[Japan Travel]: Kyoto - Day 4 (Gion)
Yay!!! 
Finally time for another travel entry! <3
It is almost the last one, though.
Only one more day left (;o;)
This whole day we spent in Gion only. It was quite a busy day, because three of us got a Maiko dress-up which took the whole morning until noon :D
We didn't walk around outside (only for a short toime to take a few
photos) and were mainly in the studio.
Then, we met with our other 2 friends who got us tickets for the Miyako Odori (same day - late afternoon).
Kyoto Day 4 (April 8th, 2010):
Random shot at Kyoto Station. I just thought it's funny and a bit scary.
Could you do it? I wouldn't be able to! x_X
And then, we were already in Gion (by bus early in the morning) on our way to the Maiko/Geiko Studio that would dress us up and take photos (^-^')>
As we had some spare time before we had to be there, I used the chance to take some random photos on the way.
Strange and scary, but interesting masks.
And that's the small street in which the studio was :3
No photos of the inside or of my friends and me, of course. C'mon, that's private people XD
On our way back, we were having a lot of fun in all the small souvenir shops and I ended up buying quite a lot of things, but really good things and I don't regret buying them at all!
Kyoto is great for souvenirs <33333
Lonley rickshaw under cherry blossom trees, AGAIN! XD
The huge Kannon statue in the Ryozen Kannon Temple.
We didn't enter. I just quickly took a photo from the outside XD
And more rickshaws.
Random. Close to the entrance of Yasaka Shrine.
Yasaka Shrine. Probably the most famous shrine in Gion.
There was a festival going on. They even had something like a haunted house there XD
And now guess, WHY I took that photo?! ;P
Looks a bit like YamaPi, don't you think? (>.o')
Japan, a clean country? Hmmm ... XDDD
Not during "hanami" season XD
I fell in love with that tree!! (*__*)b
It's quite a famous tree in Maruyama Park.
From another perspective.
After we had lunch there, we walked around in the park a little bit. It's really a beautiful park and because there was a festival going on at Yasaka Shrine and it was cherry blossom season, there were a lot of people.
Basically we could have spent the whole day in that park. I'm sure some people did :D
That dude definitely did ;P
Such beautiful colors! (*_*)
Random car, but we where photo-whoring a bit XD
It was quite windy, so the cherry blossoms were raining down from the trees, but I'm pretty sure you can't really see it properly in this photo, sorry ;o;
Back at Yasaka Shrine. Really a stunning shrine!!
The view you get from the main entrance of Yasaka Shrine.
Kyoto has quite a lot of tiny shops that sell these cute handmade decoration thingies.
I also bought one in Arashiyama the other day (which is now hanging on my wall ^-^ one with a lot of pink and a cute white bunny).
Btw. we're walking along the main road you saw on the picture before in order to get close to the place where the Miyako Odori would take place later.
I was taking a few random shots again and had to run then to catch up with my friends again XDDDDDDD ahem~
It was quite hot that day, but the colors in the photos are awesome thanks to a sky with almost no clouds <3
We went away from the main road and were now walking through many small side roads. So cute!!!! <3
Many things to discover .... and to take photos of! XD
We found the hall where the dance performance would take part later and then walked around some more.
Luckily I came across the Kenninji Temple (建仁寺) which is the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto!!!
My friends decided to take a rest and save money and waited outside while I went inside (*__*)b
And I'm glad I did!!
This distinctive mark of Kenninji - the images of the wind and thunder gods - is often considered the quintessence of Sotatsu's work (Edo period).
The cool "Twin Dragons" on the ceiling! So awesome!
The painting measures 11.4m by 15.7m (!!!) and is drawn with the finest quality ink on thick traditional Japanese paper. It was created in the gymnasium of an elementary school in Hokkaido and took the artist just under two years to complete.
The garden there was really nice, too!
Then, it was time to go back to my friends and to finally watch the "Miyako Odori" (*___*)
But not without taking some more photos on my way XD
Finally arrived in front of the hall where I spotted this cute tourist bus <3
Inside: we got the cheapest tickets, so we were on the 3rd floor, but the view from there was actually really good.
And we also got a huge discount, so that we paid only about 10$ each!! Isn't that awesome??
Photos during the performance were not allowed :/ It was awesome and extremely colorful!!!!
Highly recommended if you ever get the chance to!!! (official website in English)
You can see some photos here.
That's where the performance took part.
