yakiniku place. $30 for 2 hours to eat till you shit yourself, he said. Meat and booze???? Those were two things that I’d been missing out on during my stay here in Japan. Sign me up!
Apparently either that place wasn’t prepared for a couple of American carnivores or they were deliberately responding slowly to our orders, because it felt like we were constantly waiting for them to bring our next round of meat. Still, I had lots to eat and plenty of beer and I was ready to tap out at around minute 100. Don’t ask me what kind of meat we ate, all I know is they had 27 cuts of it. So goooooood.
Once again.
And now I can't see you
Once again.
Breakfast was just like dinner, opulent and exotic. I’d never had grilled fish with breakfast, until now. I squeezed in some onsen time before packing up and checking out. That ryokan was fantastic. I would've stayed longer if I could have afforded it! Goodbye Miyakawa, I'll never forget you!
I guess I was expecting Kyoto to look like something out of an old samurai movie when I arrived there. It too had high-rises and concrete, but it wasn’t as ultra-modern as Tokyo. I can’t quite find the right word to describe it, the closest I can come is ‘retro’? Not old, more like it’s resisting modernization and is reveling in it’s own style.
I found my way to the hostel, checked in, and then went to rent a bicycle. Seeing as how Kyoto is flatter and less congested than Tokyo, I thought this would be a fun and cheaper way of getting around town. My first stop was Fushimi Inari. I wanted plenty of daylight to take pictures of it and I should’ve gotten there mid-afternoon. But I got turned around a couple times and the next thing I knew I was racing the sun to get there.
I arrived at dusk, when the shops were closing up and the bulk of the visitors were leaving. I figured I still had enough daylight left so I started climbing. (If only I’d known there were kilometers of trails across the mountain and over 10,000 torii gates, I might’ve re-considered.)
While I was climbing, I ran into another American photographer. He was in a hurry to get to the top, where he said there were some good shots to be had. I followed his lead and away we went. He was Army medic trained and had been volunteering in the tsunami-stricken area for the past week and this was his sole play-day before going home. Having studied abroad in Kyoto before, this was his one MUST-SEE place. We hiked and climbed, making it to the outlook just before sunset.
We took a different trail down the mountain. We took pictures as we descended and I listened to Sandy’s stories of his high-school years in Kyoto. I was a bit envious, I’ll admit. (Note to self: Learn Japanese before your next visit so you can get some of that action!) It got dark quickly, especially in those forested valleys. I wouldn’t say we got ‘lost,’ but we somehow passed through a part of the shrine grounds that didn’t look like they’d been opened to the public. I wasn’t scared, but I sure as hell didn’t want to spend the night in the woods.
Finally we saw a streetlight poking through the trees and we emerged from the forest at the end of the road in a tiny village at the extreme limit of Kyoto. Another 15 minutes of walking passed before we met someone who could point us to the nearest train station and enlighten us about where the hell we were. Apparently one of those torii gates must’ve been a teleporter because we were waaaay the hell away from the shrine’s main entrance.
We caught the train back to the riverbank district, where Sandy said he knew an all-you-can-eat&drink yakiniku place. $30 for 2 hours to eat till you shit yourself, he said. Meat and booze???? Those were two things that I’d been missing out on during my stay here in Japan. Sign me up!
Apparently either that place wasn’t prepared for a couple of American carnivores or they were deliberately responding slowly to our orders, because it felt like we were constantly waiting for them to bring our next round of meat. Still, I had lots to eat and plenty of beer and I was ready to tap out at around minute 100. Don’t ask me what kind of meat we ate, all I know is they had 27 cuts of it. So goooooood.
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-31 05:18 am (UTC)