Kyoto Trip 1
Let's see, the night bus isn't SO bad, but Mark got a crappy seat with a guy basically leaning back between his legs, so that wasn't so much fun. But it was cheap, and we arrived in Kyoto around 7am on Saturday morning. We found a bathroom and then got some breakfast and then hopped on the train to Fushimi Inari Taisha . It was only about 8am when we got there, if that. We walked for about 20-30 minutes of the path, but I think it is about 4km total, all lined with red torii gates. It was pretty empty at that time of day, but it's free to enter and the lone jogger or dog walker was pretty common. As we were leaving around 9, some merchants were setting up food and flea market stalls.
Back at Kyoto station, we picked up our backpacks and walked to K's Hostel. For once, when a website said a 10min walk, it actually meant a 10min walk. How refreshing! It was a hot, humid day, so we were happy to find the place air conditioned and clean, and the desk worker friendly and helpful. It was a great hostel, especially compared to the one I stayed at in Shanghai. And cheap too, about 3000yen each for the night, in a private room with a tv.
Anyway, we couldn't get into our room yet, so we bought a bus pass (500yen for the day) and we rode up to Ginkaku-ji. By then, it was getting later in the morning and it was getting more crowded, but Ginkaku-ji seems to be a bit further than other sites, so it wasn't too bad. There were a lot of students running around though. We had lunch at one of the little mom and pop type restaurants along the road (we didn't see Pop) and enjoyed a nice cool asahi beer.
We took the bus back down toward the hostel and got off at Kiyomizu-dera. It's a bit of a walk from the bus stop, and the road is lined with shops and a few restaurants, but mostly shops, selling basically the same thing. At some point along the way, I think it was after we went to the temple, Mark bought a sword and stand. He'd been wanting one for a long time, but never found one that appealed to him until then. Kiyomizu-dera is also on a list for the possible New Seven Wonders of the World.
After Kiyomizu-dera, we walked back down and killed time until our appointment at Studio Shiki. It was an interesting process, being made into a Maiko (an apprentice Geisha). First you dress in a white undergarment-like robe and tabi socks. Then they put your hair in a net. Then you prepare your skin with oil(?), and then they paint you with white liquid that drys to make the white make-up. Then pink/red around the eyes, with eyeliner and mascara (which my sensitive skin LOVED). And then lips. Then I chose a blue kimono and they put it on me, which was interesting. I'm surprised it fit around my hips! Then they gave me a wig and I was ready. I got to watch Mark take his photos and he watched mine, then we went outside and took our own photos for ten minutes. I'm not a fan of my studio photos, so I'm not going to bother uploading the dvd. But you can see some of the ones that we took. Outside, some other customers--Japanese Girls--wanted to take a photo with us, and then some old grannies came walking by and were so impressed and took their own photos of us as well. It was a good time, but I wish I didn't have to have the studio photos at all.
After, we took the bus back to the hostel and then went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. We had a few beers and I was asleep by 10pm.
We woke up in the morning to rain. Ugh. Pouring rain. After killing time until check out at 11, we decided to go to a museum and hope for the rain to stop. The Kyoto National Museum was right down the road. It was interesting enough and had some very old items, but I always feel like we are missing out at museums here, because there isn't much information in English.
We went to Gion after the museum and looked for somewhere to eat. We ended up at an Indian Buffet because Mark was very eager for Indian food. Then we decided to brave the still pouring rain and go to Kinkaku-ji by bus. It was beautiful, but a bit hard to enjoy in the rain, with all the school children around. I think in the end, Fushimi Inari Taisha was my favorite of the places we saw in Kyoto.
We took the bus back to Gion and looked for ways to kill time until our 10:40 bus back to Kyoto. We bought omiyage (food souvenirs for our schools) and found a few bars that weren't too expensive. Then we went back to the hostel, by way of the convenience store, and sat in the air conditioning and ate chicken and drank beer. It was nice that we could sit there even though we had already checked out. We got our bags and walked back to the station around 10pm. Our bus back was a double decker and our seats didn't have the best leg room. This time I was the one who didn't sleep very well.
We got into Kofu a bit before 7am and took the train to Mark's. We had planned on going to Fuji-Q to ride Eejyanaika, but a quick look at the website showed that the ride was closed on Monday. We've ridden the other main rides, so we decided not to bother. Instead, we slept most of the morning and then I went home and turned on my air conditioning and cleaned before private lessons.
