[Journeys in Japan] 2016.08.07 - DAY 5 - KYOTO
Cakes With Faces is running #Japanuary2024 and since I'm trying to FINALLY arrange a report of my trip to Japan back in 2016, I thought I could do a double whammy and post a long overdue blog post AND participate in something fun. Day 7 is "Touristy" so I'll be sharing a day I spent in Kyoto doing the tourist thing to do!
Foreward: I went to Japan for the first time back in 2016 with a group of friends for about 2 weeks. It was a really fun trip that I wanted to remember forever and so I wanted to blog it but not only was writing hard but a lot of places I was using to host my blogs either removed the feature my entries were hosted on or no longer supported images. I'm looking to save my memories in a physical form in one way or another, but since I'm typing out a sort of journal here it is adapted for the web!
This day was actually supposed to be our second Osaka day but we switched up the day solely because of the Kirby Cafe. The Kirby Cafe was opening for its first run ever so to queue for it we were supposed to arrive early to get a ticket for entry and we were too late. As the Kirby Cafe was a MUST DO for all of us, we were willing to change switch our plans with the next day for another shot at the Kirby Cafe. So off to Kyoto we went!
My notes say Nonomiya Jinja but I see photos of the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, but it looks like both are in the same location so it seems we did visit the Nonomiya Shrine. We walked as much as everyone could manage around the bamboo forest before hitting the next location.
We headed towards Kiyomizudera temple. (I'm checking some video bloggers on Youtube to make sure. I see one of them has the same ticket I have.) Here I did a yukata rental because it's been my dream or sorts to wear one!! Will I look pretty? Will I look OK in one? Regardless of the answer, it was fun to dress up for the summer and head up to the top of the temple. I don't remember the names of all these places sadly, but if it's in any video for Kiyomizudera others have done, that must have been it!
In the evening, we went to the Horikawa Tachibana Festival. Since it was summer, we wanted to see the Kyo-no-Tanabata Star Festival. I think we went to the Kamogawa site because I remember the river walk and the picture of these illuminated "Walkway of Bamboo and Light" checks out. I think we had to choose between the two because the festival was near its end.
I didn't stay for dinner at the Kamogawa River so I left to head back. I got lost along the way somehow and a kind woman walked me back to my hostel. We chatted about how I was interested in Japanese owarai, comedy and that's how I managed to pick up some conversational Japanese. (OK look, I promise I wasn't speaking in the same crude dialect that airs on TV).