As you can see the sun was almost gone, and it was about to get dark.
We finally left, talked a lot about what we just saw.
Stopped at the next vending machine to get something to drink. Were approached by a REALLY weird and old Japanese man.
REALLY WEIRD!!! We just left and he kept following us for quite a while >_>
Japan definitely has the weirdest stalkers!
The sky was perfect, the colors extremely beautiful, so ... although my friends didn't want to wait, I took a lot of photos (*_*)
And I think they turned out quite well :)
Sorry, I can't stop spamming you with the same kind of photos! XD
Back on the main road, we were shopping a little bit and doing Purikura together for the first time XD
Then, we went into an Italian "family restaurant" and ate yummie food.
My friends were tired and wanted to pack, prepare their suitcases etc., but it was our last night together as they planned to go to Kurama Onsen (hehe, my recommendation as I went there years ago XD) the next day and then Osaka and then fly back home.
My plans for my last day were different as I couldn't join them anymore (had to leave early the next day ...)
Shortly after that they went back to the hotel and I stayed, because there were awesome shops there and I also wanted to go to Yasaka Shrine at night! :D
Maybe not something one would expect, but if you want to go shopping in Kyoto, then Gion is actually a good choice!!
I stopped taking photos of all the displayed yummie plastic food a long time ago, but occasionally I still do it, especially when it looks THAT delicious! :D
That was a pachinko hall, but I loved the illumination.
I'm glad the photo turned out well.
Finally back at Yasaka Shrine!
And it's just as awesome at night!
And because there was a festival, there were still a lot of people around. Even police officers everywhere!! O_O;
We have our "Biergarten" in summer and Japanese people have THAT in spring! XD
Adorable! Me wants!!
The same cherry blossom tree in Maruyama Park I took photos of in the afternoon, this time it's lit up! :D
And the busy main road you see when you stand in front of the main entrance of Yasaka Shrine. This time at night :D
Cameras used:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 and Pentax K-x
The Pentax photos seem to be wider as their height is shorter.
After that I took one of the last buses back to Kyoto station and then went back to my hotel.
Knocked at the door of my friends in the hotel and although we were super tired we kept talking for a while XD
And that was my day 4 in Kyoto. One more to go.
Thanks for reading! (^-^)/
Finally time for another travel entry! <3
It is almost the last one, though.
Only one more day left (;o;)
This whole day we spent in Gion only. It was quite a busy day, because three of us got a Maiko dress-up which took the whole morning until noon :D
We didn't walk around outside (only for a short toime to take a few
photos) and were mainly in the studio.
Then, we met with our other 2 friends who got us tickets for the Miyako Odori (same day - late afternoon).
Kyoto Day 4 (April 8th, 2010):
Random shot at Kyoto Station. I just thought it's funny and a bit scary.
Could you do it? I wouldn't be able to! x_X
And then, we were already in Gion (by bus early in the morning) on our way to the Maiko/Geiko Studio that would dress us up and take photos (^-^')>
As we had some spare time before we had to be there, I used the chance to take some random photos on the way.
Strange and scary, but interesting masks.
And that's the small street in which the studio was :3
No photos of the inside or of my friends and me, of course. C'mon, that's private people XD
On our way back, we were having a lot of fun in all the small souvenir shops and I ended up buying quite a lot of things, but really good things and I don't regret buying them at all!
Kyoto is great for souvenirs <33333
Lonley rickshaw under cherry blossom trees, AGAIN! XD
The huge Kannon statue in the Ryozen Kannon Temple.
We didn't enter. I just quickly took a photo from the outside XD
And more rickshaws.
Random. Close to the entrance of Yasaka Shrine.
Yasaka Shrine. Probably the most famous shrine in Gion.
There was a festival going on. They even had something like a haunted house there XD
And now guess, WHY I took that photo?! ;P
Looks a bit like YamaPi, don't you think? (>.o')
Japan, a clean country? Hmmm ... XDDD
Not during "hanami" season XD
I fell in love with that tree!! (*__*)b
It's quite a famous tree in Maruyama Park.
From another perspective.
After we had lunch there, we walked around in the park a little bit. It's really a beautiful park and because there was a festival going on at Yasaka Shrine and it was cherry blossom season, there were a lot of people.