Not a bad trip. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't too crowded, even on a beautiful Saturday in June. Hopefully when I go back in July I can do a few of the things I missed. I'd love to see a real geisha!
Back at Kyoto station, we picked up our backpacks and walked to K's Hostel. For once, when a website said a 10min walk, it actually meant a 10min walk. How refreshing! It was a hot, humid day, so we were happy to find the place air conditioned and clean, and the desk worker friendly and helpful. It was a great hostel, especially compared to the one I stayed at in Shanghai. And cheap too, about 3000yen each for the night, in a private room with a tv.
Anyway, we couldn't get into our room yet, so we bought a bus pass (500yen for the day) and we rode up to Ginkaku-ji. By then, it was getting later in the morning and it was getting more crowded, but Ginkaku-ji seems to be a bit further than other sites, so it wasn't too bad. There were a lot of students running around though. We had lunch at one of the little mom and pop type restaurants along the road (we didn't see Pop) and enjoyed a nice cool asahi beer.
We took the bus back down toward the hostel and got off at Kiyomizu-dera. It's a bit of a walk from the bus stop, and the road is lined with shops and a few restaurants, but mostly shops, selling basically the same thing. At some point along the way, I think it was after we went to the temple, Mark bought a sword and stand. He'd been wanting one for a long time, but never found one that appealed to him until then. Kiyomizu-dera is also on a list for the possible New Seven Wonders of the World.
After Kiyomizu-dera, we walked back down and killed time until our appointment at Studio Shiki. It was an interesting process, being made into a Maiko (an apprentice Geisha). First you dress in a white undergarment-like robe and tabi socks. Then they put your hair in a net. Then you prepare your skin with oil(?), and then they paint you with white liquid that drys to make the white make-up. Then pink/red around the eyes, with eyeliner and mascara (which my sensitive skin LOVED). And then lips. Then I chose a blue kimono and they put it on me, which was interesting. I'm surprised it fit around my hips! Then they gave me a wig and I was ready. I got to watch Mark take his photos and he watched mine, then we went outside and took our own photos for ten minutes. I'm not a fan of my studio photos, so I'm not going to bother uploading the dvd. But you can see some of the ones that we took. Outside, some other customers--Japanese Girls--wanted to take a photo with us, and then some old grannies came walking by and were so impressed and took their own photos of us as well. It was a good time, but I wish I didn't have to have the studio photos at all.
After, we took the bus back to the hostel and then went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. We had a few beers and I was asleep by 10pm.
We woke up in the morning to rain. Ugh. Pouring rain. After killing time until check out at 11, we decided to go to a museum and hope for the rain to stop. The Kyoto National Museum was right down the road. It was interesting enough and had some very old items, but I always feel like we are missing out at museums here, because there isn't much information in English.
We went to Gion after the museum and looked for somewhere to eat. We ended up at an Indian Buffet because Mark was very eager for Indian food. Then we decided to brave the still pouring rain and go to Kinkaku-ji by bus. It was beautiful, but a bit hard to enjoy in the rain, with all the school children around. I think in the end, Fushimi Inari Taisha was my favorite of the places we saw in Kyoto.
We took the bus back to Gion and looked for ways to kill time until our 10:40 bus back to Kyoto. We bought omiyage (food souvenirs for our schools) and found a few bars that weren't too expensive. Then we went back to the hostel, by way of the convenience store, and sat in the air conditioning and ate chicken and drank beer. It was nice that we could sit there even though we had already checked out. We got our bags and walked back to the station around 10pm. Our bus back was a double decker and our seats didn't have the best leg room. This time I was the one who didn't sleep very well.
We got into Kofu a bit before 7am and took the train to Mark's. We had planned on going to Fuji-Q to ride Eejyanaika, but a quick look at the website showed that the ride was closed on Monday. We've ridden the other main rides, so we decided not to bother. Instead, we slept most of the morning and then I went home and turned on my air conditioning and cleaned before private lessons.
Not a bad trip. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't too crowded, even on a beautiful Saturday in June. Hopefully when I go back in July I can do a few of the things I missed. I'd love to see a real geisha!