3 nights in Kyoto: Exploring ancient Japan
The First three Days in Kyoto
Kyoto is the old cultural heart of Japan and it is where I decided to spent my 3 nights. Kyoto station is 11 floors high and offers a great view over the city).
There are locker rooms available at the station, but I decided to walk to Haroke's guest house and drop my backpack there.
Shoeeeeeeeeesss!!
The owner was not in the front. After a few times calling: Sumimasèèèèèèn?! (excuse meeeee?!) I got a response from upstairs. I walked towards the voice, not realizing that I should have take off my shoes. As soon as the owner noticed me she pointed at my shoes with the biggest eyes(O.O). Woops! I apologized (Gomennasai) and handed her my backpack with a little blush on the cheeks. The owner (Haroke) was very kind and approachable, she showed me the whole guest house and helped me learn some Japanese words that i will use for my stay in Japan.
A ryokan is a Traditional Japanese room with tatami floor mats and futon (foldable mattress.) Futons are so comfy!
Never had much fun inside the bathroom. Japanese toilets are self-activating, it has different buttons to play music, to clean, to flush, to spray and if you touch the wrong button water will spray up from soft to very hard. Don't try to push all the button to know where the Flush button is, which I did XD
Trivia: Do you know where the flush button is?
The First Japanese Food
I had this Udon
noodle soup with shrimp in a cozy back street eatery. Cheap and tasty! I must admit I have to get used eating with chopsticks, and try one of Japanese noodle soup eating habit like to slurp the noodles in your mouth making a loud slurping sound. SLURPPP!!!
Kyoto and its beautiful Shrines
Kyoto is known for its formal tradition and countless long-established Buddhist Temples and,most of them are located at the edge of the city. I rented a bike for about 800Yen ( 6 euros) per day which is a convenient way to travel the city of Kyoto. You will be amazed by several Japanese women with traditional Kimono/Yukata clothing in the street.Since i had only few days to explore,I only visited two famous attraction :The Kinkakuji temple (A golden temple in the North) surrounded by beautiful Zen-gardens. And the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrines in the south-East with a 4 km mountain trail, a winding path through 1000’s of orange Torii. You don’t have to climb all the way to the top, but the further you walk the less crowded it is.
photo Kinkaku-ji
photo Fushimi Inari Taisha
Kyoto is not a big city but still I felt a little lost even if I used the map of the city to locate every destination. Luckily the owner of the guest house taught me some Japanese words:
Helpful Japanese sentence:
Sumimasen, ima watashi wa doko ni imasuka? Meaning, excuse me, could you tell me where I am?
Every Local is helpful by pointing the direction of place that I asked. Some of them even started to talk in Japanese, since English is not usually used in some places in Japan. I just respond " Arigato gozaimasu" (thank you very much) since I can't really understand Japanese.
After a long cycling, it is time to find some eatery. A great place for diner is along the Kamogawa river, where you can enjoy outdoor dining. Best time to visit is during dusk, or just when the sun is about to set.It is the best place to walk and enjoy sight seeing, some people do sports, other makes painting. During the night the whole riverbank is beautifully light up with the street lights and traditional lamps giving it a peaceful atmosphere. I have also meet beautiful Geisha and witness the traditional Aoi Matsuri Festival.(source:Wikipedia)
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