Basically we could have spent the whole day in that park. I'm sure some people did :D
That dude definitely did ;P
Such beautiful colors! (*_*)
Random car, but we where photo-whoring a bit XD
It was quite windy, so the cherry blossoms were raining down from the trees, but I'm pretty sure you can't really see it properly in this photo, sorry ;o;
Back at Yasaka Shrine. Really a stunning shrine!!
The view you get from the main entrance of Yasaka Shrine.
Kyoto has quite a lot of tiny shops that sell these cute handmade decoration thingies.
I also bought one in Arashiyama the other day (which is now hanging on my wall ^-^ one with a lot of pink and a cute white bunny).
Btw. we're walking along the main road you saw on the picture before in order to get close to the place where the Miyako Odori would take place later.
I was taking a few random shots again and had to run then to catch up with my friends again XDDDDDDD ahem~
It was quite hot that day, but the colors in the photos are awesome thanks to a sky with almost no clouds <3
We went away from the main road and were now walking through many small side roads. So cute!!!! <3
Many things to discover .... and to take photos of! XD
We found the hall where the dance performance would take part later and then walked around some more.
Luckily I came across the Kenninji Temple (建仁寺) which is the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto!!!
My friends decided to take a rest and save money and waited outside while I went inside (*__*)b
And I'm glad I did!!
This distinctive mark of Kenninji - the images of the wind and thunder gods - is often considered the quintessence of Sotatsu's work (Edo period).
The cool "Twin Dragons" on the ceiling! So awesome!
The painting measures 11.4m by 15.7m (!!!) and is drawn with the finest quality ink on thick traditional Japanese paper. It was created in the gymnasium of an elementary school in Hokkaido and took the artist just under two years to complete.
The garden there was really nice, too!
Then, it was time to go back to my friends and to finally watch the "Miyako Odori" (*___*)
But not without taking some more photos on my way XD
Finally arrived in front of the hall where I spotted this cute tourist bus <3
Inside: we got the cheapest tickets, so we were on the 3rd floor, but the view from there was actually really good.
And we also got a huge discount, so that we paid only about 10$ each!! Isn't that awesome??
Photos during the performance were not allowed :/ It was awesome and extremely colorful!!!!
Highly recommended if you ever get the chance to!!! (official website in English)
You can see some photos here.
That's where the performance took part.
As you can see the sun was almost gone, and it was about to get dark.
We finally left, talked a lot about what we just saw.
Stopped at the next vending machine to get something to drink. Were approached by a REALLY weird and old Japanese man.
REALLY WEIRD!!! We just left and he kept following us for quite a while >_>
Japan definitely has the weirdest stalkers!
The sky was perfect, the colors extremely beautiful, so ... although my friends didn't want to wait, I took a lot of photos (*_*)
And I think they turned out quite well :)
Sorry, I can't stop spamming you with the same kind of photos! XD
Back on the main road, we were shopping a little bit and doing Purikura together for the first time XD
Then, we went into an Italian "family restaurant" and ate yummie food.
My friends were tired and wanted to pack, prepare their suitcases etc., but it was our last night together as they planned to go to Kurama Onsen (hehe, my recommendation as I went there years ago XD) the next day and then Osaka and then fly back home.
My plans for my last day were different as I couldn't join them anymore (had to leave early the next day ...)
Shortly after that they went back to the hotel and I stayed, because there were awesome shops there and I also wanted to go to Yasaka Shrine at night! :D
Maybe not something one would expect, but if you want to go shopping in Kyoto, then Gion is actually a good choice!!
I stopped taking photos of all the displayed yummie plastic food a long time ago, but occasionally I still do it, especially when it looks THAT delicious! :D
That was a pachinko hall, but I loved the illumination.
I'm glad the photo turned out well.
Finally back at Yasaka Shrine!
And it's just as awesome at night!
And because there was a festival, there were still a lot of people around. Even police officers everywhere!! O_O;
We have our "Biergarten" in summer and Japanese people have THAT in spring! XD
Adorable! Me wants!!
The same cherry blossom tree in Maruyama Park I took photos of in the afternoon, this time it's lit up! :D
And the busy main road you see when you stand in front of the main entrance of Yasaka Shrine. This time at night :D
Cameras used:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 and Pentax K-x
The Pentax photos seem to be wider as their height is shorter.
After that I took one of the last buses back to Kyoto station and then went back to my hotel.
Knocked at the door of my friends in the hotel and although we were super tired we kept talking for a while XD
And that was my day 4 in Kyoto. One more to go.
Thanks for reading! (^-^)/